(May 4) A one-year exhibition focused on masterpieces of Italian design. This is “Sculpture in Motion”, opened last February 25 and running through February 3, 2013, a t the Petersen Museum in Losa Angeles. The exhibit will explore the many ways in which Italian coachbuilders and manufacturers have contributed to the evolution of the automobile from a collection of disorganized parts to a single, visually appealing unit. Already well aware of the Italian contribution in the look of clothing, art, and architecture, museum visitors will be fascinated to learn that the country that gave the world Michelangelo and Botticelli also gave it the designers responsible for the exotic and inspired automobiles we have now come to expect from Italy. “Italian designers have influenced the look of automobiles for decades,” said Petersen Curator Leslie Kendall, “We felt it was time to speak of their importance and to display their designs as the works of art that they are.” With so many great cars to choose from, the museum is taking an innovative approach to this exhibit. Some of the vehicles in the exhibition will change over the course of the year to allow the Museum to tell even more of the story while simultaneously encouraging visitors to come back for more. Typical of the vehicles on display, the 1947 Cisitalia was so highly regarded in its day that it became the first automobile to become part of the collection of New York’s Museum Of Modern Art because of its beauty. In contrast with its curvaceous, clean lines is the 1970 Lancia Stratos concept car that changed the shape of mid-engined exotic cars to the now familiar wedge. Both of these vehicles will be on display throughout the duration of the exhibition along with sixteen others in the museum’s Grand Salon. (Red)
