THINGS I LEARNED FROM PAUL RAND: 7 – BMW DILEMMA
Even when aged over 80 years old, Paul Rand was still driving himself around. He and I sometimes drove around near his house to go and run errands. This is a tale from one of those rides.
BMW 635
Paul had a gray BMW 635. Nothing outrageous, but a nice, solid car with full leather interiors and drove very nicely. One day, he was at the wheel when I was sitting in the passenger’s seat, and I brought up how much nicer his car felt than mine (whereas I was driving a VW Cabriolet at the time).
He then unexpectedly (to me) and suddenly appeared a bit flustered, and blurted out, “It’s a Kraut car!”
Then after a pause, he followed it up with, “But it’s the best!” as if seeking for an approval.
The Disturbing Past
Now, even though both of my own parents lived through World War II, I didn’t immediately know what the slang meant (nor how politically incorrect it was). But I also didn’t understand the depth of complex issues behind it. I had to research later to find out not only that BMW was a German car, but how deeply involved they were with the Nazis.
Designer at Heart
I think it tore him up inside how a car he really liked had what he considered an evil heritage. Paul regularly attended hist local temple, and it seemed like he felt some shame that he was driving a German car, even though half-a-century had already passed. Still, he couldn’t resist the performance and the level of design. It was kind of similar to how he was largely influenced by modern typography from the likes of Jan Tschichold, which was also inherited and widely used by the Nazis.
He even sometimes hinted his annoyance at my Japanese heritage. Although one of his favorite restaurants was a local Japanese restaurant.
All and all, I think Paul was an incredibly honest man, who sometimes had a hard time balancing conflicting values inside him. But in the end, he had to go with quality.
This might also be a relevant topic today, with all sorts of conflicts happening everywhere in the world. Perhaps, art and design can bring us together one day?
