Blind Artist to Paint the New Volvo S60

The new Volvo S60 will not be launched until 2010, yet Swedish carmaker Volvo announced that it has invited a famous artist to ‘see’ and paint the car. Turkish artist Esref Armagan is the artist that will get to interpret the Volvo S60 with his unique feel of perspective and shape. Unique indeed... as Esref Armagan is blind.

The Live Communication and Social Media team at Volvo came up with the idea after they were given the “How can one generate interest in a product that has not yet been launched?” challenge.

"Since the car itself is not being launched until the Geneva Motor Show next year, this is a unique way for us to show an extraordinary artist's rendition of the forthcoming model," said Lukas Dohle, director of Live Communication and Social Media at Volvo Cars in Sweden.

The artist uses his hands and the rest of his senses to identify the shape of the object he is painting. Historic buildings, seascapes, flowers, forests and even a portrait of former US President Bill Clinton are just a few of the artworks that bear Esref Armagan’s name.

This, however, is the very first time he is putting a car on canvas. "It was an honor for me to be asked to do this and I take it as a confirmation of my ability as an artist," said Esref Armagan.

The new Volvo S60 was revealed to the Turkish artist by design director Peter Horbury. "I'm proud of the new Volvo S60. It has a much more dynamic and sculpted form than any previous Volvo - it's a very emotive form. That's why this feels like such an exciting project - introducing our forthcoming model to someone as unusual as a blind artist," said Horbury.
More images in the gallery below.