Photo by Ilana Spector
Damn! Nissan paid California artist Mark Grieve to erect this 65-foot-tall, 10,000 pound obelisk made entirely from bicycles. Sounds kinda like a snidely jab at cyclists but Grieve states that:
“The statement is up to the viewer and hopefully the work is an intersection of ideas, so it can keep growing with the community,” Grieve said in an e-mail to Wired.com. “When a person brings to a piece his/her own interpretation, the piece is ‘working’ for the community.”
Whatever you say man! The Cyclisk cost Grieve $37,000 to erect.
More photos are up at Wired, go checkem out!
Comments
I read somewhere that it was paid for by some tax that is put on businesses specifically to fund art projects. Also, the parts were supposedly pieces that were unusable/trashed from local bike co-ops and shops. I think the Nissan connection is coincidental...it could have easily been McDonalds or Target.
Posted by: Tim D. | September 9, 2010 2:31 AM
Mixed feelings. I found another site which claimed that all of the bikes from community cycle programs/co-ops in and around the area who deemed every piece to be only worthy of landfill.
I just don't think that is true. Why not spend the 37prazillion dollars on a free community bike rental instead of junking what are more than likely hundreds upon hundreds of Decent bicycles...
Lame; However, it is pretty impressive.
Posted by: Matt | September 9, 2010 9:02 AM
I don't know about you, but it kind of pisses me off that there might be a "few" bikes in there that someone might actually want/need to ride...
Posted by: cbleslie | September 9, 2010 10:40 AM
cbleslie, that was my first thought as well. The riding of a bicycle is, in and of itself, a functional art...strangely controversial, in my opinion.
Posted by: max | September 9, 2010 2:18 PM
The sculpture is in Santa Rosa, CA. In front of a Nissan dealership. It was originally in front of Juliard Park for a local bike expo/event. Then it was moved to the dealership. The funding comes from when a auto dealership profits X amount profit, over taxes or some bullshit like that. Then they take a percentage, and apply it to bikes in the community. I don't know if its a Santa Rosa City law, or a county/state law. But its pretty dope I guess.
Posted by: Lunchbox | September 9, 2010 3:18 PM