Feb 22 '06 - 1706 W, 2 I - Vote Good + 7 :: Bad - 10 Aussies About to be Blown Up
Published February 22, 2006 by C.I.C.L.E.
Contributed by Liz Elliott
Jessica Findly is an incredibly sweet person who will gladly laugh
heartily at all your bad jokes. She’s clever, charming and very easy to
get along with right off the bat, she is perhaps the nicest artist I
have met...completely unpretentious. We sat down for a recorded
interview last year after just finishing her L.A. Aeolian Ride. It was
a
really enjoyable hour and a half, and some of the participants even
came
into the living room and joined in with some
great questions. It was really fun and I was excited to publish it as
our first audio piece... until I played it back and found that I had
screwed up the setting, and the beginning of every sentence was cut
off.
Needless to say we were both disappointed, because we had covered so
many topics. We again ran into each other several months later at the
2nd Annual Bicycle Kitchen benefit in the warehouse district of LA. It was
Halloween and Jessica had little dotted lines drawn on her face -- it
took me a while to get that her costume was a pre-op face lift -- i was
just too busy enjoying her laughing at my bad jokes again to stop and
"get it" right away. We agreed that an email interview would be safest
for me. And so I sat on it for a few more months until just the other
day.
Jessica who hails from Omaha Nebraska, but lives now in Brooklyn, New
York, has a pretty prolific portfolio -- check out SonicRibbon.com for some
of her other works. Much of her work is humorous or whimsical, but
certainly not devoid of content. She works with a variety of mediums
and has great aptitude for each one. Whether its graphic art, painting,
film, performance art, illustration or computer animation, she is able
to create pieces that connect with the audience below the surface. What
appears to be whimsy seems really much more about relationships to
ourselves, one another or even our relationships with objects.
Her latest piece that has taken her from New york to San Francisco to
Cape Town South Africa to Los Angeles, is now headed to Melbourne
Australia, is described by Jessica like this:
"Inspired by a love for bikes, city cruising, critical mass, costumes,
silliness and things that inflate, I decided to make a free, mass
participatory event with a sense of humor. It excites those riding as
well as delights those watching, all the while transforming the
landscape into a playground of windfilled shapes."
To take part in one of her rides is a magical experience,
especially
for a group of riders who are more familiar with 'aggro' drivers
honking
angrily behind them. But when fifty riders are streaming down the
streets in white billowing rip stock nylon blow up suits that resemble
bunnies, raindrops and puff pastries, the landscape and the environment
around the riders is indeed changed and it's hard for car drivers stuck
at lights or behind the ride to get pissed at the sight of these
billowing nut-ball cyclists. Awe and excitement is experienced by both
participants and by bystanders, and in many ways the ride feels
therapeutic and regenerative.
To get a better picture of what this ride is like and about, go to
Jessica's website Aeolian-Ride.info -- you are sure to enjoy yourself
there, and if you love bikes and art, she sells beautifully screen
printed posters that are perfect for framing, and the price is incredibly
cheap ... plus your dollars supports the continuation of the ride and its ability to spread whimsy and joy all over the
road... I mean world.
Now without further yabbering...the interview with Jessica
You are now embarking on your your fifth tour of the Aeolian Ride, and
I know that you fund most of these rides yourself, but what keeps you
going with this project?
Each ride is different as far as
funding goes. Sometimes I get support from the people who bring me to
their city - Bike Summer helped in LA by throwing the after party + I
sold some posters. So far I have only recieved one donation. So for
australia my champion helper Chris Star is helping to organize some
fund raising events and I am thinking about selling some Aeolian Ride
t-shirts.
These rides are really a blast to participate in, but what are the
responses you get during the ride from bystanders on the street and in their cars?
All
kinds ranging from shouts of glee and clapping - people yelling "what
are you?" "giant teeth" "angels" "big sperm" "why are you doing this?"
I think its good to keep them guessing and giggling.
You told
me in a botched recorded interview that your original design was much
more elaborate, what was it again and how did it evolve into today's
new stylish designs?
Oye vey. The original design was my
grandiose master plan involving multiple inflatable units on each
rider. They were more like a sydney opera house meets the flying nun
thing. I was convinced by my boyfriend that this would be a nightmare
to suit up 50+ people - much to my shagrin I changed the design into a
more simple pullover one-peice and, I couldn't be happier with the way
they have turned out.
What are some of the other cities you are thinking about taking the ride
to?
I have been asked to come to philly, london, st paul,
portland, amsterdam, copenhagen, las vegas. I am not sure where i will
go next. Where I go depends on the help of a volunteer local organizer
who can help plan the ride and gather funds -
Would you consider Churchill Canada in the Tundra, or are are
isolated communities in frozen wastelands not considered contenders?
I
am willing to consider any location condusive to an easy paced ride so
long as I have the volunteers, the riders and spectators.
Are you really just going to Melbourne to surf and get away from the
cold? Or is it really for the love of bikes?
I decided to go to
Australia because I was invited by Chris Star who has been a stellar
organizer who is excited about bringing the ride to Australia. I can't
say that I won't be enjoying sun and the surf - that is part of the joy
of having a travelling art project for sure. I am also excited to meet
the active members of the bike community in Melbourne. All of the above
is great fun for me.
Seriously though, you have put an immense
amount of effort and time and money into this project and it really is
a joyous experience to see all these riders billowing in the wind. What
was the inspiration for this ride?
Oh so many things. First there was FRONT ( www.millefiore.com )
Voice Activated Inflatable Conflict Suits. These are symbiotic suits
that inflate aggressive sacs on the yeller's suit and the defensive
sacs on the opponents suit. It is an endless game and a cathartic
battle performance which was open to public participation. I did that
with my pals Margot Jacobs and Ralph Borland.
Then there was New
York and my mode of transport - bike. I am big into getting anywhere in
the city by bike. Thus I am a lover also of Critical Mass.
One
fine day I was riding to work in this ripstop nylon jacket - it was
kind of a funny shape to begin with - the hood connected to the outside
of the
shoulders instead of the neck - and it bounced around behind
me as I rode. I couldn't see it but I imagined what if it was a crazy
shape. I have a good friend who makes sculptures Ryan Oconnor, and he
was planning his trip to burning man and his next sculpture. We were
chatting about project ideas for the desert and I remembered people had
told me that there are a lot of bikes brought to burning man. I
suggested he make these costumes for a parade ride. He ended up doing
something else and I forgot all about it.
About a year later, in
2002 I was in a blue mood about the state of the world post 9/11, my
lack of direction in my life and I got a call from Ryan - who I hadn't
heard from in a while. He called me just to tell me he thought I should
make this project with the inflatable suits. It was like a light switch
had been turned on. It was amazing. It was a beautiful thing to feel
that push of love right then. It was all it took to get me started. And
then the madness of production ensued.
What are you hopes and
dreams for the future, besides convincing your boyfriend to move to
sunny SoCal? Where do you want to see this project go or expand in the
next couple of years?
I would like to keep this project going to
at least one new destination a year. I am not sure about how and if i
would like to expand it beyond that. I think once a year would allow me
to focus on growing new projects.
And also remember that section of the park in LA that we rode through, can you describe that too for the reader?
That was the magic moment. Everyone on the ride was wearing a light but
it was a secondary thing at that point because the streetlights tended
to drown them out a bit. As we rode throught he dark park everyone on
the ride started to holler and oooh with excitement. I was really happy
to see the lights in the way I had imagined and that it got people
excited.
Lastly is Melbourne gonna get lit?
No - it was easier to deal without them for this trip.
(C.IC.L.E. note...the lights are a bear to lug around)
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