WHERE: LaFontsee Gallery (820 Monroe NW)
WHEN: September 25, 6:00 p.m.
HOW MUCH: Free
Billy Blaise Dufala of the Dufala Brothers (aka Chang Wang of Man Man) describes his entry for ArtPrize as, “Big Wheels, like you had when you were a kid.” Except instead of a bike seat, riders are perched upon a full-sized toilet, tank and all. Each of the bikes, of which Dufala has brought eight to Grand Rapids, is painted with a unique design and boasts a racing number.
“The front wheel is a unicycle chopped off at the seat,” Dufala said. “The only thing that was really purchased was some steel stock to make the frames, back wheels and the unicycles. The rest was all reclaimed and made from scrap. I found all the toilets, most of the bikes were bikes that had gotten locked up and left for months on end. I had a loop I was going by every month or couple weeks and eventually deemed it okay to hacksaw (the abandoned bikes) in half and take the top tubes and handle bars.”
The identities of the eight challengers remains yet unknown, but only the strong stand a chance. Each tricycle weighs approximately 150 lbs., meaning hills will be tough and momentum is a must. The racetrack intended for the race beings at LaFontsee Gallery, the venue hosting Dufala’s work, with laps around the park a definite option. The racers will be accompanied by a marching band drum line and color guard.
Dufala admits that his tricycles may not be the most practical form of transport, and that is part of his intent.
“There’s what should be private and then there’s what isn’t,” Dufala said. “When you take both of these things and throw them out there and then become mobile, there’s this idea of a hybrid culture – making things more convenient through technology, even though it’s primitive to just put things on wheels to make them mobile. It’s extremely inefficient, resulting in the most amount of work for the least amount of return. I think it probably has more to do with talking about issues that are taboo and making them a socially acceptable thing.”
While Dufala and his gang of racers may be riding toilets through the streets, Dufala says that whenever he leaves one of his bikes outside, he ends up regretting it, as people tend to confused them for actual toilet in the late hours of the night. On Tuesday, ArtPrize eve, a rogue gallery of suspects took to the streets to promote Friday’s race. The cast included artist and Meanwhile Bar/Friction Records proprietor Jeff VandenBerg, Commute’s Daniel Koert, Adam Foster, Jake Richardson, Mustache Gallery curator Josh Breuer, yours truly and Dufala. VandenBerg and I followed them cautiously from The Meanwhile to The Green Well to The Winchester. They were greeting with honks and inquiry, most of them supportive. A natural conversationalist, Dufala amicably greeted several people along the way. His enthusiasm and charisma proved infectious with many interested parties taking a flyer and pausing to take camera photos of his bikes.
The toilet tricycles are not the only bike-related sculptures the Dufala Brothers have made. Their tank bike is a large cardboard frame, simulating an army tank that can be set on a bicycle and paraded through the streets.
“I think that bikes are, in general, a theme (in our work) because of their accessibility – how they’re everywhere and you can get most parts for free,” Dufala said. “It’s really simple mechanics. (Bikes) don’t require a lot of money and can be fun and easy for everybody to wrap their heads around. ”
While not creating artwork with brother Steven, Dufala plays in the group Man Man, his many talents including the saxophone, keys, drums, flute, vibraphone, clarinet and even more than we’ll list. He also plays drums in Philly band Buffalo Stance.
“Man Man has definitely been an amazing vehicle in its own right,” Dufala said. “It’s allowed me to make a lot of art. You go (on tour) to work for two months straight and then you have the money you just worked for two months straight to have time off. It’s not financially amazing in any means; we were on tour forever, hitting the ground running. You just want to get back to the studio and explode and make all this stuff, and then you have the ability to do that and there’s nothing holding you back. It’s great. I never expected that to happen and it is totally awesome.”
Bring your handkerchiefs on Friday, September 25 to The LaFontsee Gallery (820 Monroe NW). The race begins at 6 p.m. See you there.
http://www.dufalabrothers.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment