First look at the new Zoobomb ‘Pyle’
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor-in-Chief) on May 28th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
The official unveiling happens tomorrow, but I just came across the first photo of the new Zoobomb Pyle as it stands right now, fully installed, at the corner of 13th and W. Burnside.
Behold…
Artists Brian Borrello (L) and Vanessa Renwick (R) stand beside their work — Portland’s latest public art monument.
(Photo: Kristin Calhoun/Regional Arts and Culture Council)
(Photo: Kristin Calhoun/Regional Arts and Culture Council)
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Yes, that is a gold mini-bike.
I am so proud.
This is something you’ve got to see in person… especially once it becomes complete with the adornment of a pile of mini-bikes. Details on tomorrow’s official unveiling can be found here. (Animal costumes encouraged).
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May 28th, 2009 16:16
Wow!! Good show artists!
(Does the tail light blink red?)
May 28th, 2009 16:16
freakin' awesome!
May 28th, 2009 16:19
Wow. I'm actually proud to live in this town at this moment. *Not Sarcasm*
May 28th, 2009 16:28
Nice work of "art"
I have to ask: What's the deal with the "pyle" Why stack bikes in a heap? I've never understood this.
May 28th, 2009 16:28
...the way this city makes me feel at home...I could sing!
May 28th, 2009 16:37
I heart Portland.
May 28th, 2009 16:38
This is so ...monumental! hahaha!
I can't wait to see it in person tomorrow.
Can't believe that fateful night seven years ago would lead to this! yaya!
May 28th, 2009 16:47
solitary tear slowly running down my cheek.
May 28th, 2009 16:48
ZOO !!!
May 28th, 2009 16:53
Mazel tav!
May 28th, 2009 16:56
Cool design, Brian.
May 28th, 2009 17:01
oh... *sniffle* it's beautiful!
May 28th, 2009 17:01
very cool. nice job guys.
May 28th, 2009 17:05
BOMB!
May 28th, 2009 17:15
Wow way to spoil the surprise
May 28th, 2009 17:17
honestly? pretty unremarkable, IMO
meh!
May 28th, 2009 17:21
People are going to want to climb that pole and touch the gold minibike with their hand. Is this Portland's counterpart to Ireland's Blarney Stone? Seriously, the thing looks fine...graceful. I'll be interested to see the different forms created when masses of bikes are mounted to it.
May 28th, 2009 18:05
I guess they should have put a little red hood over it before the unveiling?
May 28th, 2009 18:06
And perhaps there is a little surprise too - a mini MAX train underneath?
May 28th, 2009 18:10
That is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time.
May 28th, 2009 19:02
Wow, can't wait to see it. It will be on the list of places to take out of towners. This is Portland!
May 28th, 2009 19:57
That makes my heart sing
May 28th, 2009 20:05
Well Done Guys! It looks great! Personally i am not a fan of gold, but that "cherry on top" looks amazing.
May 28th, 2009 21:21
The gold mini-bike at the top = brilliant!
People, we live in a city that builds monuments to Zoobomb.
We live in a city the birthed Zoobomb.
!!!!
Amazing.
May 28th, 2009 21:49
I am lost for words!
Congratulations on being able to get $10,000 on that art project with this economy!
brilliant
May 28th, 2009 22:09
Congrats ZooBomb. Done Better. Making Chicago more jealous every day.
May 28th, 2009 22:22
Is going to look great with bikes on it
May 28th, 2009 23:02
Damn. That is totally HOT. Fer realz.
May 29th, 2009 01:14
Much better than I expected. I actually like it.
Anyone know the over/under on how long before someone climbs up and breaks the gold bike off?
May 29th, 2009 05:22
Totally awesome. I wanna touch it ...
May 29th, 2009 07:31
Soon as rent's due.
May 29th, 2009 09:30
#18:
there were plans to sheath the pretty gold cherry-on-top, but a scant week before the unveiling, we found out that the gold leaf needed a month or two to cure, so the sheath would've needed to've been put in place without touching the cherry at all. Our design options for the sheath at that point would've taken too long to enact. Boo!
Still, this sculpture is so exciting, and the fact that it isn't sheathed shouldn't keep you from attending the opening ceremonies today:
4:00pm - Meet at the Holy Rack (10th and SW Oak)
5:00pm - Parade to New Pyle at 13th and W. Burnside
Pyle piling, speeches, Sprockettes, and more!
May 29th, 2009 11:04
That is very cool. Quite beautiful, too!
May 29th, 2009 11:43
I like the statue but would've appreciated a diy effort without taxpayer money. That truly would've been zoobomb.
May 29th, 2009 11:47
Quite accidentally drove by it last night - it is an awesome site to behold, and it makes me proud to be a portlander.
May 29th, 2009 11:47
...and get a sneak peek at the sweet helmets Nutcase donated to us. They'll be housed in "the chamber" and lent to our guests. Thanks Nutcase!
May 29th, 2009 12:11
happy zoobomb day!
May 29th, 2009 13:32
Seriously awesome
May 29th, 2009 15:25
About time. Grats bombers and it looks really nice.
May 29th, 2009 15:27
stoked to see everyone keepin' it positive
way to go bikeportland readers!
whee!!
May 29th, 2009 19:07
http://www.vimeo.com/4909486
May 29th, 2009 20:55
I think Portland's strong bicycling culture and reputation are great. I think the creativity within the culture is great too.
That said, the whole zoo bomb thing is pretty dumb in my opinion. No disrespect to those who get off on it, but I just think getting lit and antagonizing TriMet and a bunch of the neighbors as a means of enjoying yourself is pretty childish and stupid. I guess I'm the buzzkill, but irritating others - even indirectly - is not my idea of a good time. Sorry.
Probably not a big surprise that I think the sculpture is pretty dumb too. Zoo bomb will probably go the way of the dinosaur in due course. We'll be wondering what this sculpture was for. It's not like it's such a compelling piece that it contributes all by itself. I'd rather the $10,000 go elsewhere. How about that proposed bike boulevard on Going? Or, if art's the thing, I dig those cool artsy bike parking racks around town.
And just for the record, I'm not a Republican, I like wacky Portland, I think Last Thursday is a much cooler event than say... First Thursday, etc. I'm basically your garden-variety liberal Portlander.
But this thing... really? Not hating, but I'm just saying the whole zoo bomb thing isn't that cool to me. I'm clearly in the minority here, and that's fine.
If people want to educate me on how zoo bomb positively contributes to a sustained effort to make Portland more bike-friendly I welcome it. I don't get it.
May 30th, 2009 00:34
Dissent, have you ever zoobombed? If not you won't get it.
But i'll try anyway . . . Zoobombers are some the most respectful, self-responsible partiers in this town. Zoobombing is super fun, especially on a mini. It's about having a good time, riding fast, gettin a little crazy. It's about community, and the Zoobomb community is ROCKSOLID. It's a tight club and it's open to new members, even you.
We don't antagonize TriMet or their riders. Most of the engineers and passangers dig us.
"Zoo bomb will probably go the way of the dinosaur in due course." My friend you are dinosaur-dead wrong here. What part of EVERY Sunday for seven years without fail do you not understand?
i challange you to educate yourself. Come on out some sunday eve this summer. If it's not for you, fine. But don't dis what you do not know.
May 30th, 2009 08:46
Nope, I haven't done it so thanks for asking. Agreed that the most informed perspective comes from personal experience.
There have been clashes with neighbors and TriMet so that needs to be acknowledged. It may be a "one bad apple" situation, as is usually the case in these situations. But those incidents are out there.
Seven years running is indeed a long time. Not exactly statue worthy from my view, but cool.
I'd rather see a statue in commemoration of the regular everyday folks who were killed by cars. To me those folks are martyrs at some level. Not to be antagonistic against those who drive cars, but going about your daily business on bike is honorable. How about a ghost bike statue? Now that would bring tears to my eyes.
May 30th, 2009 11:06
I think that, shall I say...the beauty... of the choice to make the "..cherry.." atop the pole a mini-bike, is that even if the zbomb ever goes by the wayside, kids, upon seeing the cherry will continue to be inspired by it to want to bike. That's transferable energy. Kids will look up there and immediately recognize that it's almost exactly like their own bike at home.
May 30th, 2009 11:20
"I'd rather see a statue in commemoration of the regular everyday folks who were killed by cars. To me those folks are martyrs"
i agree 100% . . .
and am working on deadlined project of this exact nature. Would you like to help?
i need images of Matthew Shekel, Michael Tibbins, Kerin Holtz and any one else killed before them on their bike all the way up to Damien's dad. It's not limited to Portland accidents, those are just the one's i know about.
i'll take help from anyone out there with this image collection process. Please send to biketemple@gmail.com
include dates and any other helpful info.
Dissent,
zoobomb is also about bikes and their liberating power, i forgot to mention that but i am sure you got that part of it.
See you on the hill or in email-land.
May 31st, 2009 04:41
@ Dissent
If you want money to go to a specific cause, work for it. Your monument idea sounds great. Seems like Kernal Loosie can connect you with that cause.
It bums me out, though, for a pro-bike group to get some money and then someone immediately comes out and says, "The money should have gone to pro-bike Project X," as if money only gets awarded to pro-bike stuff once a century and "we really screwed it up by celebrating pro-bike Project Y instead of pro-bike Project X." Sure, everyone has their idea of the best way to spend tax dollars. But can't we all celebrate the fact that money has been put toward pro-bike public art, regardless of how specifically it reflects your personal biking lifestyle?
May 31st, 2009 14:10
Vanessa Renwick is still in town? Cool. Damn, she's still hot.
June 1st, 2009 08:05
Who did the beautiful gilding work? Maybe I missed the credit, but if not could someone please provide it?
June 1st, 2009 14:41
The gilding was done by myself,my daughter Montana Maurice, Elin and Nancy Thorn at Gold Leaf Restoration in SE Portland.Some pictures of the leafing here:
http://www.odoka.org/the_work/zoobomb_pyle/
Nancy owns Gold Leaf Restoration and is an avid cyclist, commuting from Vancouver to SE Portland daily. When I called her for leafing advice she enthusiastically gave me the low down, and then generously offered for me to bring the bike in do the leafing there with her assistant Elin and herself.
I can not say enough good things about the woman. Need something leafed...go there!
June 1st, 2009 21:37
@ 46: I'd be inclined to support that memorial statue effort. Get the ball rolling, get BP.org to cover your efforts, etc. and I bet it would happen in short order.
@ 47: I completely agree in theory that the bike community, like any fledging advocacy effort, needs to learn the discipline to unite more frequently, and deal with differences and disputes out of the public eye. That said, a forum like this invites people to say whatever they want.
Relatedly, I actually don't think of zoo bomb as a pro-bike thing. I think of it as a pro-silliness thing. I'm all for silliness, but not at the expense of others, e.g. TriMet, Police, neighbors, etc. I'm clearly in the minority on this thread, but ask every Portlander and I bet most say zoo bomb is sort of a stupid thing.
For some, it's an awesome, community-building deal with no intent to harm others. I get that. But most people probably don't see it that way and I think we bicyclists have an obligation to show respect for all others. We're not a fringe, renegade thing. We're everyday people who happen to travel on bike. We want respect, so we need to show respect. And what comes around goes around.
In that context, is zoo bomb an asset or a liability to the broader cause of respect for bikes? I think the latter. And because I question the event, I question the statue.
June 1st, 2009 23:05
"Relatedly, I actually don't think of zoo bomb as a pro-bike thing. I think of it as a pro-silliness thing. I'm all for silliness, but not at the expense of others, e.g. TriMet, Police, neighbors, etc. I'm clearly in the minority on this thread, but ask every Portlander and I bet most say zoo bomb is sort of a stupid thing." Dissent
For quite awhile, there doesn't seem to have been anything in the Oregonian or on local tv about conflicts between the zoobombers, the neighborhoods they ride through, and the police. Does that mean that all those troubles have been resolved some way?
If they've figured out a way to have their goofy fun without bothering anybody too much, why shouldn't they keep on? People are different...unnecessary barriers to keep them from being so shouldn't be assembled .
June 2nd, 2009 15:03
zoobomb, like all the best things in life, is what you make it.
Because of brian, vanessa, and countless supporters it was just made better.
thank you!