Deland, Florida-US
29FEB2008


The Art of Chrome & Leather 29February - 16 March 2008

Tonight (Friday, the 29th of February) the art of the 'Biker' exhibit officially opens at the Museum of Florida Art in Deland, Florida. A short ride from the official home of bike events - Daytona Beach's BikeWeek 2008 & it's opening night as well.
But tonight belongs to Deland's cultural epicenter, just across the street from Stetson University, one of Florida's oldest & most respected institutes of higher learning, & the opening reception for the exhibit "The Art of Chrome & Leather" - billed as the 'Biker's Bash'. An evening of live Rock 'n Roll music, very cool custom motorcycles (both in the exhibit & the parking lot ;-) biker films, silent & live auctions, biker fashions (both in the exhibit & on the patrons attending as well ;-) festive food & cash bar. Artists & patrons mingle together for several hours admiring the artwork, exchanging stories, making arrangements for events & activities later in the week, & the usual networking chit chat - sort of a coming out for the going out crowd of mc enthusiasts that tend to congregate in Central Florida in early March.
I've never actually been able to attend a Biker's Bash even though I have the ticket (see above - slightly modified) pre-production meetings for a shoot this weekend ran late & it's drawing to a close, at least at the museum, as I write this...
I've heard it's a party not to be missed. Everyone who's anyone in the Motorcycle circle makes an appearance there to see & be seen, chat with old friends, pick up some collectible or just add to their collection - some fine art/article worth owning.
Then, around 11ish as things draw to a close it's off to Daytona Beach & on with BikeWeek festivities & a drink at Froggies.


The exhibit remains open to the public for the next two weeks, and by all means you should make every effort to put it high on the 'must see' list. Deland, a delightful small town & the Volusia County seat, is just West of Daytona on State Route 92 & is as easy to find as just missing the turn off International Speedway to one of the Interstates (4 or 95) & continuing on down the road for another 30 minutes or so...
Lots of spots in Downtown Deland to browse for antiques, arts & crafts, fashion & the like - plus a dozen fine establishments for lunch, dinner & libation. It's quaint, cozy & the people are real nice - trust me.


Meanwhile back at the exhibit - Artistc excellence is on display by some of Florida's premier motorcycle craftsmen. Airbrush artistry that is hard to imagine painted by Internationally famous artist Chris Cruz, simply dazzles one with the imagination & level of sophistication of the paintings Cruz creates. Another, Tom Anderson, cycle designer extraordinaire shows off with bold design that cuts the space it sits within like a knife & literally morphs shape as you move around it & change your visual perspective.




Bikes from Cruz' & Anderson's imagination pepper the exhibit & dominate the main floorspace (the exhibit is located on two levels - main floor lower gallery & upper gallery mezzanine) but that's difficult to tell from my photos since they were taken last week before David Fithian, Exhibitions Coordinator, finalized the installation - I suppose I can also use that excuse for the poor quality of my photographic effort...they do not even begin to convey the detail & exceptional quality of the actual articles.

Chris Cruz Artistry - custom airbrush paint for motorcycles, planes, cars & boats. www.chriscruz.com



"Born to Ride" TV and well known motorcycle magazine published for over a decade here in Florida takes up several walls of the exhibit with photos from past issues, some of which will surely strike a familiar chord to those who have made the annual pilgrimage to Daytona Beach, Laconia, Sturgis or any of the other major rallies in the U.S.A.
Shots of typical BikeWeek activity & all of the colorful character's that inhabit that space are forever recorded on Kodachrome for posterity. It's well worth lingering over the display looking for familiar faces...
Born to Ride TV www.borntoride.com


Photographs of an historic note are on display courtesy of photojournalist Robert (Bob) Alexander. His captures are in a more realistic vein but thoroughly entertaining nonetheless. The images show some of the history, culture & attitude that have typically conveyed the essence of the BikeWeek experience to the world - like the one above with one of the founders of BikeWeek Karl 'Big Daddy Rat' Smyth & his Icon... The Rat's Hole is credited with the longest running bike competition - The Rat's Hole Custom Chopper Show- originally held on the Boardwalk & a do NOT miss BikeWeek event for the seriously addicted custom chopper fan (like myself ;-)

   The Rat's Hole
   www.ratshole.com

Sorry, but I'm going to have to split this into 2 parts & continue the post tomorrow night - early call uno ;-) Blue Skies [:-{)