- New Ford Fusion sparks collaboration with cutting-edge MILK Studios, revealing “Wall to Wall: The Fusion Collective” – a new project including an immersive gallery experience featuring original multimedia artworks and performances, live music, and panel discussions inspired by the fusion concept – opening in New York and then traveling to Los Angeles
- Artists including Matthew Williams, former creative director to Lady Gaga and current collaborator with Kanye West and ShowStudio, have created artworks for the project and documented their creative processes on www.fusionists.co
- All-new Fusion was designed to strike an emotional chord with customers, balancing form and function while continuing to embrace the growing trend of making high-end products more attainable
NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2012 – Today Ford and MILK Studios, known as the hub for nurturing creativity with some of the most visionary talent, debut a revolutionary collaboration inspired by the new Fusion. “Wall to Wall: The Fusion Collective” is a digital and physical gallery experience that unites fashion, music, photography, film and technology.
The exhibition debuts a month before the new Ford Fusion launches nationally and exemplifies Ford’s evolving design strategy, which includes the use of virtual reality technology, leverages new sustainable materials, and brings together creative disciplines to advance exterior design and the in-car environment.
“In the Ford studios, we bring the best designers, artists and engineers to work together creating a new generation of vehicles, just as artists work tirelessly to bring their visions to life,” said J Mays, chief creative officer for Ford. “Our collaboration with MILK demonstrates how the powerful concept of fusion has inspired a wide range of artists to come together and fuse their diverse talents, while allowing access to the creative process of this new generation of designers.”
“Wall to Wall: The Fusion Collective,” presented by Ford and MILK, opening in New York today then traveling to Los Angeles next week, brings together six multimedia artists including Pharrell Williams, entrepreneur and musician; Matthew Williams, previous creative director for Lady Gaga who now collaborates with Kanye West and ShowStudio; and Cyril Duval, renowned fashion and conceptual art designer. Other artists are Nathaniel Brown, WIFE and Brian DeGraw. All have created original artwork and opened up their studios to the public, documenting their creative processes through editorial and video content on www.fusionists.co.
“Working with Ford on ‘Wall to Wall: The Fusion Collective’ demonstrates the many similarities between the art and automotive worlds and the evolving creative process that happens between the walls of these creative studios,” said Mazdack Rassi, co-founder and creative director of MILK. “This project let us tap into MILK’s thriving subculture of artists, photographers, filmmakers and musicians, and gave them the means and the platform to animate their personal vision.”
As part of the event, Ford will debut a short documentary featuring Pharrell Williams and Tyson Toussant from Bionic Yarn, the company that produces super-strong, fast-drying fabric made primarily from recycled plastic bottles. Similar to how Ford incorporates sustainable materials into its vehicles, such as the 38.9 recycled plastic water bottles that go into the seats of some Ford Fusion models, Bionic Yarn is a durable canvas substitute and is used by fashion brands such as Moncler and Timberland.
“The Big SHFT: Tyson Toussant & Pharrell Williams, Bionic Men” is part of the Big SHFT series Ford has produced with Adrian Grenier and Peter Glatzer of SHFT.com, which features 10 innovators who are transforming the world with groundbreaking sustainability solutions.
‘Wall to Wall: The Fusion Collective’
The virtual exhibition will be brought to life during gallery openings in New York today and in Los Angeles Aug. 29. Finished works of art will be showcased to the public on www.fusionists.co, with select pieces being donated to art and design schools in New York, Los Angeles and Detroit to inspire the next generation of designers.
“‘Wall to Wall’ is going to be a modern show of sculpture, sound, paint, projections, choreography, film, light, music and automobiles that mixes the highly conceptual with the highly entertaining,” said Geremy Gasper, co-founder and creative director of LEGS, MILK’s in-house creative and production company. “In curating the show, we found artists that fuse together different creative disciplines in bold and cutting-edge fashions – each constructing their own unique multimedia world. It’s a really diverse group of work, and we’re thrilled to get this caliber of talent and vision under one roof.”
Bringing great design global
The all-new Ford Fusion surpasses physical beauty, however; designed and engineered by a multitude of talents brought in from across the globe, the car will begin to change the way people view Ford, said Mays.
Offering customer-centered technology like active park assist and adaptive cruise control, it also provides the widest-ever portfolio of fuel-efficient powertrains and integrates sustainable materials into the interior.
“As they do with art, people recognize quality; they recognize beauty,” Mays said. “It speaks not only to their practical side, but to their emotions. And that’s what we want to see.”
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