ANIMAL » David Byrne

David Byrne Squeezes the Whole World Under the High Line

Marina Galperina — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:45:25 +0000

Artist and bike hero David Byrne has wedged a giant, inflatable globe into the Pace Gallery-owned lot at 508 West 25th Street, right under the High Line. It’s not bloated. It’s confined! The Tight Spot installation also makes “filtered and processed” moans with the Talking Heads frontman “trying to make [his] voice sound like a machine, or like wind buffeting a big sail.” Oh, you quirky siren. Let’s go hug the big ball now!

Fun fact for fellow Byrne enthusiasts: The artist lives in one of those High Line-side condos, but “high enough no one can see in” — not at peep show level. Oops. That came out kind of creepy. (Photo: Mark Barry/Flickr)

David Byrne’s Fake Apps

Marina Galperina — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:00:20 +0000

Oh-so-much-more-than-a-Talking-Head David Byrne created this series of fantasy smart phone apps for the upcoming social media-themed show at Pace Gallery. I know they’re meant to be faux-widget funnies, but someone get me that Weaselface. “Adds snark and satire to any written text” and comes with a “Libel Check?” Just imagine the clever shit you could reading!

Childster, ha. That’s cute. Only it’s not. There are plenty of baby-monitor-or-whatnot apps that have already begun to turn your brood into Tamagotchi pets. “Social Media,” Group Show, Sep 16 – Oct 15, The Pace Gallery, NYC

Biesenbach To Gaga: You’re Not Art

Marina Galperina — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:43:56 +0000

David Byrne blogs about P.S.1 director Klaus Biesenbach burning Lady Gaga in person by telling her no, she is not a performance artist. And an old flame of Marina Abramović should know, right?

LES Public Art and More Adventures In Maps

Marina Galperina — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:37:35 +0000

We should see some sunshine by Saturday, so here’s your free, sad art fair alternative: a recently updated, self-guided walking tour of public art/monumnets/etc of LES, including Jeff Koons’ spin on Lucky Cheng’s genital balloonery. Even better, here are some maps of David Byrne’s winsome bike racks and NYC bike lanes.

And now, the janky amusements: Pathophobic/have a fetish for hypochondriacs? There’s a “who’s sick?” map. No health insurance? There’s a map of prescription-med infected waters (free!). Got a body disposal problem? There’s a roadless land map. What happens if you dig a very, very deep hole? Find out. Cartography is the shit!

David Byrne’s Newest Two Bike Racks Rejected By Bureaucrats

Marina Galperina — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:31:38 +0000

Hats off to the city. You’ve managed to piss off David Byrne, LES’s cycle-lover, art conjurer of all forms and, arguably, eye-candy. Those minimalist-kawaii-esque bike racks we’ve been seeing around were recently almost banished by the very Department of Transportation that commissioned them in the first place, but they decided they want to be cool. So…The Villager doggie, The Chelsea chap and The Olde Time’s Square mud-flap-lady-with-perm are safe, for now, and the allowed year of designy racks is extended.

But the Byrne-dubbed “cultural gatekeepers” decided to reject two of his designs—for whatever reason, the one to be shaped like the New Museum and the bottle of Thunderbird silhouette which they “deemed to be in bad taste.” Lame.

Bike-Riding Artists Pose for Calendar

Will Sherman — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:00:52 +0000

Though decorative wall calendars are pretty much obsolete, the Swiss Institute is releasing a “cutting edge” version at next week’s art world clusterf#$% in Miami. Fulfilling basic timekeeping needs, the 2010 calendar features portraits of “today’s most famous artists on their bikes,” including David Byrne, Ryan McGinley and Terry Richardson and others. Shot by photographer Lukas Wassmann, the calendar, “Artists on Their Bicycles New York,” can be bought for $45 in a limited edition of 500 or just downloaded for free.

Aldrich Museum Pedals Bicycle Art

Will Sherman — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:40:44 +0000

All types of two-wheelers have taken over The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum for “Bike Rides: The Exhibition.” Curated with the assistance of musical bike advocate David Byrne, the mixed media show features working bicycles, both functional and artistic, as well as pedal-inspired pieces by Lance Armstrong, Bamboo Bike Studio, Tom Sachs, Puerto Rico Schwinn Club and Cai Guo-Qiang among others. The Ridgefield, Connecticut exhibition will remain on display through January 17 to “emphasize the diverse use and function of these man–powered machines that is present in different societies.”

Images via Aldrich Museum