Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog » marc newson http://www.imamuseum.org/blog The IMA blog is a space to discuss everything related to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:51:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Bicycles, Art, and Robots http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/07/08/bicycles-art-and-robots/ http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/07/08/bicycles-art-and-robots/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:51:43 +0000 Phil Golobish http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/?p=6416 Bikes, with their cute mechanical simplicity and efficient way of using of energy, fascinate the engineer in me. Combined with the thrill of blurring past the seemingly static world with fleshy swirling feet grafted to steel and rubber, bike riding confuses me for a bit into thinking I’m a mechanized version of myself. You know, a Philbot. So, this last weekend when nearly 180 of my mechanized brothers assembled in Monaco for the start of the 2009 Tour de France,  I shifted my cyborg eye away from art and marketing for a few hours to watch my favorite sporting event and cheer on the race for the coveted Maillot jaune.

As you all are hopefully aware, the leader of many a mechanized-two-wheeler assault peloton, Lance Armstrong, has come out of retirement and is competing in the 2009 Tour de France to promote cancer awareness through his Livestrong organization. What you all may not be aware of is that Lance has a thing for art and has commissioned some pretty notable artists and designers to create bikes for him.

For example, Marc Newson, whose designs were included in our recent exhibition, European Design Since 1985, is responsible for the graphic treatment on this time trial bike.

Marc Newsons bicycle for Lance Armstrong

Marc Newson's bicycle for Lance Armstrong

The creator of the iconic Obama “Hope” poster, Shepard Fairey, was also tapped for a graphic treatment for Mellow Johnny (Lance’s nickname).

Shepard Faireys bicycle for Lance Armstrong

Shepard Fairey's bicycle for Lance Armstrong

And while there’s no image of the bike yet (that I can find), young British artist, Damien Hirst, is also set to chime in with a bike design for Lance. Stay tuned with a Google search and Lance’s Twitter feed.

In the meantime, my mechanized brother, Chalkbot, who is faithfully chalking the roads of the tour with LIVESTRONG text messages sent to 46453, wants you to check out some of his handiwork and follow him on Twitter.

]]> http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/07/08/bicycles-art-and-robots/feed/ 2 Marc Newsons bicycle for Lance Armstrong Shepard Faireys bicycle for Lance Armstrong