Bikes as Art

Cycling itself may be art in motion, but the concept of bike related art seems to really be catching on.  The design and craftsmanship that goes into a bike is reason enough to celebrate, and the handmade bike shows that happen around the World each year are a fantastic way to show off some amazing talent.  But I wanted to blog about some cycling related art that has caught my eye.

Biketastic

“Biketastic” is an art show for all mediums inspired by bicycles.  It opened on July 31, 2010 in Vienna, VA and continues on until August 29th. This show features art that represents the many nuances of bike culture; from bikes for commuting, racing and pleasure rides to those who ride them for economic, and environmental reasons.   The Soundry is the gallery hosting the show, and with it’s proximity to the W&OD Bike Trail there is a lot of “bike traffic”.  They have been able to witness first hand what an important role biking plays in many people’s lives…and they have also noticed that bike enthusiasts like bike related art.

“Biketastic has been a fantastic way to celebrate how bikes impact our lives through art. The event was made even more meaningful because we helped raise money for Bikes for the World while showcasing various bike and environmental organizations. We are already planning Biketastic 2011!” –Jennifer Crawford, Co-owner of The Soundry

So far they have sold 13 pieces at this year’s show, and they are already anticipating a great Biketastic 2011.  Congratulations to The Soundry for celebrating cycling through art.

Bike Scribble

Kathleen King has been a professional artist for 25 years….and she has a major crush on cycling. This love and passion led her to the creation of what she calls “Bike Scribble” .  It’s a funky cycling design that she has has great success with and now sells pictures, shirts, and jewelry with the bike scribble on it.

Last year, Kathleen was commissioned by Chris Carmichael to create a huge indoor mural for his new training systems facility.  It is an incredible piece of work which includes her patented “scribble” as well as the images of some Tour de France greats including Armstrong, Merckx, Hinault, and more.

“It’s About the Bike” Auction

If you watched the 2009 Tour de France, no doubt you saw Lance Armstrong riding some very cool looking bikes.  It was all part of an event called “It’s About the Bike” and it was the first time that I had personally seen real life bikes used for the intention of art.  Six different visual artists (shepard fairey, damien hirst, kaws, yoshitomo nara, marc newson and kenny scharf) were invited to customize his Trek racing bikes as a means of raising awareness for the stages art show which benefits the livestrong foundation.The seven bikes were ridden by Armstrong during his 2009 comeback season and then on November 1, 2009 they went up for sale in the very cool auction held at Sotheby’s.  In total, $1.3 Million dollars was raised from the sale of the bikes, with Hirst’s “Butterfly” bike going for $500,000 alone. Incredible.  It was a spectacular idea and I really would have loved to pick up a couple of those bikes for myself.

The Future Belongs to Cycling

It just goes to show, that there is so much more to cycling than just riding a bike.  We’re everywhere, and we’re not leaving.  Be prepared for cycling to take over more and more industries in the future. Rock On.

Tags: art