BMW has issued a book celebrating its support of the arts over the last 40 years - a book with wheels that can be driven by remote control.
The book is the work of Grammy-award winning graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister, who has designed album covers for the likes of the Rolling Stones and Talking Heads.
"In a publication about all the cultural activities of the BMW Group it made sense to include four hidden wheels and a remote control that allows readers to drive the book around the room. Culture really moves," says Sagmeister in the BMW press release.
There is more hidden art in the book covers. When each cover from the 1488 hand-signed copies of the book are arranged in proper numerical order, they depict an abstract representation of BMW's Munich headquarters from a bird's eye view - a building nick-named the 'four-cylinder' built by architect Karl Schwanzer in 1972.
The book is not for sale and covers BMW projects regarding contemporary art, jazz and classical music, as well as architecture and design.
BMW board member Frank-Peter Arndt will present the book at a press event today in Berlin.
The internationally celebrated graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister has created the design of the publication CULTURE, a book describing the BMW Group's international cultural commitment. The limited edition of 1488 hand-signed copies, which are not available for sale, is based on an unconventional concept: CULTURE also features an integrated, remote-controlled car, a book that can be driven around. As a whole, the numerical arrangement of all book covers would make a square measuring 7 x 7 metres depicting a graphically abstracted image of the legendary BMW "four cylinder" building - the company headquarters in Munich built by Karl Schwanzer in 1972 - from a bird's eye view. Consequently, each book cover becomes a fragmented, unique specimen.
