Austrian Artist Has Been Making Concrete Porsche Sculptures for Decades
There’s a lot of artwork in the world, but full size concrete Porsche examples are one of a kind.
When one thinks of Porsche artwork, they often think of the beautiful race cars that blast down straights and fling through corners. Maybe even the subtle curves of the cars themselves, versus the paintwork that dazzles. Words you’d often associate with these works include “fast,” “light,” “visceral,” and “speed.” But one artist has done something completely opposite of that.
From his own website, Gottfried Bechtold is an Austrian artist who’s sprinkled his creations all over the region. The first of his creations was placed at the University of Konstanz in the early 70’s. The creation came from his own Porsche 911. And according to the university’s website, KLM, the sculpture is a living object. Not only does weather affect the appearance, but people add their own artistic touch (through paint, or even vandalism). It’s original white color is now faded, blending in with the natural surroundings.
Bechtold didn’t stop with that 911. Although there was a big gap to his next creation, the concept remains the same. This one is called the “Crashed Porsche.” Based on a 993, this concept looks intentionally like concrete. But it looks like a concrete Porsche that has been dropped. The front from the axle forward doesn’t exist. The left side door is gone. Instead of looking like crashed metal, it literally looks like crashed concrete.
More recently, Bechtold has created the “Compression 997” based on a real 997. As it is named, this one is a 997, and crushed into a small footprint. As opposed to the rather featureless concrete, the Compression 997 takes the normal curves one would see on a Porsche and boxes them within much smaller dimensions. This artist shows that Porsche’s design isn’t just from the overall shape. As this box is still recognizable as a 911.
Other Porsche inspired creations stay on the central theme of the timeless 911 design. “Eleven Eleven” is once again cast in concrete, and looks like a 996 with a car cover over it. Somehow, concrete is made to look soft, and elegant.
And in addition to this, another 996 shaped thing is in a gyroscope at an art display. Bechtold even created 996 shaped gold bars that look like the “Eleven Eleven” car cover 996’s.
We’ve never seen anything quite like this artists creations, and we doubt we’ll ever see anything like it soon. The commitment to make artwork that weighs several tons is a level of Porsche crazy that just can’t be touched.
Photos: GottfriedBechtold
Join the Rennlist forums!
