[CR] Re: To Ride or Not to Ride. . . art or not art

(Example: Racing:Roger de Vlaeminck)

In-Reply-To: <CATFOODgBNj4058ouEJ00001caa@catfood.nt.phred.org>
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 11:03:53 -0700
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, <beyerc@mailserver.volvo.com>, <jon@icetv.co.nz>
From: "Monkeyman" <monkey37@bluemarble.net>
Subject: [CR] Re: To Ride or Not to Ride. . . art or not art

>My opinion: if you ride it, it's a bicycle; if you don't, it's a piece
>of sculpture.

For me Chris has hit the nail on the head. I do take a differnt view than most of the people on the list in that I see bicycles as art and would love to see more unridden bikes. If I was going to build a bike NOS I'd never ride it and lend it to museums and exibits to be shown. When I died I'd leave it to someone who would continue displaying it. The feeling of pride you feel when looking at the brass display tag that says, "On loan by. . .", "A gift of. . ." is unbeleaveable. How many of us would like to see an unridden Ivor Johnson, Alvin Drysdale, or Rene Herse it the MOMA? If you've been to many bicycle exibits like the one at the Oakland art museum last year you'll know how few bikes on display were "like new." Yes I like to think about the miles, riders, and races these bikes have seen, but I'd really like to see what people of that time saw in the bike when they walked into the showroom. Showing ridden bikes is like showing Hogarth and Durer prints that are foxed and dog-eared. Art is one of the most important things humans can create because it shows what being human is. Add to the understanding of cycling by future generations by not riding the bike or keeping it to yourself. Whouldn't any of you like to see a kid in 100 years ask their parent, "What are those wires coming from those lever things to the that doo-hickey with the pointy bits and little wheels?" Add all this to the fact that you can buy a similar bike that's been ridden for $400-$600 if you look around. Sorry to go on like that but I just feel the world needs more historians.

enjoy, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives

Brandon and Mitzi's-- "Wurld uv Wunder" http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~capybara/

Monkeyman's on going bicycle part garage sale http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~mkirklan/salepage/garage.html

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