Eliasson transformed the hydrogen-powered BMW H2R eco-friendlier racecar into a veritable ice creature. After removing the vehicle’s outer shell, he gave it a new body, composed of layers of steel mesh, reflective panels (naturally), ice, and a translucent skin. The piece will be exhibited in a chilled, controlled “micro-climate” and can, in some ways, be interpreted as a sort of time capsule. What is frozen here is not only water and metal, but an interstitial moment in which the historical evolution of automobiles has led to major environmental degradation, and the cycle of cars’ invention is on the mere cusp of addressing the problem of global warming. The “Your” in Your Tempo, then reads not so much as an address to the spectator, as in Take Your Time, but to the commissioning corporation that has taken part in this scenario.
     It is always tempting to accuse an artist of selling out when they collaborate with a large commercial enterprise. However, many artists have taken the opportunity to critique the visual vocabulary of commerce and its cultural protocols by amplifying the voice of the corporation, rather than futilely attempting to silence it. This was the case in 2006, when Eliasson joined the ranks of artists James Turrell and Vanessa Beecroft in creating a Louis Vuitton window installation. Entitled Eye See You, the piece was essentially a mirror, shaped like the pupil of an eye. When installed at the height of the Christmas shopping season, Eliasson was frank in stating that his work challenged the company’s marketing message, stating “the products that Louis Vuitton offers to some degree promise to put the consumer in the spotlight.”
     Such critique also bears out in Eliasson’s BMW project. Let’s not kid ourselves. It’s safe to assume that the artist took in a decent wage to make a luxury car look very cool. And it would not be entirely irresponsible to ask about the museum’s role in this niche of the culture industry. (Those who follow such things will remember the heat that the Guggenheim took after their flashy Art of the Motorcycle show.)
     But artistic collaborations like these have a long tradition and have, arguably, generated some of the Western art world’s most interesting work. Even pop artists Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol worked with BMW under these auspices, as have David Hockney, Jenny Holzer, Frank Stella, and Robert Rauschenberg. In fact, SFMOMA has been at the forefront of supporting these artists’ careers in the United States — which is to say that they’ve taken the risk of supporting artists who walk the line.
     Reflecting on the cultural context of the work, Eliasson has said, “Our movement in space implies friction: not only wind resistance, but also social, physical, and political frictions.” For the artist’s work to succeed, he needs to maintain this friction, in order to nurture a steady stream of participants flowing through his installations.