If there’s one person who perfectly bridges the gap between high-performance machines and high-brow art, it’s Daniel Arsham. You’ve probably seen his work, if not you should check it out sometime!
When he started working with Porsche and F1 teams, something shifted in the industry. He wasn’t just putting a sticker on a car, he was treating the car as a sculpture. He created a “crystal-eroded” Porsche 911 that looked like it was dug out of an archaeological site. Or made a helmet design for the one and only Lewis Hamilton. And then also made this one of a kind sculpture.
Why does this matter for my thesis? Because it breaks the “perfection” of engineering. We are obsessed with everything being clean, functional, and brand new. Arsham teaches us that there is beauty in the material, the texture, and even the destruction of these machines.
I’m taking a page out of his book. Instead of just showing our car as a finished, shiny object, I want my branding to celebrate the raw textures: the way carbon fiber frays, the heat-tinted titanium of an exhaust, or the dust on the tires after a run. Arsham proves that you can take a technical object and give it an aura of mystery and luxury.
Disclaimer: This text was refined with the support of AI. The reflections and observations are based on my personal experience of attending the event.
