Author: Alyssa Virker
In celebration of the culture of cycling and its relationship to art, the opening night of the Occidental and North East Los Angeles (N.E.L.A.) Bicycle Art Show brought together members of Los Angeles’s bicycling communities and Occidental students. A variety of attendees bustled through the Weingart Gallery and Patio, beckoned to explore the connection between bicycles and art.
“Everything happening in motion is art. Bicycling is already art as it is. This just captures that,” Geology major Robin Bruns (junior) said. Bruns attended the opening night event.
The show is curated by Margaret Gallagher (senior), studio art major and avid cyclist. According to Gallagher, bikes are an alternative form of transportation that force the rider to view the world in a different way. She hopes that the art show will help foster biking on campus and integrate Occidental into the greater N.E.L.A. community.
The gallery showcases 33 artists, eight of whom are Occidental students, including Gallagher. “I’m really excited that it’s more than just Oxy students,” Gallagher said.
UEP major Jack Moreau (senior) hopes the show will inspire people to bike more. Moreau is a manager at the Bike Share and helped Gallagher come up with the concept for the bicycle art show.
“We are trying to bring all the different bicycling groups together,” Moreau said. According to Moreau, cars fracture and separate people, whereas biking brings people onto the level of the neighborhood. Biking allows the rider to participate in his or her community and see people and events happening firsthand, as opposed to cutting through communities via freeways. This notion, and the concept of community, is central to art.
“What makes this great is that it brings the artistic community into Oxy, which is refreshing,” studio arts major Hannah Rindlaub (sophomore) said. Rindlaub attended the opening night and helped set up the bicycle tire painting activity at the event. Attendees were invited to participate in this group activity where bicycle tires were slathered with various colors of paint. Guests rode these bikes across the Weingart patio, covering blank sheets of paper with a multitude of patterns and vibrant colors. The collection of colorful tire prints represent the individual becoming something greater, according to Professor of Studio Art, Linda Lyke. Lyke suggested the group art activity to get the crowd involved and explore different tire patterns.
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Along with the interactive art activity, wine and a variety of snacks were served while three Occidental students performed live music.
Before the event, Bruns led a group bike ride from Occidental to the Bike Oven, a volunteer-run organization located three miles away from Occidental that promotes biking. From there, the group headed straight to the opening event. According to Bruns, about thirty people participated in the bike ride.
Marc Abraham, a sophomore from California State Polytechnic University Pomona, rode his bike from Pomona to the Bike Oven and then caught up with the group ride from there. He saw posters for the event when he was in Highland Park and wanted to participate. Abraham enjoyed the camaraderie of the group ride and was impressed by the art in the gallery.
“I feel very fortunate to be in the show,” artist Charlotte Hildebrand, who attended the opening event, said. She has two pieces in the gallery.
Studio art major Elise Hampilos (junior) also has a piece in the gallery and felt lucky to be part of the show. Her work, “Ghost Bike I,” co-created with studio art major Carly Wright (senior), represents a lost pastime.
“When I was little, biking was just a favorite activity, and now I never ride. Now, I think of people up in the gym on stationary bikes,” Hampilos said. She hopes that people will see her piece and think about biking again.
The Occidental and N.E.L.A. Bicycle Art Show will be in the Weingart Gallery until March 15.
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