I can say this about that, in concert with the other thread going on (Faszination W113) about my visit to M. Bracq coming up in March.
I will, in the coming weeks, draft some ideas and concepts for discussion with the idea of first learning more about the man, and second, producing an article for The Star Magazine. As I mentioned previously, when I am bicycling through Israel the week before, I will be thinking of things to ask; places to go and things to see with Mr. Bracq in Bordeaux...places like the Automobile Club of SW France where he designed the Facel-Vega bar, and the various public sculptures he has in the Aquitane region. I will jot them down in my journal.
If he agrees to it, I will conduct some informal interviews. I will have a camera with me, one capable of HD video. (astounding what they can cram into a little camera these days--it is a tiny Nikon S6000). If I can "tape" the interviews, I will. I will try to get an understanding of the processes and politics of the W113 project, among others important to me such as the BMW 3-Series.
There appears to be, amongst the devoted here, some varying schools of thought on various individuals contributions to this W113 project. Some things are subject to discussion and interpretation, of course. Some things are facts. One of the facts is that Paul Bracq is an astoundingly talented artist. His work crossed over to sculpture and what is called industrial design. Until he was hired by Karl Wilfert, there was no such artisitic talent noted at DBAG; he was the first and that's why he was hired. Others whose names come up with our beloved Pagoda (and others of the era) were engineers. Nearly every rendering of the Pagoda from the archives is signed by Bracq. After DBAG, he went on to other industrial design projects and to BMW. He labored on nice, relevant, but uninspired interiors for the final 20 years of his career at Peugeot; few interiors ever get noted as "stunning designs". During this time his creative energies were spent painting and sculpting as this is what artists do. Today, retired, he works 7 hours each day in his studio, painting and sculpting. His wife Alice is a talented and gifted artist as well, concentrating mostly in paintings and portraits. The genes were passed on: son Boris is a busy industrial designer in Bordeux, and daughter Isabelle is a fashion designer for Armani in Milan. I have amassed a large historical perspective of his work from throughout his career that he has shared with me. A print of his rendering of the first new generation S-Class (a Bruno Sacco design) hangs in my family room; I did this as a defiant action to his comment in a recent interview that people don't have pictures of cars in their living rooms! Ha! I do! (Color matches the tile fireplace so it was OK with the wife.
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Is, or was he a bit more "flamboyant" than say, Friedrich Geiger? Of course. But what's the point? Are there many flamboyant (assuming that is the correct adjective) engineers? Those known for automotive styling, and industrial styling, are welll known for being a bit flamboyant. Think Raymond Loewy; he's been dead for more than 20 years, and he still has a website! Think Norman BelGeddes, and Buckminster Fuller. In the automotive design arena, you don't get more flamboyant than Bill Mitchell and Harley Earl; you would not know their names if they were not.
Anyway, it is quite interesting all the online and offline things and questions and related that people are sending me. All I can say is I'll take everything under advisement. It would be a bit bold and assuming of me to think I would unveil, 50+ years later, any really new, revealing, or other information--but I'll certainly try to get a new perspective on things. I do hope to enjoy my time with Mr. Bracq, see all the things he tells me about, and finally meet the man who was at least, part of a team that styled what I think are some of the most beautiful and timeless automobiles of all time. I feel quite fortunate that he is "still with us" and that I will have this opportunity.
