Hello all,
I, too, am amazed and put off by the gripes about the NAHBS. It is an incred ible venue for ideas, art, and of course, craft.
A suitable quote from a master, Pablo Picasso:
"Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and t he brain can conceive beyond any canon. When we love a woman we donâ t start measuring her limbs."
Please, you gripers. Understand that the art of cycling is just as important as the craft. Who among us can deny the inherent art and beauty of a well-c rafted frame, or the aesthetic appeal of a particularly well-designed compon ent?
For my own part, I find it relatively easy to restore a bicycle. After all, I am following a pattern set down by a builder before me. I may have to fabr icate or scrounge to achieve that builders aim, but there is always that pat tern set forth by the original artist/craftsperson/builder.
However, when I set forth to build a machine to my own design, I get to foll ow my own aesthetic, wherever it may lead me. Are all my ideas successful? N o, they are not. But I have no fear of failure. I learn from that experience , as do the artists who were displaying their work @ NAHBS. They've been at it a while, they are following their own ideas, and are not afraid to show t hem to one and all. Time may tell which are successful and which are not, bu t let us not squelch their creativity.
After all, where would we be without people like them?
Well, we'd probably be like the majority of Chinese riders, commuting on our indistinguishable Flying Pigeons, looking for all the world like clones of Chairman Mao.
Not for me, my friends.
Vive le Art!
Chris Wimpey
honestly,
in San Diego, CA