Today I got on a bike... my success rate with bikes is pretty poor - I managed to have a slow-motion accident with some poor guy in Amsterdam, and I might also be responsible for a few domino style catastrophes at the bike rack. This and I also have a hard time turning...
So when I was invited to participate in the Brown Cows Bike Ride as part of American artist Harrell Fletcher's project at Raygun Contemporary Art Projects, 'Michael Pleming', I figured I should live a little. (And yes that is my bike on the ground - hey I don't have a kickstand!)
As a Social Practitioner, Harrell Fletcher questions if the studio is the sole place of artistic activity and the object is the final product. To do this, Fletcher's practice explores social engagement blurring the boundaries between art and life, artist and audience, and redefines artistic and institutional spaces through participation and experience.
Click here for an illuminating interview with Fletcher by Allan McCollum (a fascinating artist in his own right and a great interviewer!)
For his exhibition, Fletcher instructed the team at Raygun to,
‘Create the entire exhibition with and about someone you meet in the area around the gallery who has nothing to do with contemporary art, someone that you don’t know already, but someone that you find interesting and would like to spend some time getting to know. Along with the show also program in some events related to the person and the person’s interests. The show title can be the persons name.’
Enter - Michael Pleming! And the Brown Cows Bike Ride...
Thankfully the rain held off and we enjoyed a gorgeous ride around Toowoomba with lots of laughter, a poetry recital and duck feeding - all culminating with a coffee. And I didn't fall off my bike...
To get to know Michael click here and for pics of the exhibition click here.
