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Photos: David Byrne Unveils Artsy New Bike Racks At BAM
By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 21, 2012
Modified Aug 21, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 21, 2012
Modified Aug 21, 2012
Share
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If his music career doesn't work out, avid cyclist David Byrne will always have his bike rack side job to fall back on. The former Talking Heads frontman has been one of the most high-profile cycling advocates in NYC for years now, happily lending his celebrity in support of the DOT's bold bike lane expansion. In 2008 Bryne designed a number of creatively-shaped bike racks for the DOT, and now his latest bike rack fantasies have become a reality outside the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
“What a thrill to be invited to design more bike racks for NYC,” says Byrne. "I get to BAM fairly often, and the existing racks are often full, so it’s great that there will now be more. When designing these bike racks, I wondered how I could make something that was modular, yet variable—a design that wouldn't always look the same and could vary depending on season and placement.
"I realized that a few very basic shapes—a semi circle, a line, and a V shape—would allow one to make a good percentage of the letters of our alphabet. With help and advice from Dero Bike Racks, we figured out how these components could be easily and quickly swapped out to spell different words. For example, the letters could spell out the productions at BAM or any random message for that matter.”
Currently the bike racks spell out "pink crown” and “micro lip," but the possibilities are endless! Well, almost. BAM explains that the rack elements do not allow for the creation of all letters, so a special “David Byrne Bike Rack alphabet” was created for the project. According to the announcement, "BAM will reach out via social media to its audience and local community to solicit suggestions for additional letters and words to be used for the ever evolving installation." Personally, we'd be more than happy to lock our bikes to a "TALKING HEADS REUNION" rack.
Tagged
bam
bike lanes
cyclists
david byrne
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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