Bike Film Fest Art Show was rad, mostly. See pics below, or skip straight to the wackest thing in the room. I am giving it the wackest thing in the room prize.
Whoa.
Doyle, Conrad, Porkchop & co showed up all super bloody. Was awesome.
The Fray.
The Antlerbike Craze that’s sweeping the nation has led to poaching.
Wild dude.
Hangy sculpture thing.
And now I talk I talk some shit about the wackest thing in the room. This girls on bikes project has been featured at the last 2 BFF’s. Can we talk about how dumb this shit is? I really like the fellow who did this project. He’s a nice guy. Still, would you look at this crap? Someone had the brilliant idea of putting up a sign next to this which said ‘bikes are objects, women are not,’ though you wouldn’t know it from the confusion this project produces. With its sultry subjects, the women pictured in most of these images could be in any crap women’s magazine. Way to push the status quo. I think this project ought to be scrapped. It reminds me of the last onion that came out with the brilliant article “Women now empowered by everything a woman does” I know that SOMEONE who will go unmentioned claimed, insultingly, that this project was a way to include women in the festival. That’s like saying the oiled up babes at car shows are a way to include women in the fun of the car show. Rad. Go feminist car shows!
It was, “Bike are objects, women are PEOPLE.”
when I didn’t ride a bike, the intense festishization of bicycles made me really uncomfortable. It still makes me uncomfortable, because I’m really not sure what it means at the core. We all like our bikes and that’s great, but the intensity of worship in this instance obscures what is more important - which is us. You know. People. Bike culture is sometimes used as a tool to justify the exclusion of others. There was a super sexist flier for a bike race last year, and when a woman friend of mine complained about it, she was told that she wasn’t a messenger so she didn’t “get it”.
Because all messengers are assholes and all bike enthusiasts are misogynists. And the cycle continues. Thank you.
I left a comment when I was about to leave work, so I realize that it did come off that way. My apologies. I like a lot of messengers. And I like bikes, and I’m not misogynistic!
So, question to anonymous or anyone, are we celebrating bikes because we think bikes are awesome and everyone should ride one, or because we think we’re better because we ride bikes? How do bikes unite or divide people? You like some people because they ride the same bike as you but you think fixies are stuck-up? Or do you think anyone who attempts to ride in Manhattan traffic, whether it be on a mountain bike or a tricycle, is badass?
I felt like these images alienated many, if not most, of the women in the room. And while you can’t make *everyone* happy, women are a majority of people on the planet. If your goal is to get more people riding, alienating such a large swath of humanity isn’t strategic.
1. i have to say i wish i rode my bike to work everyday, but find it overwhelming to attempt. its true that the bike scene in ny is exclusive, but what “scene” isn’t? we’re all a bunch of snobs and love it. HOWEVER, if one is sincere in their desire to make the world a better place by not consuming energy/oil and encouraging healthy lifestyles, snobbery becomes a bit of a conflict of interest. i haven’t looked very hard, but is there an online bike community or otherwise that offers tips on how to ride safely? updates on road conditions, etc? to answer my own question i just started looking at times up’s site…
2. thanks ayen for posting your discontent with the lame bike art. i didn’t see it, but imagine i would agree with you. i love the onion article you quote, wish i had seen it in full. it gets me down how low the expectations are of young lasses. its like congratulating a toddler or a monkey: oh look! she can write with a pencil now! and now she can ride a bike too!
I’m working on an english paper to evaluate a piece of art. The painting is from Michael McConnell, and it has a woman with antlers on her head. I wanted to know what that meant in the art world. When I typed in antlers art this website came up twice. When I found antler girls artist statement for this site, she said she love a lot of the nice things in NY and her antlers. I was hoping antlers in art expression meant the same to you all as it does to this painter. Most of my evaluation so far as been wrong about the painting. The painting is called What I’m Capable Of. I thought it was a playful fun picture because the woman has on the antlers. One of our writing center people said it was anything but a fun picture. Please help me figure it out. Thanks Giggles