Sunday, October 28, 2012

An Invitiation from World Bicycle Relief - "Waiting"

I am re-posting this because the pART's project just posted all the artist's statements, their photos and their finished pieces.   VERY EXCITING!         Check it out: here     

In July, I received an email from Mr. Terrence Coffman, who will be curating an exhibition in New York next month that will raise funds to help bring bicycles primarily into Africa through World Bicycle Relief. He said he had seen my work on-line via this BLOG, and asked if I'd be interested in being one of 95 invited artists from across the US, Canada and Ireland who will participate in this year’s juried exhibition at the Cedar Lake Theater in the Chelsea area of New York City.
     This is the 2nd year of the SRAM pART PROJECT and if you follow this link you will be able to see the work created by the amazing artists who participated in this project last year.
     I admit, I was a bit leery at first, given the request to participate, came, seemingly, from nowhere. However, after checking out the links Mr. Coffman provided, and after seeing the scale and quality of the work produced last year, I knew I had to say YES.  
     One week later a box of brand-new 100 SRAM bicycle parts arrived at my studio. . . Now - all I had to do was create something, right?  YIKES!
     This was a very difficult project for me to start. The parts I received were beautiful, high-quality, high-end, brand new bicycle parts. What I didn't take into consideration, was that I NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER use NEW-anything in my work. 
      I was befuddled, I felt lost, nothing worked, nothing looked right! I looked for inspiration everywhere I went. I asked for input from everyone who would listen. Although I was able to incorporate bits, pieces and parts of all the ideas I was gathering, it took me weeks and weeks, and 8 or 9 different concepts, until I was finally able to zero in on one concept that appealed to me.

     As it often happens with my most difficult art challenges, it felt as if the 'piece' itself was telling ME what to do next, it seemed to come together after many weeks of trial and error. 
     My next challenge was: What to call it?  "Geared Up / Time Out",  "The Gears of Time",  "Time is Running Out",  "Time and Music" . . .  again, nothing felt right.  Then one morning, around 4AM, I woke up from a deep sleep, and I knew what the title would be.  It is titled: "Waiting".
     I finished "Waiting" last week.  In the end I can say, I am happy with the finished piece, even the SHINE ON THE NEW PARTS!
     It has been delivered to the UPS Store for shipment to NYC!  WOO! HOO !

So here is the BIG REVEAL . . . . do tell me what you think.
(click on any image get a closer view)
"Waiting"


18" x 24" x 2" wood frame, collaged on the back and sides with vintage music, on the inside, an enlarged image of my original collage of duplicate copies of a photograph of Degas' "Little Dancer" atop vintage dictionary text and green tissue. Along the top, a wooden dowel snugly holds 4 steel rods, while the 4 black rings slide freely back and forth, a blue thingy anchors each end (sorry, I really don't know what the bike parts are called - see image below), bicycle chain (around the mirrors), and gears - lots and lots of gears covered in vintage clock faces. On the upper right is a spray of hand-strung black and white beads (to mimic the music notes), and on the lower left, a small compass sits ready to give direction.
I will post additional details as I get them. 
Or, just keep visiting SRAM pART PROJECT and see the progress. 
The the AUCTION is scheduled for November 29th.  
Check back often, tell your friends, and BID! BID! BID!

The Cause
World Bicycle Relief serves people in underdeveloped regions of the world who suffer from lack of access to health care, education, and economic opportunity. With a bicycle you can travel four times farther, carry five times more, and save up to three hours a day in travel time (based on a 10-mile commute). So you can get to a doctor, to school, or to work faster and more safely. Doors closed by distance are now opened, as is the way to a better life.

21 comments:

  1. Bicycle relief… it's about time!

    jg

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  2. I love most how you've moved the flow away from the technical parts of your piece and toward the linkage to the end user. They're waiting for a lot of things... including these bikes! World Bicycle Relief is so many things to so many people.

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  3. I love this! This piece speaks volumes.
    I love that the cause is global.

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    1. thanks for stopping by! i appreciate your kind note.
      you are correct: the cause is one that affects us all.

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  4. I'm likin' this a lot, Rebeca! They're going to love it, too. Great work, and I know it didn't come easy.

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    1. thanks for stopping by Wendy.
      and thanks for your support (from the very beginning)

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  5. It looks fantastic!! I think the gears were perfect as clocks; it all tells a story. Great job!

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    1. Glenda
      thank you for stopping by. i am glad you like the piece. i am happy with it.

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  6. this is fantastic rebeca! kudos to you for following thru - your piece is tremendous - you should be proud!

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    1. Amy, thanks!
      i really appreciate your kind note.
      i am happy. and proud.

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  7. Love what you have done with the pieces you received. What a great cause too. The clocks are awesome. Thx for stopping by my PPF.

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  8. It turned out great! I live how you combined the best of 3 pieces I saw and combined them into one great piece!!!

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    1. thanks for all of your input! i did struggle with this one, but in the end i am happy with it. i hope it brings in a ton-o-money for the cause!

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  9. excellent..pour faire du vélo et une bonne oeuvre!

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  10. This is the third time I have been here. The first two times I didn't see all the pictures I'm seeing now. But I did see the link and went there to learn about the cause and the bike parts. I see collage is now accepted, too. When I first read your post, I thought they sent you an entire bike, but I knew that couldn't be true based on what you worked with in your assemblage. I'm so glad you showed the original parts you had to work with. That put the entire piece into perspective for me.

    BTW, I didn't leave a comment before because I was unable to. Something is wrong with Blogger and I'm not sure why I can leave comments on some blogs and not on others. But I'm glad I kept coming back. It was well worth the return visit, because of the new perspective.

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  11. Rebeca--I love how the piece evolved! Glad you stuck with it. The gears as clocks are perfect... The mirror surrounded by the chain. Makes me want to climb in. Wonderful cause, too, and dear to my heart. --sue

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    1. thank you Sue! as you know, this was a tough one for me. but it's done, and i must say, i do love it. let's see how it does on it's own.

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  12. I love your art work and your blog. Thanks for visiting mine!
    Jeanette

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