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Artist: Heidi Mraz
Medium: Chromogenic on Aluminum Panel, Black Float Frame, Fine Art, Unique Edition
Size: 30” x 45”
Dedicated to preserving and uncovering automotive history, Heidi Mraz was inspired by an important moment in Porsche’s past when works drivers and engineers took the unstable 917 to the Osterreichring race track in Austria to see if they could determine whyittended to lift off the track at high speed. Porsche’s JWAE team manager and engineer, John Horsman, noticed dead gnats covering the car except on the rear spoilers and realized that this meant there was little or no airflow to the tail and, therefore, insufficient downforce to keep the car on the track when racing. This epiphany would result in one of the greatest racing legends of all time and the overall winner at Le Mans both in 1970 and 1971.
Symbolically, butterflies draw a variety of parallels tothe 917’s story in that they are lightweight insects and that, just like the 917, they need to undergo a metamorphosis in order to mature.
“Aerodynamics by Entomology” is an assemblage portrait of one of the greatest known Porsche 917Ks–Chassis 917-022–inexistence, which entered Hollywood stardom after its debut in the movie, “Le Mans” starring Steve McQueen. This piece of artismade from approximately 1000 paper butterflies and other insects that match the iconic Gulf car’s blue and orange racing livery. Hand-cut, placed and pinned, the butterflies add poignant dimension and illusion of movement to the artistic portrayal of the 917. With her optically-rich, signature approach to collage made through the deconstruction of many materials and then the reconstruction of one illusory subject, Heidi Mraz plays with how the mind sees and perceives objects that then beg for further investigation.
Artist: Heidi Mraz
Medium: Chromogenic on Aluminum Panel, Black Float Frame, Fine Art, Unique Edition
Size: 30” x 45”
Dedicated to preserving and uncovering automotive history, Heidi Mraz was inspired by an important moment in Porsche’s past when works drivers and engineers took the unstable 917 to the Osterreichring race track in Austria to see if they could determine whyittended to lift off the track at high speed. Porsche’s JWAE team manager and engineer, John Horsman, noticed dead gnats covering the car except on the rear spoilers and realized that this meant there was little or no airflow to the tail and, therefore, insufficient downforce to keep the car on the track when racing. This epiphany would result in one of the greatest racing legends of all time and the overall winner at Le Mans both in 1970 and 1971.
Symbolically, butterflies draw a variety of parallels tothe 917’s story in that they are lightweight insects and that, just like the 917, they need to undergo a metamorphosis in order to mature.
“Aerodynamics by Entomology” is an assemblage portrait of one of the greatest known Porsche 917Ks–Chassis 917-022–inexistence, which entered Hollywood stardom after its debut in the movie, “Le Mans” starring Steve McQueen. This piece of artismade from approximately 1000 paper butterflies and other insects that match the iconic Gulf car’s blue and orange racing livery. Hand-cut, placed and pinned, the butterflies add poignant dimension and illusion of movement to the artistic portrayal of the 917. With her optically-rich, signature approach to collage made through the deconstruction of many materials and then the reconstruction of one illusory subject, Heidi Mraz plays with how the mind sees and perceives objects that then beg for further investigation.