Exhibit [A]: Midnight Ridazz The Midnight Ridazz began, in February of 2004, as a small group of bicycle enthusiasts hitting the streets every 2nd Friday of the month. Since then, the spirit of open-minded, friendly, and fun rides has spread, with factions all over the Southland, and beyond. Current estimates put the count at more than 1300 cyclists in the Midnight Ridazz family.
Not surprisingly, this is an eclectic group filled with all kinds of creative types. They’ve taken over Exhibit [A] Gallery, located at 517 Pine Avenue, and curated a show they call BIKE LOVE.
Although the official reception isn’t until Saturday, tonight you can catch a preview of the show and enjoy some experimental music by Mike Weber (The Lap Steel Duo), and the group I’m in, Ain Soph Aur. Music starts at 7:30.
One of the featured artists in the Midnight Ridazz show is Leslie Caldera, a passionate and experienced assemblage artist who has two pieces in the show, and participated in the creation of a third.
Leslie: I’ve been a long time enthusiast of human powered endurance sports including cycling. I’ve also been an artist most of my life. When I discovered the Midnight Ridazz in 2006 it was a wonderful combination of cycling as a lifestyle and living creatively. These folks were my kind of people!
I also do drawing, collage and photography, but ever since I was introduce to assemblage in 1971, that has been my passion. Especially the California style of assemblage, which came from the 1950’s beat culture.
“Bicycle Kitchen Superoller” was inspired by the Bicycle Kitchen in Los Angeles. They are a community center where people can rent work stands and build their own bikes with the assistance of “cooks”, or Kitchen staff. I liked the idea of building up a bike from old discarded parts.
“Significant Other” is my variation on Marcel Duchamp’s sculpture of a bicycle wheel and fork mounted on a stool. Duchamp was all about the intellectual concept, so I addressed the emotional aspect while using parts of a chair and a bicycle wheel. The chess board background and math notes are a reference to the intellectual, but they are in the background.
Sander: You also participated in the creation of a Ghost Bike, which will be part of the exhibit. Can you explain the history of ghost bikes, and how this one came to be?
Leslie: Ghost Bikes are bicycles which are painted white and have a sign of some sort on them commemorating a cyclist who was killed in a crash with an automobile. They are installed at the site of the Accident. Gustavo Ramirez was a cycling enthusiast in Long Beach who was killed in an accident with a big rig on Shoreline Drive last January. As a group, Midnight Ridazz has seen to it that when ever a tragedy like this one happens, we will create and install a Ghost Bike. So far we have put up six bikes from Newport Beach to Sherman Oaks in the last year.
Gustavo’s bike had to be removed for the recent Grand Prix race. After the exhibit, it will be reinstalled at Shoreline Drive and Shoreline Village Drive.
Sander: Do you know where this tradition began?
Leslie: According to ghostbikes.org, They were first installed in St. Louis, Mo. in 2003. There are now Ghost Bikes in many European cities, as well as many states. I was in Tucson in February 2009 and saw several there. At the same time the Midnight Ridazz were discussing putting up a Ghost Bike whenever there was a bike/car fatality. Unfortunately, we had the first opportunity right away in Silverlake.
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Work by Lindsey Nobel, Louise Chen” (fresh from Coachella), and many others will be showcased.
Exhibit [A] Gallery is open Thursday through Saturday from 6-10 PM, and Sunday from 10-6. Parking is available nearby in the City Place lot for the first 2 hours, and is $2 thereafter.