NEOPLAN 

#movingART: A rolling work of art

Using a lot of tape, the Berlin-based tape artists, part of the Klebebande collective, turned a NEOPLAN Skyliner into an impressive work of art. Further joint projects are to follow.

Neoplan Skyliner Klebebande
Taking inspiration from the very abstract lines of a big city, the artists of Berlin-based Klebebande managed to turn the NEOPLAN Skyliner into a rolling work of art.

  • Tape artists designed the NEOPLAN Skyliner under the motto “Urban Perspectives”
  • Strong shapes and clear lines bring design to the forefront
  • First performance at the Busworld fair on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the NEOPLAN Skyliner

Equipped with a design, a lot of rolls of tape in neon pink, black and gold, as well as music, it took just four days to turn a white NEOPLAN Skyliner into a rolling work of art. The tape artists from the Klebebande artist collective were inspired by what was on their own front doorstep: the skyline of a large city provided the lines and shapes that now adorn the double-decker coach. “The design is a very abstract interpretation of an urban space. It’s just like sitting on a coach, driving through a city, looking at the sky and the houses flying past you,” said Bruno Kolberg, one of the three Klebebande artists, describing the approach to the motif. Accordingly, the title of the work is also “Urban Perspectives”.

Piece by piece, the artists built their image on the unusual canvas, producing three-dimensional effects by using various strong lines in line thicknesses of 5 mm to 10 cm and in different colours. Klebebande usually works with grids to transfer its design onto the canvas. In this case, it was just the dimensions of the tyres, windows and rubber linings that could serve as orientation aids in order to create a complete double-decker from the DIN A4 design.

“Their strong shapes and clear lines perfectly matched the design of the NEOPLAN Skyliner as an unchallenged style icon,” emphasised Björn Loose, Head of Marketing at MAN Truck & Bus, drawing on the connection between the artists and their rolling screen. Both the street scene and the double-decker coach are characterised by the above, not to mention street art, which always emerges in public spaces. “And NEOPLAN is well known for making things differently from others,” Loose smiles. The brand also fits well with the artist’s collective and their unusual material.

The first beginnings of adhesive tape art appeared in the USA in the 1990s. But it is only in the recent past that a scene has become established, which is more intensively concerned with the possibilities of the material of adhesive tape in order to create lasting works. The three Berlin Klebebande artists, Nikolai Bultmann, Bodo Höbing and Bruno Kolberg, have been working together since 2010.

“What’s a better canvas than a bus that drives around and shows itself off to so many people?” said Kolberg, pleased with the current project. The unusual NEOPLAN Skyliner will first visit the “Festival of Lights” in Berlin and the Busworld fair in Kortrijk. And more appearances will follow.

www.neoplan.com/movingart


Neoplan Skyliner Klebebande
Neoplan Skyliner Klebebande