Fu*k Art, Let's Dance!

It's been fascinating to watch the rise of Ducati from cash-strapped company whose bikes no one bought in the late '80s to major motorcycle manufacturer of fantastic sports bikes and world cool brand, but some of the stuff they do to make some lire and expand the brand is just so crap. Now tucked away on a corner of the labyrinth-like Ducati company website there's a 'Desmo' photography collection in their 'Bike Art Print' section (which also contains some equally tacky stuff that looks like it's come out of Athena circa 1982) that features various artistically-photographed girls on various Ducatis. Design with Desmo? Taglioni must be cringing in his grave.

Plonk birds on bikes, snap away, and then sell, sell, sell as art. Perhaps they're replying to customer demand, but is there really a demand for this kind of stuff? It's been done in a 'tasteful' way that is just so old-fashioned and naff at the same time. Or is the old naff now the new cool? F*cked if I know, but they could also have done something so much better I reckon.

Here's a description of the 'collection' in artspeakbabble where something's got lost in the translation I think:


The Desmo photography collection features sixteen unique photographs in which Elizabeth Raab has approached and juxtaposed the abstract qualities of the organic and mechanical forms, highlighting the perfection and emotion in design of iconic Ducati motorcycles.

The shots explore the relationship between the designed and the natural. The lines of the mechanical body reflecting the lines of the organic form it was designed after. The unique color palette of the motorcycle extends from the frame  of the bike to the features of the model. The model is in an extension of the bike herself.

Design your interiors with passion. Design with Desmo.

See what you can buy for your wall here: http://www.ducatiart.com/category/desmo