Spoke'n Art Ride

Another second Saturday in Northeast LA, another Spoke'n Art ride. Hosted by the Flying Pigeon L.A. bike shop and the Bike Oven, the monthly bike ride visits galleries during NELAArt's Gallery Night. 

The ride kicked off with a belated display of Dia de Los Muertos altars erected along the sidewalk of Avenue 34, where the Flying Pigeon and Antigua Coffee House are located. Antigua coordinates a monthly Tunnel Art Show in the underground tunnel that runs below Figueroa at the intersection of Avenue 34 and Fig. The show, which is serendipitously adjacent to the meeting point, featured art from the The Painted Brain, a peer-driven arts organization for young adults with mental illness.  

The Tunnel Art Show itself has evolved into a block party that filled with community residents, artists and cyclists from NELA and nearby, out to enjoy a night of creative expression and exploration in the neighborhood. The first stop on the ride was Alley Vintage, where etched glasswork from Gnarly Charlie was on display. 

Meanwhile, the gallery across the street was hosting a Graffiti show and Chris Anthony's lit up sound bike was bumping Mikey Walley's latest mix.

This stop was just long enough to check out the art before heading a few more blocks south down to the Guerrilla Market to enjoy some more art, crafts, food and libations. A ride down the Arroyo Seco river path and a pinata full of peanuts took the art out of the galleries and into the hands of the riders themselves, who took no hesitation in setting the festive Hello Kitty pinata ablaze once all the peanuts had hit the floor. 

Gallery 50 on Avenue 50 would be the next destination, but the finale was waiting for everyone at the Bike Oven, where art from local artist and cyclist Sofia Mas was on display. Chips, mole, and sweet potato tacos warmed the bellies of riders as the night grew colder, while the first band set up to play. The two-piece punk band Peg Love kept the ride moving even though the riding was done, and the funky-punky Danger Junkies turned it up to end the night on a high note.

Art, bikes, good people and a new adventure is what you can expect on Spoke'n Art. Old friends, new friends, art and who knows what else. Art is an adventure, take the ride.  

Chantal Claret puts it all on the line

Chantal's got soul

I went to see the sweet and sassy Chantal Claret at Skinny's in North Hollywood this Saturday, where she was warming up for her first UK show in London, a few weeks from now.

I first heard Chantal Claret just a few months back, when she opened for her husband's (James Euringer aka Jimmy Urine) band, Mindless Self Indulgence.

Like MSI, Chantal Claret has got a sound you can't fit neatly into a clear-cut genre (not that those things exist in music anymore). The two bands hardly sound alike, but they share an intensity that can only come from pouring your whole self into what's being made, and damning the critics before they even get their grubby little critical hands on it.

Chantal Claret is a badass. She channels Tina Turner and Joan Jett all at once. Her Motown Punk sound stands apart from the rest, from what is and what was in the musical universe. She's Turner, she's (Johnny) Cash, she's Elvis and Madonna. But, really, she's not any of them. She's Chantal fucking Claret, make no mistake. She's a woman that's not afraid to bare her soul, but she makes it clear that she didn't get there overnight. Chantal just ditched her band and kept the backup singers, making her setup even more Motown than it was before. 

And on Saturday night, at the intimate NoHo venue, she stepped into the middle of the crowd, and invited everyone to take a seat. Then she knelt down on her knees and sang her fucking heart out in her delivery "Pleasure Seeker," a song about her father.  A genuine demonstration of passion in action. It's not about the music, it's about the heArt. 

Art on Bikes: Bike Polo Wheel Covers

Hardcourt bike polo is the urban version of the "Sport of Kings" (otherwise known as just "polo"). But horses are expensive! And they poop too. Hence, bike polo: the punk rock version of the royal pastime.

Polo players love to travel and play in other cities.

Bike polo is also a little bit like hockey. There are nets for goals, the plays are very hockey-esque, and it's a contact sport, meaning that polo equipment needs to be able to take a beating. Just as the players will suit up in helmets, gloves, knee pads and shin guards, the polo bikes also need a bit of protection. 

Wait, what's that? You thought this was an art blog? Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there. So check it out: Polo players put these covers on their wheels to protect their spokes from getting hit, and prevent some not-so-cool tangling from going on. Here's where the art comes in - bike polo evolved as a DIY sport, and wheel covers quickly became a prime canvas for personalizing each steed.

At first players were making wheel covers out of cardboard, but thosequickly fell apart. The standard now is coroplast, or corrugated plastic - the same stuff you see printed on to make cigarette and beer ads at markets.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE 
This hand-painted wheel cover was a Santa Cruz tournament prize.

Players use paint, markers and stickers to personalize their covers. Some are completely original, others pay homage to pop culture or subculture imagery. Some players put their team logo on their wheels as a way of both unifying the team and making it easy to tell if the bike on your right is manned by friend or foe. Wheel covers are often coveted prizes at tournaments. with unique art designed especially for the event emblazoned across them, they communicate that a player came, saw, conquered (or maybe just had the best crash of the weekend). 

Not all, but most polo players, put wheel covers on their bikes, but some of the best may end up as wall art. Each one has a story behind it, about the player, their team, their bike, and adventure. Polo players love to get creative, and wheel covers are one of the best ways they do it (aside from pulling some tricky bike maneuvers).

             

 See more wheel cover art and player profiles at www.goalhole.com/

Margaret Gallagher: Inspired in Los Angeles

 When Margaret Gallagher made the move from rural Canby, Oregon to the concree jungle that is Los Angeles, she sought comfort in connecting with the city's own flora and fauna.

I met Margaret at Kaldi in Atwater Village on a rainy Wednesday morning. It would likely be the only rainy day in the month, a welcomed rarity. Margaret's aging steel Trek road bike is locked up to a meter outside; the raindrops make the pale blue frame shimmer brightly against the gray of the day.  Through the glass I can see her bright red hair crowning her small frame, blunted bangs framing her calm expression.

A recent graduate of Occidental, Margaret is embracing her metamorphosis from painstaking senior art student to semi-employed, fully-immersed artist. Year to date she has curated her first show, a bicycle art show that received exceptional response from local artists, another in an underground tunnel in Cypress Park, and had her illustrations hung from on the light posts on high traffic streets in Northeast L.A.
http://margaretgallagherart.com/

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