ROLLS-ROYCE PRESENTS THE FIRST ‘INSPIRING GREATNESS’ INTERVIEW SERIES WITH MEDIA ARTIST REFIK ANADOL

Inspiring greatness lies at the very heart of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ brand ethos. From hand-building the epitome of true luxury, to engaging and servicing the needs of discerning clients all over the world, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars inspires greatness, every step of the way.

In the first of a series of films created by the marque, Rolls-Royce speaks with media artist Refik Anadol, a recent fellow of MUSE, The Rolls-Royce Art Programme, to explore his own personal inspiration and to hear his approach in advancing our understanding of the world around us by using art and technology as his medium.

Anadol’s recent digital artwork, entitled Art of Perfection: Data Painting, used data sets relating to the colour of every Rolls-Royce motor car created at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, over the last 10 years. The work enjoyed a worldwide public debut in the artist’s hometown during Frieze Los Angeles earlier this year, exhibited at The Peninsula Beverly Hills.

Art of Perfection: Data Painting consists of an LED ‘canvas’, conveying a unique digital painting derived from data captured at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Surface Finish Centre. The data relates to the colour reference of each car, combined with information generated by the programmed robotic movement required to perfectly apply the surface finish to each Bespoke commission. 

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, commented: “It gives me great pleasure to hear from Refik Anadol regarding his captivating interpretation of the paint colours derived at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, over the past 10 years. Now, more so than ever as the Surface Finish Centre rests amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Anadol’s artwork allows me to reflect on the great things that have come from our Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence, whilst we focus our attention on many inspiring things to come in the future.”

Artist Refik Anadol commented: “For an artist working with technology, when I got the opportunity to work with MUSE, The Rolls-Royce Art Programme, it was one of those rare moments in life. When I visited the plant and saw the process of creating the motor cars, I witnessed an invisible world of perfection – humanly perfect, not just machine perfect – an incredible amount of ideation, technology and feelings embedded into the art of perfection. That was a pure inspiration.”

In his practice, Anadol explores how the perception and experience of time and space are radically changing now that machines dominate our everyday lives. His site-specific audio-visual performances have been presented internationally at Hammer Museum, Los Angeles USA; International Digital Arts Biennial, Montreal, Canada; and Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria.

Art of Perfection: Data Painting will be presented on permanent display at Rolls-Royce’s global headquarters in Goodwood, England.

The film can be viewed at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.