ArtistStatementFeb2024
After getting over the ridiculous depiction of a bicycle on a crucifix, the imagery presents not only a beautiful symmetrical union, but also an alliance of many shared themes, as if the separate objects embrace each other’s quintessence. I use the bicycle to represent environmentalism, and the crucifix to represent some of the major themes of the life of Jesus and his teachings, including some of the major tenets of Christianity as a great religion.
The spirit of Jesus’ teachings commands environmental stewardship,* and the bicycle as an environmentally sustainable means of transportation is highly aligned with the Christian ethos of caring for the masses. Environmentalism promotes an earthly biospheric heaven that we should strive to preserve as everlasting as possible for everyone, while Christianity promotes an everlasting spiritual heaven – both an appeal to paradise, an earthly-atmospheric one and a heavenly one, respectively.
As I believe in the power of great religions to heal, to give joy, to live enlightened amongst our neighbors, to fight injustices, and to defend the most vulnerable, I believe in the bicycle and its power to heal, to give joy, to nourish thriving communities, and to help usher in a sustainable healthy environment for the benefit of all, including the most vulnerable, the masses, and the unborn to be.
The artwork uses reclaimed materials, primarily recycled lumber, second hand bicycles, and recovered railroad spikes. Making art with “readymade” objects is in line with the artwork of Marcel Duchamp, July 28, 1887 – October 2, 1968. He was a French painter, sculptor, and writer whose work is associated with conceptual art, among other art movements. Once viewed, my work is difficult to unsee, due to its initial jolting imagery. I hope this attribute of not unseeing is carried over to bicycle safety and to environmentalism, a movement that we must see and attend to, as an essential ethos, a way of living that seemingly requires a jolting of the established way our lives are currently navigated.
The overall theme of my artwork, “Bike Has Risen,” is a tongue-in- cheek reference to the resurrection of Christ. Though certainly not tantamount to Jesus’ resurrection, the revival of the bicycle is now seen as being able to play a major role in our transportation systems, harkening back to its immense popularity in the late 19th century and early 20th century, when bicycles were the dominant modern vehicles on paved roads and whose advocates ushered in the implementation of paved roadways for public transit. Enthusiasts hailed the bicycle and the onset of paved streets as a democratizing force for good. It was a short-lived era, with the automobile quickly becoming the dominant roadway vehicle, and the bicycle cast aside as an inferior form of transportation, merely a form of mobile recreation.
Yet the importance of bicycle use for human transit has undergone a remarkable comeback, (resurrection, if you will) with the realization that the bicycle can be the core mode of practical personal transportation, as evidenced in advanced European and Asian cities, with benefits of affordable inclusion, personal well-being, vibrant communities, and environmental sustainability. Yet there is still much to be improved, as glaring safety issues persist, and non-availability of bike-friendly roadways leave much to be desired.
Another major theme in Christianity is its history of persecution. It took more than 300 years for Christianity to be accepted by the dominant social hierarchy of the day within the Roman Empire. In 313 A.D. The Edict of Milan declared that Christianity shall be officially recognized and Christians shall no longer be persecuted. Bicycle safety is a matter of life or death. Feeling unsafe, in danger is a feeling of persecution. Yet feeling unsafe and in danger is born by statistics of death and injury within the bicycle community, and is the primary reason why parents do not allow their children to bike on roadways. Openly, our transportation roadways are systemic in its dangers to the cyclist, as imminent death and serious injury is accepted as the norm, as ongoing statistics bear out.
It is the hope of bicycle advocates that new transportation system principles can be invoked and agreed upon that would protect cyclists and give the bicycle legitimacy, remindful of the way in which The Edict of Milan put a stop to the legal persecution of Christians, and legitimized Christianity. To legitimize the bicycle as a healthy and environmental form of transportation, a transportation policy resolution should be declared: In the interest and security of our citizens, in which personal transportation is a modern public need, it shall be declared that the bicycle is a healthy means of public transportation, and henceforth be funded to increase its safety, efficacy and service within the empire of automobiles. The bicycle shall be integrated into the general public investments of transportation systems, in the hope to develop a transportation system where the bicyclist upon the bicycle shall no longer fear for their safety and well-being while riding on public roadways, and hence, nurture our way to a sustainable future and healthier lifestyle.
It is difficult to imagine a sustainable transportation system without bicycles playing a major role. Why not integrate their use as a given, and make safety a principle of modern, environmentally responsible transportation design, with the benefits of personal and community well-being, and the healthy sustenance of the blessings of our planet.
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* Genesis 2:15 The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.
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