Every now and then you run across an exhibition that blends art that’s fun with creative marketing. I thought I found one today.
But after investigating further, I’m not at all sure: The sponsorship makes me a tad queasy — and some activities, well, I wonder if they are more about foot traffic, and never mind the art.
My tip-off to the exhibit came in a pitch for annual support from the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Ct.
When you donate to the annual fund, it said, “you will be invited to LIGHTS OUT!” — which turns out to be an after-dark tour, illuminated only by flashlights and led by Aldrich director Harry Philbrick, of Bike Rides: The Exhibition.
The point, the letter said, was that the Aldrich “is always thinking of new ways to look. look again.
I’m all for that; the Aldrich has a great reputation among contemporary artists.
Its website says that the show is meant to “explore the increasing relevance of bicycles in contemporary art and culture.” About 30 works, multi-media. It starts on Sept. 26.
No question, the “marketing” takes clever advantage of the subject.
Aside from the Lights Out tour, the Aldrich is also offering a “Bike Fest” on Oct. 4. It includes organized bike rides — Le Tour D’Aldrich — plus live bike performances; free bike demonstrations; “tune-ups by the Bike Doctor; primp-my-bike contests; prizes; rides; helmet fittings; family activities; an appearance by Yahoo’s Purple Pedals Bike; a Ginger Man cook-out; healthy-snack tents;” etc. Here’s the program.
Then, on Oct. 24-25, there a Bamboo Bike Studio bike building class, offered again on Nov. 7-8. And on Nov. 15, there’s a panel on new technology in bike design.
The show is sponsored, in part, by “Cannondale Bicycles, Danbury Porsche, TARGETRAINING, Purkiss Capital Advisors, LLC, HSBC Bank, US, NA, Outdoor Sports Center, Nestlé Waters North America, Water Street Markets, LLC.”
So what started as real enthusiasm for the creative aspects of this show, which is linked to environmental concerns, has turned into discomfit.
Has the Aldrich crossed the line, and where is that line? Or does it all depend on the execution? I’m hoping for that.
Photos: A Jarbez Lopez bike from AERIALBIKEWAY series, 2001-2007 (top); detail from Cai Guo-Qiang’s Illusion of Childhood (detail), 2008, (middle); Video still from Inspired Bicycles, Danny MacAskill, 2008-09, David Sowerby and Danny MacAskill (bottom). Courtesy of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum