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Almost from the day when Carl Benz dropped a two-stroke petrol engine into the back end of a tricycle, thus laying the foundations of the motor age and a vast global automobile industry, artists have taken inspiration from cars – and car makers, in their turn, have been inspired by art. Perhaps that was inevitable, as few modern inventions had such a profound effect on society and culture in the 20th-century as the motor car. As its use became widespread, the automobile became for time a liberating force, one that enabled its owners to travel far more widely, independently and spontaneously than they’d ever previously imagined possible, and especially so in the United States, where it became an essential theme in popular and even high culture.
Kinetic Canvases: BMW Art Cars Share
As Art Basel returns to Hong Kong in 2021, Jon Wall traces the 46-year history of the BMW Art Car and the roster of artists who created these extraordinary automobiles
Almost from the day when Carl Benz dropped a two-stroke petrol engine into the back end of a tricycle, thus laying the foundations of the motor age and a vast global automobile industry, artists have taken inspiration from cars – and car makers, in their turn, have been inspired by art. Perhaps that was inevitable, as few modern inventions had such a profound effect on society and culture in the 20th-century as the motor car. As its use became widespread, the automobile became for time a liberating force, one that enabled its owners to travel far more widely, independently and spontaneously than they’d ever previously imagined possible, and especially so in the United States, where it became an essential theme in popular and even high culture.
Roy Halston Frowick, from New York, was an iconic designer to the stars in 70s
Rose to fame after designing hat for Jackie Kennedy for the inauguration in 1961
Thanks to his success in fashion world Halston embarked on a life of debauchery
Hosted man-on-man orgies, slept with prostitutes and saw bestiality sex shows
Addicted to drugs and doled out cocaine to dinner party guests as dessert
Coke-fueled tantrums prompted him to be fired from his own company in 1984
In 1988, Halston was diagnosed with AIDS, and he died in San Francisco in 1990
New Netflix series starring Ewan McGregor is set to be released tomorrow
Tragedy behind Netflix’s Halston, star designer whose coke-fuelled celebrity parties ended career before death from AIDS
Invalid Date,
He was the most celebrated US designer of his era, with celebrity pals including Liza Minelli and Liz Taylor and a hotline to first lady Jackie Kennedy.
But Halston’s glittering fashion career ended in tragedy after his extravagant spending and cocaine addiction saw him lose his business in the years before he died of Aids, in 1990.
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Halston, pictured with Liza Minelli, was an iconic figure in the 1970sCredit: Getty
The rise and fall of the flamboyant designer is now the subject of the new Netflix drama, Halston, with Ewan McGregor in the lead role, which drops on Wednesday 14th May.