Germany 2023 Dec - 010 - a photo on Flickriver

Germany 2023 Dec - 010

            HA Schult’s golden car
Advertising or art? Art or advertising? Whichever is the case, the facts about Cologne’s famous winged car are clear. It’s a Ford fiesta model weighing four tons, and sprouting from it are two wings, each of which weighs 800 kilograms. It’s gilded. 

This golden bird landed on the staircase tower of the historic Zeughaus building on April 25, 1991 — and has now been lording it over the city for more than three decades. Although the City Museum has moved out of this landmark building, the winged car remains on its roof and has become a favourite photo motif.

HA Schult’s winged car: Will it stay there forever?
The winged car was originally part of the “Fetisch Auto” exhibition that was curated in 1989 by the Cologne-based performance artist HA Schult, who is known for his “Trash People”.

Critics wrote that the exhibition was a farce and derided it as a special campaign that could not have been better tailored to glorify cars. That’s because the golden Fiesta was created just in time for the delivery of a new model of the Ford Fiesta.

In 2012 the newspaper FAZ called this object a “pudgy golden car with wings” created by the “city’s leading art buffoon”. Cologne’s District President Franz-Josef Antwerpes also wanted to pull the golden bird off its perch. The bird came down to earth, but only in order to be cleaned and refurbished. In 2013 Jürgen Roters, the city’s mayor at that time, said the car would probably always stay on the roof.

The winged car as a tourist attraction: The 1989 model of the Ford Fiesta.

The interior of the car with wings has been gutted and filled with 1.2 tons of railway tracks and lots of epoxy resin. Each of the wings is made of polyester resin and weighs 800 kilograms. The golden paint was renewed by trainees at the Ford plant in 2012, the year the car was refurbished. The bonnet, the boot lid and the hubcaps were also renewed.

Taken in: Germany / Northrhine-Westphalia / Cologne, Urban District / Cologne (show map)

Taken on: December 19, 2023

Tags:

Schultz

HA Schultz

Art

Street Art

Golden_Wings

Ford Fiesta

Winged Car

Köln

Cologne

Germany « less

Sets appears in: • Cologne 2023 Dec

Groups appears in: • Cologne

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX730 HS, f/5.6, 1/80 sec, 41.5mm, ISO 250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX730 HS
Lens:	4.3-172.0 mm
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.013 sec (1/80)
Focal Length:	41.5mm
ISO:	250
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	ACDSee Ultimate 2023
Show full info

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