A Argentina, te amo!

"The Parthenon of Books/Homage to Democracy, Buenos Aires," detail (December 1983) by Marta Minujín

In December 1983 the Argentine Conceptual artist Marta Minujin and a group of helpers spent 17 days building a full-scale model of the Parthenon in a public park in Buenos Aires, Roberta Smith writes. Except for a metal scaffolding, it was made almost entirely of books wrapped in plastic. All the books had been banned by one of the most oppressive juntas in the country’s history, which was just being dismantled after Argentina’s first democratic election in a decade. “The Parthenon of Books/Homage to Democracy,” as Ms. Minujin’s work was titled, stood for about three weeks. Then the public was allowed to disassemble the piece and keep the books.

Lance Armstrong's Bikes + Art: What could be better?

Oh Happy Day! Artistic road bikes are this woman's new froyo (not just any froyo - good fraiche shit). And I cannot deny my love for Lance...I follow his twitter updates at work. Tweet Tweet!

According to the Trek Bikes Website, all of these things are now rolled into one:

Trek, The Lance Armstrong Foundation, Nike, and the most influential artists of a generation have teamed up to produce a unique collection of bicycles and art without peer.
The Exhibition opens at the Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin in Paris before traveling to the United States this fall. All work is available for purchase with proceeds directly benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Anyone want to buy me a new bicycle? Here are some photos:

This bike with a "stroboscopic" rear wheel design (apparently meaning that the wheel looks like it's pulsing as it spins) was used for Lance's opening time trial this year. The bike was designed by Australian-born, London-based Marc Newson, "a revolutionary designer whose work in the fields of aerospace, furniture, product, jewelry, interior, and vehicle design have earned him countless accolades from the design community."

"Deceptively simple. Naive. Childlike. All words that might be used to describe the first look at Yoshitomo Nara's work. Inspection reveals a deeper truth — saws, knives, and sharp implements often grace the hands of his young subjects, who often possess a look of anger, cynicism, or concern. "

Pretty dramatic for a bike, eh? Athletes love drama (at the very least, American sports announcers do. SportsCenter is absurd.) Anyway, this design was created by a Japanese contemporary artist - Yoshitomo Nara - who, from what I can tell, likes to use seemingly cute images (pastel skinned children, bubbly cloud fonts) as a misleading front for his true darker intentions (the kids on this bike have boxing gloves and are swarmed with UFOs). Apparently he is a big music fan and attributes much of the energy seen in his work to his love of punk music. In a touching personal gesture, Nara also included a moving inspirational message handwritten across the top tube of the bike's frame, visible only when Armstrong's head is deep in an aerodynamic tuck: "Never Forget Your Beginner's Spirit."