http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a?format=rss Tribe.net. Local Connections http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a#ee89e5a7-cf23-4b23-b36a-1d76961ec817 Monica, most people don't mind the blue bikes but the few close minded people who never open there minds, are the few that are puzzled. Luckily for us believe it or not, they are the "few". There were and still are many different versions of what the "meaning " of the blue bikes could be. Just last Saturday while at dinner someone told the bartender that I do the blue bikes and he comes over to say he thought they were put out mark the spot where a child had been hit by a car. Then he comes back from the kitchen and lets me know that there were three people who said they stood for gay awareness. I love it how everyone has there own take. That makes it all the more worthwhile.... Fri, 03 Sep 2004 13:21:24 GMT http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a#ee89e5a7-cf23-4b23-b36a-1d76961ec817 beast 2004-09-03T13:21:24Z http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a#773698e5-5b12-4716-81bc-5353d3ae434b Yes even here in Fort Lauderdale the police send out crews to paint over graffiti with......you guessed it Kapaali ...gray. I think they get the paint through a program where when you have old paint around your house and need to get rid of it, they take it on a special day. Then after they mix it all together it is available to lower income groups to paint houses. I know a neighbor who did just that and his house is....you guessed it...GRAY. Awful stuff. I think... no, I know that the reason they cover up graffiti is most of the time because they don't understand it. And because whoever put up the graffiti is getting over on the MAN. Even on am old building that is out of the way and abandoned it gets covered. I like the idea of putting up some thing like a bike or some mark that stays up for awhile. Makes people think about how it got there and who would do this. Oh don't get me started.... Fri, 03 Sep 2004 13:10:30 GMT http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a#773698e5-5b12-4716-81bc-5353d3ae434b beast 2004-09-03T13:10:30Z http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a#7a46504a-7a87-4ceb-b23c-b7c8e13a8675 I live in New Orleans. There is a man here who is on a crusade to stamp out grafitti. He is, to put it mildly, a little wacked. I've seen some of the most beautiful grafitti covered up with ugly gray paint. That's what he does, he covers it up with gray paint, EVEN IF the building, object, structure it's on isn't gray. So, instead of amazing, colorful, sometimes thought-provoking artwork, you get a big slap of gray, because that looks soooo much better, right? There was a company here that paid some grafitti artists to decorate a wall on their building. The grafitti nazi painted it over one night in a lovely shade of, you guessed it, gray. I see grafitti all the time that makes me go, "Wow". That hardly ever happens with a billboard. I think it's a shame that grafitti artists aren't taken seriously as just that: artists. I love the idea of the blue bicycles. Here in the French Quarter, many people decorate their bikes in all kinds of crazy, beautiful, amusing ways and I'm always happy to see it. The bikers here try really hard, being that this isn't the most bike-friendly city in the world. Unfortunately, I don't think any city in America will ever be the most bike-friendly city in the world. Fri, 03 Sep 2004 00:32:30 GMT http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a#7a46504a-7a87-4ceb-b23c-b7c8e13a8675 Kapaali 2004-09-03T00:32:30Z http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a#71de80b9-7e82-4c35-b0f5-6cbaf8207666 I think about the issues of public "eyesores" a lot living in LA. The city spends a lot of money on graffiti clean-up and anti-graffiti PSAs, and yet no ones seems to take offense to the trash that we are subjected to on billboards everywhere we look. Graffiti is real; it is organic; it is an expression of the people who live in your community; often it is even beautiful; and no matter whether you agree with, or even understand, the artist's motives, you know that there is an artist - a human being - behind it. Advertising? It litters our visual landscape with obtrusive text and imagery; it manipulates our opinions by attempting to tell us who we are and what we need; often, it flat-out lies to us; and who is behind it? A team of suits, a market research panel, and a shitload of money. I find it hilarious that anyone would be offended by the sight of a blue bicycle. What could be more pure? The bicycle is a perfect piece of engineering - of simple construction, it provides transportation with no pollution and little maintenance. It doesn't take up precious parking spots. And painted blue, the bike has had all logos and words obscured, removing any possible product identification and therefore any ostensible motives as to marketing or status symbols. Blue is even a primary color! The end result is a basic thing of beauty. It has no angle, no goal, no written explanation accompanying it... it simply exists. What viewers do with that is up to them. On second thought, I can see why that would freak people out. Thu, 02 Sep 2004 22:27:44 GMT http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a#71de80b9-7e82-4c35-b0f5-6cbaf8207666 Monica 2004-09-02T22:27:44Z http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a#32c8d10d-a6fc-4297-a2f1-519c226d4810 MANIFESTO THE BLUE BIKE PROJECT The Blue Bike Project can be explained as an experiment in Phenomenology. Heidegger describes Phenomenology as “the process of letting things manifest themselves.” Phenomenology attempts to enable people to see, clearly, something that is right before their eyes, but obscured; things that are so taken for granted, that they are muted by abstract observations. The first aim of Phenomenology is to reawaken a sense of wonder about ones’ environment. The Blue Bike attempts to stimulate curiosity and bring people to question both the Bike, and their relationship with their surroundings. Because people are not used to seeing advertisements or propaganda for which the product or motive is not obvious, frequent and novel encounters with the bike provoke thought and possible frustration: Nevertheless, revitalizing the viewer’s perception and attention to detail. The Blue Bike has no meaning, but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for the meaning of the bike. Because the Blue Bike has a following with not actual meaning, the various reactions and interpretations of those who view it reflect their personality and nature of their sensibilities. Many people who are familiar with the Blue Bike find the image itself amusing; recognizing it as nonsensical, and are able to derive straightforward visual pleasure without burdening themselves with an explanation. The paranoid, or conservative viewer, however, may be “confused” by the Blue Bike’s persistent presence and condemn it as an underground cult with subversive intentions. Many Blue Bikes have disappeared or been discarded by people who are annoyed by the bike, which they consider to be an “eyesore”, an act of petty vandalism. Which is ironic, considering the number of commercial graphic images that everyone in American society is assaulted with daily. Another phenomena the Blue Bike has brought to light are society’s trendy and conspicuously consumptive nature. For those who have been surrounded by the Blue Bikes, their familiarity and cultural resonance is comforting. People have often demanded a Blue Bike merely because they have seen it everywhere and possessing a bike provides a sense of belonging. The Blue Bike seems mostly to be embraced by those who are, or at least want to be, rebellious. Even thought these people may not know the meaning of the Blue Bike, they enjoy its slightly disruptive underground quality and wish to contribute to the furthering of its humorous and absurd presence, which seems to be anti-establishment/societal convention. The Blue Bikes are both embraced and rejected; the reasoning behind which reflects the psyche of the viewer. Whether their reaction be positive or negative , the Blue Bike’s existence is worthy as long as it causes people to consider the details and meaning of their surroundings. In the name and fun and observation, the project continues....... BLUEBIKEPROJECT@AOL.COM Tue, 31 Aug 2004 16:41:17 GMT http://bluebikeproject.tribe.net/thread/723c66cb-ee02-4cf1-8b2b-2ee40f1d064a#32c8d10d-a6fc-4297-a2f1-519c226d4810 beast 2004-08-31T16:41:17Z