For more than seven decades the name “Porsche” has been synonymous with cutting edge design. This October, the North Carolina Museum of Art’s exhibition
Porsche by Design: Seducing Speed will trace the design evolution of these automobiles by putting them in a museum setting where they will be able to be seen as spectacular examples of 20th-century design that transcend their use for
transportation.
Like other great designers, Porsche has constantly reinvented itself, adapting its shapes and colors and uses of technology in order to be at once practical and beautiful. The NCMA’s exhibition will begin with
a 1938 Berlin-Rom Racer, one of the earliest examples of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche’s supreme eye for design, and work all the way through Speedsters, Formula Ones, and hybrids – altogether presenting twenty cars, the largest group of Porsches ever to go on view
in an American art museum.
I hope you’ll agree that this is a great opportunity for your readers to learn about this rare opportunity to see the complete lineage of an iconic name in modern design. The vibrant images that have been prepared
for the exhibition look fantastic in print, and I’d be happy to provide them to you if you’re interested. Please let me know if those or any other additional materials or interviews would be helpful to you for developing coverage. A press release with further
information follows below and is available online
here.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Best,
Ariel
North Carolina Museum of Art to Bring Together an Unprecedented Porsche Collection in
Porsche by Design: Seducing Speed
Museum’s First Design Exhibition to Feature More Than 20 Porsche Automobiles Dating from the 1930s to Present Day
RALEIGH, N.C.
— On October 12, 2013, the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) will present its first-ever automotive design exhibition, bringing together the largest and most diverse group of Porsche cars ever on display in a United
States art museum. Porsche by Design: Seducing Speed will feature more than 20 automobiles that together trace the evolution of the singular Porsche design aesthetic from its inception in the 1930s through its latest contemporary iterations.
Porsche by Design is organized by guest curator Ken Gross, a renowned automotive journalist and the former director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The NCMA’s Barbara Wiedemann is managing curator.
Beginning with the crisp minimalism depicted by the 1938/39 Type 64 car—the oldest model that will be featured in the exhibition—the cars on display will show
the evolution of the signature design principles that have long linked Porsche with beauty, artistry, technology, and innovation. Other examples will include the aerodynamic design style that was the hallmark of the Formula One race cars of the 1960s, and
the technical innovation and advancements that were introduced with contemporary models such as the 911 Carrera.
“Porsche by Design
brings together one of the most significant collections of Porsches ever assembled,” said Ken Gross. “More than ‘just a show about cars,’ the exhibition emphasizes the innate beauty of aerodynamic design, inseparably linked with engineering genius. It further
illustrates the Porsche family’s ability to stay true, over many decades, to a powerful design history while remaining on the forefront of technological advances, continually driving automobile design forward. These cars are superlative examples of uncompromised,
artfully restrained design, lending visual form and grace to the notion of speed.”
Highlights of
Porsche by Design include:
-
The 1938/39 Type 64 Berlin-Rome racer
designed by Porsche founder Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, and the precursor to all Porsches manufactured after 1948
-
A handcrafted 1949 Gmünd coupe designed by Dr. Porsche’s son, “Ferry” Porsche, one of approximately 50 aluminum-bodied sports cars from the first Porsche “factory,”
a converted sawmill in Gmünd, Austria
-
Steve McQueen’s iconic Porsche Speedster, a Type 356A from 1958 which is synonymous with the late Golden Age in Hollywood,
on loan to the Museum from his son Chad McQueen
- A rare Type 804
Formula One race car, one of only four of this model ever built, and the car that Dan Gurney raced to victory at the Austrian Grand Prix in 1962
- Janice Joplin’s psychedelic Porsche Type 356C, on loan to NCMA from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- A Type 911 GT3R
hybrid race car prototype from 2010
To continue reading, please click
here.
Ariel Hudes
Account Executive
Resnicow Schroeder Associates
1995 Broadway, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10023
212-671-5169
ahudes@resnicowschroeder.com
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