"Art is the highest form of hope." - Gerhard Richter
Karl Lagerfeld has turned his attention to the subject of the automobile, interpreting the Audi R8 supercar through his camera in a new and unusual way. For these photographs, the master employs kaleidoscopic abstractions between the human figure and the metal object.
He deconstructs the object by working with reflections and distorting the image – similar to looking through a kaleidoscope. The black-and-white photographs offer the viewer entirely new and exciting perspectives. The images were taken near Saint-Tropez. Behind the wheel is model Brad Kroenig, whom the fashion designer photographed over several years for his long-term study "One Man Shown," which subsequently became the subject of an exhibition and a book.
Twelve of the photographs, titled "Kaleidoscopic Vision of a Car," were featured in an art calendar exclusively for Audi R8 buyers. This particular print was exhibited in May 2007 as part of the exhibition at the Audi Forum on Park Avenue in New York. It is clearly a unique piece; no other examples are known.