Tag Archives: art

Win passes to GOMA motorbike exhibit

How would you like to win one of five double passes to the “one-off, world exclusive” Motorcycle: Design: Art, Desire exhibit at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) running until 26 April 2021?

It’s easy to enter. Just read this article and pick out the bike that you most want to see at the exhibit and then leave the name of the bike in the comments section.

We will pick five random winners and name them next week. GOMA will be in touch to arrange delivery of the tickets.

If you miss out you can buy tickets now on the GOMA website.

Prices range from $18 for a GOMA member to $25 for non-members with concession prices for children, families, seniors, pensioners and season passes. Buying your tickets online in advance will save you waiting at the door with permitted numbers restricted by COVID policies.

It arrives just in time for border openings and school holidays.

I just attended the media preview of the exhibit of motorcycling through the ages and into the electric future and I can tell you picking a highlight is not easy.

There are more than 100 motorcycles from the 1860s to the present day, drawn from private and public collections across the globe.

The world-exclusive exhibition that takes up the entire ground floor in three big rooms features some important bikes, some major coups and some of my personal favourites.

Other highlights include:

Apart from the bikes, there is also a collection of motorcycle helmets painted by 15 contemporary Australian artists at the entrance to the gallery.

GOMA motorcycle exhibit
Literally a brain bucket!

There are also interactive displays where you casn create your own custom bike.

Scattered among the exhibits are big screens that from a Motorcycles on Screen exhibit within the exhibit.

It features old racing and riding footage plus iconic films classics such as The Wild One (1953) and Easy Rider (1969), cult favourites Scorpio Rising (1963) and Akira (1988), plus recent films Finke: There and Back (2018) and The Wild Goose Lake (2019). GOMA motorcycle exhibit

The Motorcycle exhibition will be accompanied by virtual talks and tours, storytelling events, trivia nights, and  ‘Motorcycles on the Green’ on 27 February and 18 April 2021, featuring more than 60 motorcycles from local community groups, live custom bike builds, DJs and more.

You can also grab a gift from The Motorcycle Exhibition Shop, including exclusive exhibition apparel and accessories by cult brand Deus ex Machina, and bespoke design pieces produced by local heroes Ellaspede. 

As a memento, you can buy the publication The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire is  at the QAGOMA Store or online.

You can also show off your ride by posting with #MotorcycleGOMA.

GOMA Director Chris Saines says the exhibition will appeal “not only to bike and motor sport enthusiasts but to anyone with an interest in social history, popular culture, design and technology”.

The GOMA exhibit has been curated by American physicist Professor Charles M. Falco and US filmmaker Ultan Guilfoyle in collaboration with GOMA.

They were co-curators of the landmark 1998 Guggenheim Museum exhibition in New York, ‘The Art of the Motorcycle’ that ran for three months.

It was subsequently seen in Chicago, Bilbao, Spain, and Las Vegas, with a total attendance of more than two million people.

Prof Falco described himself as a passionate motorcyclist who had his first motorcycle at 15, his first crash at 15.5 and last year rode a 90-year-old motorcycle across the USA.

“For a sustainable future, the world needs motorcycles for personal transportation,” he says.

His co-curator says motorcycles are an example of how “design drives everything”.

Chris says the exhibit will include the earliest 19th century steam-powered motorcycle, right through to electric motorcycles and future designs.

“Over its 150-year history, the motorcycle has undergone extraordinary reinvention, from steam power, to petrol-fuelled internal combustion engines to battery, and from humble backyard creations to custom-made, high-tech chrome speed machines,” Chris says.

“More than just a means of transport, the motorcycle is a design object, with forms and styles that reflect innumerable cultural and societal influences.”

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Bike parts make heavy metal guitars

“Motorbikes and heavy metal just go together,” says Adam Tovell-Soundy who makes guitars as art pieces out of old motorcycle spares.

“I’ve always made small scrap metal art from anything as a hobby,” says Adam, a carpenter by trade, who also has an Instagram account as @ATZY_Metalart.

“Guitars were something I had seen as a new challenge. l figured that if I could get my hands on motorbike parts the rest would be easy. 

“That’s when I started calling into motorbike shops like Brisbane Motorcycles.

Adam Tovell-Soundy who makes guitar art pieces out of old motorcycle spares
MBW “plays” one of Adam’s guitars at Brisbane Motorcycles

“l spoke with Shaun there and got a good milk crate full of chains, discs and sprockets.” 

Adam works out of a small shed in Brisbane which restricts the size of his projects.

Adam Tovell-Soundy who makes guitar art pieces out of old motorcycle spares
Small workshop

“So motorbike parts are a good size; smaller than car parts,” he says.

“The cog and chain have a lot of detail.

“So I started making guitars fit right into the size of the parts.”

Adam Tovell-Soundy who makes guitar art pieces out of old motorcycle spares
Adam’s guitars

Motorbike guitars

Adam is not the first to make guitar art from motorbike parts.

We published an article last year about Brisbane artist and motorcycle racing fan Paul Tinson who makes guitar sculptures from bike parts.

Artist Paul Tinson uses motorcycle parts for guitar sculptures guitars
A Tinson guitar sculpture

Then there’s Terry “Mojo” Johnson from the band The Swamp Drivers who used an old Harley rear sprocket, 100th anniversary-badged clutch cover, Sportster 1200 airbox, brake lever, slash-cut exhausts and other parts to make an electric guitar he plays.

He calls it the Hogocaster, referring to Fender’s famous Telecaster and Stratocaster.

Watch and listen to it here in action!

Adam has made 12 motorbike axes, mainly Gibsons: Les Paul, SG, Double SG, Explorers, Flying Vs and ES335s. He has also made a Fender Stratocaster. Each weighs about 10kg.

“The Gibson ES335s are definitely my favourite to build,” he says.

“The body has a lot of space to place a lot of detail in it. I definitely concentrate on the symmetry of them.

“People who play guitars straight away start naming them. Then they ask if they play, so I must be doing a good enough job if that’s the case!”Adam Tovell-Soundy who makes guitar art pieces out of old motorcycle spares

Adam has sold four motorbike guitar sculptures for about $800 each which he says doesn’t really cover the two days he takes to make them.

He has also gifted four to family, two for fundraising and two as birthday presents.

Incidentally, Adam doesn’t ride motorbikes and doesn’t play guitars! 

“However, I definitely learnt a lot about bike parts and what artists play which guitars,” he says. 

You can contact Adam by email by clicking here.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Are motorcycles a work of art?

We riders reckon motorcycles are a work of art and this Gold Coast artist agrees with her “Cruising Chrome” exhibition.

Artist Sonia Farrell, whose exhibition is on display at Creative Hearts Art Gallery in Australia Fair, says she is inspired by motorcycles.

“The way light bounces off burnished chrome and beautiful paintwork is very inspirational for me,” the artist says.

While Sonia doesn’t ride, her husband used to ride and has many motor industry connections in her family.

“I appreciate the beautiful lines of motorbikes, especially the chrome,” she says.

“The idea of adventures, breakfast runs, long roads and the friendships formed are very appealing and are thoughts that have been going through my mind as I painted the artworks.

“I enjoy creating art that helps people celebrate what they love and appreciate in life.”

The Cruising Chrome exhibition was to end this week, but has now been extended to 3pm on Wednesday 23 October 2019, so get in quick!

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com