in Social Media Publicity grows like cancer

"The ideas that we proffer are based on off-the-shelf existing technologies. We just change the solution-bases and do things that aren't necessarily as obvious. We don't have a problem with thinking about science fiction -- in fact we actually embrace it."

Mitchell Joachim

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the wheels on the bike go round and round...

and on his truck as well. a friend of mine, Zach Lihatch is currently trucking around while pedaling his book! (ha ha ha) He is putting together a book that documents bicycle cooperatives and co-ops in the US. If he comes your way, please send him some support. Here is his blog where he's been keeping track of his adventures thus far. Below is his mission statement::

Four the past four years, Zach has been involved with BICAS in Tuscon, AZ. BICAS (Bicycle InterComunity Action and Salvage) is a cooperatively-run non-profit Community Center that through bicycle advocacy and recycling bikes, promotes education, art and a healthy sustainable environment. In conjunction, it provides services and opportunity for those in need.
The emergence of places like BICAS has occurred relatively recently. 10 years ago only one or two such projects existed. For a little history, BICAS itself was created in 1989 with a different mission than bikes. It was to help the homeless and originally called Bootstraps to Share, operating out of someone's garage. In 1994, Bootstraps to Share organizers decided to focus on what the group did best encourage people to ride bicycles. Thus, BICAS was born. BICAS is one of the country's oldest bicycle co-ops, along with Boston's Bikes Not Bombs and New York's Time's Up. It is only appropriate that Zach started his journey there. Now almost every major city some type of collectively run community bike space. Many of these groups have organized a network and meet at a national gathering to discuss their tactics, success stories, and challenges. All across the country, community bike shops have become a powerful resource, impacting all who come in contact with them.
I would even go to say that they have become a staple in our generations society. I almost expect there to be a bike co-op in every city because I grew up with one as well. (shout out to free ride!) It's weird that that's what I assume. Fortunately, every city I've gone to in the US there's been one. Right after I moved to LA (like that week) I found a bike on craigslist and brought it to the Bicycle Kitchen. It just happen to be Bitchen Kitchen, the ladies night. I didn't know any one in LA and it was so welcoming! And re-affirming to be able to be fixing my bike in a strange new place.
Bicycle co-ops/collectives are the actualization of strong ideas. This once viewed as a sub-culture occurrence has blossomed into a current and appreciated amenity of the city and culture of its own. Zach's goal with this book is to bring attention to the bicycle co-ops and collectives and give this new and promising movement the recognition that it deserves. This next part is a direct quote (I've been paraphrasing thus far) but its too beautiful not to say it as it::"Thus far, there are many people who are involved in such endeavors, and countless others whom I believe could benefit from the knowledge that there is a practical and viable alternative out there. As individuals and communities, we can empower each other to reject those forces in the world that hold us down and to replace them with something much better. Through photo documentation, interviews and film [Zach] will be offering a glimpse into an alternative that is flourishing. "
It brings tears! So great! and SO TRUE! When I fix my bike and turned my Motobecane to a single speed all by myself I felt so empowered. This sounds lame. But bicycles truly contribute to bodies in space working in complete freedom. They cross lines of occupantcy and rights. When you are on your bike you become this beautiful hybrid of flesh and metal. With cars, you are still just in a pod, your energy is not recycled in any way and there is abundant waste. Freedom and mobility are extremely important to me and to what I think are everybody's rights (that and the right to information.)
I would also like to throw out there how much I have wanted this for a while::
So! Please contact Zach while hes on his journey. This book should be pretty awesome.

build me up moldy cup

Paul Laffoley was recently brought to my attention. His work is directly related to the inhabitable organism. In fact, it is it! He is describing what I have been trying to get at. First a little bit more about Paul::

He went tot the Harvard's GSD for art in 1963. He was dismissed from there. Why I don't know yet. He then went to NYC to work with Frederick Kiesler. Andy Warhol got a hold of Paul and had him watch a lot of tv. A fact that is quite haunting is that Laffoley worked 18 months on design for the WTC Tower II (floors 15 to 45) with Emery Roth & Sons under the direction of architect Minoru Yamasaki. He was fired by Yamasaki after he suggested that bridges be constructed between the two towers for safety. He returned to Boston after that and started painting.

His highly original approach to the construction of the painted surface is based on extensive hand written journals documenting his research, diagrams, and footnoted predecessors to various theoretical developments. He deals with concepts from time machines to nano laboratories in the brain. JUST AMAZING.

I hope to talk to Paul Laffoley about the growing buildings. He even said, you'd get some seeds and in a few months you'd have something. That's one of the points I had in my movie. How do we make this real? How does one bring this to the attention of the public with out them running off? Let's get Paul Stamets and Laffoley in a room and grow something.

Level One part 4

Recently I have been working projects that contribute to my idea of the inhabitable organism. I origianlly broke it down in to certain steps.
Level One consisted of
1. Noise Recycled into the System
2. Nesting/BioMimicry/BioMimetics
3. Existing/Exploration of Materials
4. Pattern Recognition and Accumulation

This latest endevor has been focusing on Level One part 4. (It also works with Level One part 1 to a degree. )

I have been having "happenings" during lunch time in Los Angeles. The project "Mass Collection 1" is about well that. Mass collection! The medium is chewed gum and plexi glass. I stand in a specific spot for 3 hours and ask people to come and chew a piece of gum and place it where ever they feel it belongs on the plexi. If some one is passing by with gum already in their mouth, I ask them to place that piece on the plexi and I give them a new piece. The gum is a Mexican brand of Chicklets and come in a variety of flavor and colors. This piece also is about mark making and territory. So far, I have had 2 of these happenings.

The first site was Downtown Los Angeles by the Public Library. There, the demographics of the crowd was mainly people in suits, bike messengers, and some homeless. There were even some tourists in the mix. Here are some of the photos of the piece and the making of it.

This is the final composition for that session::
The other site in front of a coffee shop in the Arts District in Los Angeles. The accumulation was completely different. People were more apt to changing and adding to previously placed pieces. This piece was more graffiti like. People also felt compelled to draw and be creative with it, saying "I don't know what to draw/I don't know what to make." The only direction I gave (for both pieces) was to place the gum where ever you saw fit, preferably on the plastic. This piece was also more 3dimentional, where people would add to each others mounds. People were also bringing up a precedent gum wall in Northern CA.

Here are some images from the wall in San Luis Obispo::

The next stop is Chinatown. Other sites are heavy pedestrian places... I might be in Venice Beach tomorrow doing it so come