yo, appreciators! last week i was given the catalog noted in the text below. i have tried to find links to the exhibit in the museum's archives, but i'm stymied. so i'm furnishing this text and link with the hope that some of you, if interested, will call the museum directly and obtain the catalog. i hope it's available! why? the introduction, written by a richard mandell, is one of the most well-thought-out texts i've ever seen on the appreciation and explanation of why some bicycles 'deserve' to be coveted and collected. (these are my interpretations of his words, not the mission of his introduction). the text is about 5 pages of the 24 page catalog. additionally, each of the 14 bicycles exhibited is given a full page and the accompanying text is written extremely and expertly well!! no, 'this seat angle is cool, and the paint is like glass' crap; he speaks intelligently and academically. in other words, his words regarding the collection, the exhibit, and curating speak volumes and offer a lot of overlap with the day to day CR list threads. some of the exhibited bicycles are cool to me, and some aren't. but all in all, it's worth trying to get the catalog and read his point of view. some bicycles are: de rosa, colnago, olmo, schwinn paramount, bianchi, pinarello... the museum's telephone number is 803.799.2810 e-RICHIE not your average docent
link:
http://www.columbiamuseum.org/
The Columbia Museum of Art Opens Innovative Exhibition Celebrating the Esthetic Power of High-Performance Bicycles
From sparely elegant European designs to skillfully crafted and enthusiast-modified American bicycles, this exhibition showcases some of the world's most refined racing machines of the past three decades. A product of the Museum's recent efforts to explore innovative aspects of 20th century design, the new exhibition, Bicycle Design: Built for Speed provides visitors with a unique perspective on the development of modern, high-performance bicycles. The exhibition opens November 18 and runs through January 7, 2001.
Drawn almost exclusively from local collections, the sixteen bicycles in this groundbreaking exhibition date from a 1970 Schwinn track racer to the recent model of a Trek road racer used by American cyclist Lance Armstrong to win his second consecutive Tour de France earlier this year. Also included will be one of the first production mountain bikes and a recent descendant that features several increasingly common technical advances in frame design, shock absorption and braking. Other examples include the oddly but efficiently shaped frame of the world's fastest production recumbent bicycle - both a triumph of engineering and a work of mechanical beauty.
Local sports historian and cyclist Richard D. Mandell is serving as guest curator for Bicycle Design: Built for Speed. The exhibition will be accompanied by the publication of a fully illustrated, 24-page catalogue. This exhibition is organized by the Columbia Museum of Art.