"Bespoke: The
Handbuilt Bicycle", presented by the Museum of Arts and
Design from May 11 through mid-August 2010, will
display the designs of six internationally renowned
bicycle builders whose work in metal, as well as graphics
and artifacts, elucidate this refined, intricate and deeply
individual craft. Organized by Michael Maharam, owner
of the eponymous textile company and an avid bicycle
collector, along with master builder Sacha White of
Vanilla Bicycles in Portland, Oregon, this survey is
presented as part of the MADProjects exhibition series,
which explores emerging trends and innovations in the
design world.
Showcasing 21 hand-built bicycles that sit squarely at the
intersection of design, craft, and
art, Bespoke will introduce viewers to a range of
contemporary designs, including fixed-gear,
road racing, cyclocross, mountain, and commuter bicycles,
as well as the stripped-down
radonneur, designed exclusively for long-distance racing,
and even a child’s tricycle. “Bicycles like these are at once
superb examples of contemporary design, masterpieces of
time-honored artisanship, and works of art,” states Holly
Hotchner, the Nanette L. Laitman
Director of the Museum of Arts and Design. “In presenting
Bespoke in our MADProjects
Gallery, we hope to provide our visitors an opportunity to
appreciate bicycles on all of these
levels, from the overall design to the exquisite details of
each object.”
The craft of custom bicycle building involves master
metalwork: bending, welding, carving
and wrapping steel, titanium, aluminum and carbon. A
graphic artist’s eye is required in the
application of paint and decorative flourishes. Whereas
several varieties of artisan may be
involved in manufacturing a factory-made bicycle, the
custom models exhibited in Bespoke
are the virtuosic productions of individuals. Despite the
seeming simplicity of their forms and mechanics, bicycles
offer a unique
challenge to their makers. Rider and machine meet at
three contact points—saddle,
handlebar, and pedal. This extraordinary degree of
integration, compared with that involved
in almost any other type of sporting equipment, from
soccer balls to sailboats, leaves greater
risk of poor performance and discomfort if the connection
between body and bicycle isn’t
seamless. The custom builder’s chief preoccupation is
therefore with fit; simply taking a
rider’s measurements may require more than two hours
for a single commission. Every
bicycle is a highly refined piece of engineering.
The attention lavished on detail, which reflects the
builder’s sensibility paired with the rider’s
unique needs, turns custom bicycles into indisputable
works of art. This is no less true of
bicycles intended for such rugged applications as scaling
mountains or crossing off-road
terrain as it is of the streamlined models designed for road
racing.
Images, from above: Jeff Jones, Jeff
Jones Custom Bicycles; Dario Pegoretti, Pegoretti Cicli; J.
Peter Weigle, J.
Peter Weigle
CyclesDario Pegoretti, Pegoretti Cicli; Sacha White, Vanilla
Bicyles
Bespoke: the handbuilt bicycle
View Article details
- Elena Sommariva
- 09 May 2010