Talking head David Byrne has created a whole series of bike racks in New York City – part public art, part alternative transit. The full New York Times story is here. An excerpt:
The Department of Transportation is making way for thousands of new bike racks around the city. Mr. Byrne’s will be the most visible, a fact that may position him as the symbol of the civic virtues of cycling. But soft-spoken, curious and culturally omnivorous, he’s never quite been the celebrity spokes-model type. Besides, he said, “I don’t think people are going to switch over to bikes because it’s good for them or because it’s politically correct. They’re going to do it because it gets them from A to B faster.”He has a similarly plain-spoken explanation for his own riding. “It’s a little faster than walking,” he said. “It feels good if the weather’s O.K., and if you see something that interests you, you just stop.”Mr. Byrne isn’t anticipating a revolution, but he does sense a shift in the wind. Riding a bicycle, “used to be completely uncool,” he said. “Now it’s cool in different ways: for some people it’s cool if you have an old junker. For other people it’s cool if you have a racing bike.
Anyway, it doesn’t immediately relegate you to nerd status anymore.”
August 15th, 2008 at 9:44 am
I love this! Makes me think of the DC public art projects — the panda bears (my personal favorite) and the donkeys and elephants. It’s a thrill to see them pop up in unexpected places.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Some of the Toronto business improvement assocations have done something similar: http://bikerackart.com/
August 15th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
The YouTube gives an error message.
I love Byrne, he stays vital rather than resting on his credits. There was an article somewhere about the author running into him in the crowd of a downtown club listening to a 20-something band. The author asked why he was there, when his peers were hanging out in “see & be seen” hotspots. He said “Actually, I don’t know why they’re not here. Its much more interesting.”
The bike racks are another example of his not taking himself too seriously. His gallery selling them may appeal to his sense of irony, but there probably won’t be a line of “Talking Head bicycle racks” on TV.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:34 am
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