With the CELESTIQ, a Goddess Returns

The Goddess as Art

In order to celebrate the return of its classic Goddess emblem, Cadillac teamed up with the world’s largest art platform, Artnet, inviting three well-known female photographers including Petra Collins, Ming Smith and Danielle Bowman to create goddess-inspired works. The series of photos showcase the unique spirit of the Goddess from the perspective of these three women. Here’s an overview of the artists and their commissioned works.

Petra Collins: Artist, Writer, Director

An expert in fusing inspiration from art, fashion, film and music, Collins defined her photographic style around 2010. Her works for this exhibition perfectly blend the latest automotive trends with the photographic and visual arts. With the photos of the Goddess soaring for freedom arms thrown backward, she explored interaction, both physical and digital, between young women on the basis of self-discovery and the feminine spirit.

Danielle Bowman: Artist, Photographer, Filmmaker

Though her work continues to tend toward documentary, her ideas and style have changed over the course of her career. Her black-and-white style highlights the interplay between light and shadow, making the photos simple yet meaningful as a whole.

Ming Smith: Visual Poet, Documentarian

Ming Smith’s work focuses on those indistinct figures, variable atmospheres, whirring souls and moments of change. As an anthropologist, historian and poet, she has made great contributions to documentary photography of black cultural figures throughout music, drama beyond. Her approach to photography melds the real and ephemeral, skewing toward the experimental and adventurous in terms of attention to and presentation of details, while always maintaining a clear personal style and expressiveness.

The Goddess Returns

Cadillac equipped multiple models with the Goddess emblem from 1930 to 1956 when the image became the sole symbol of the brand. Visually, it interprets exceptional performance with an elegant and well-balanced image. Now, the Goddess has returned after over six decades, to symbolize Cadillac’s entry into the era of electric mobility with introduction of the all-new CELESTIQ.

The Cadillac Goddess was designed by William N. Schnell of Ternstedt Manufacturing Company, originally touted as a work of art that embodied “the very spirit of unsurpassed swiftness and power, coupled with grace and perfect balance The sculpture’s long, sweeping lines were also meant to convey “the modern beauty and fleetness,” of the brand. Inspired by mythical and modern aesthetics, like the Greek goddesses that informed it, it may also stand for love, liberty, wisdom and elegance. The Goddess’ gentle curves, a free posture, pretty face and a determined look coalesce in a charming fusion of wisdom, kindness, boldness and selflessness.

The Goddess was initially available only on the Cadillac V-16, signaling the car’s power and prestige. It was adopted across the lineup in a revised form in 1934 for V-8 and V-12 models, but through the end of their production, the “Sixteens” carried an exclusive version, using the 1933 design through 1937 before moving to an updated design from 1938-40. The original era of the Goddess concluded in 1956, although she made another appearance on the limited-production 1959 Eldorado Brougham. It remained invisible for a long time after that. Decades later, the Goddess emblem’s return with the CELESTIQ, an all-new model introduced by Cadillac for the new electric era, also embodies the brand’s rich heritage, on the one hand, and its hope and resolution for the future, on the other.

A Symbol for the Future

A historic emblem, the Goddess stands not just for Cadillac’s extraordinary performance and craftsmanship, but more importantly the return of the brand’s custom commission process. The Goddess has also been refreshed and altered for its return, adorned with impressionistic “wings” and complex, flowing drapery. It now appears on the front quarter panel and within the multi-function controller for the center console of the CELESTIQ. Additionally, a ring of light responds when the vehicle is plugged in. The Goddess above the charging port will light up in unison — a visual representation of how electrification is the soul of CELESTIQ and Cadillac as a whole.

“CELESTIQ is the beginning of the future for Cadillac, conveying the artistic innovation the brand is bringing to luxury electric vehicles,” said Bryan Nesbitt, executive director of Cadillac Design. “We wanted this flagship EV to embody the significant heritage of the brand in a truly meaningful way, with the Goddess representing the absolute pinnacle of bespoke craftsmanship from Cadillac.”

Homage to a Legend

CELESTIQ features a leading-edge, high-end design language. The illuminated grille and vertical lighting signatures in the headlamps interplay perfectly with the brilliant, newly resurrected Goddess emblem. The futuristic, sleek exterior embodies an ultra-luxury experience. A high-tech, intelligent interior ensures convenience and efficiency. Signifying beauty and opulence, the Goddess exudes elegance and independence, artistry and innovation.

At present, the Goddess is only available on CELESTIQ, showcasing the bespoke handcrafted nature of each unit. A representation of nearly a century of rich brand history, the spirit of the Goddess will also guide Cadillac and The Durant Guild, a premium lifestyle platform presented by General Motors, to a leading position in the future.