The Motorcycle: Design ~ Art ~ Desire

[Magnetoman]

It might be worthwhile to provide some context for something that, thanks to covid, I won't be able to attend. With the exception of 'The Art of the Motorcycle' at the Guggenheim twenty-two years ago, a typical "motorcycle show" that most people here would have seen would have involved perhaps a dozen or so volunteers from a club to distribute posters and emails ahead of time, and tell lenders where to place their bikes, direct traffic, and sell tickets.

In contrast, 'The Motorcycle: Design ~ Art ~ Desire' has had at least 50 skilled professional curators, designers, conservators, registrars, photographers, cinema experts, writers, editors, carpenters, painters, machinists, etc., some of whom have been working on the exhibition full time for over 18 months. Just the installation, which has been ongoing since early September, will have required over five person-years of skilled labor by the time it's completed. It should be clear from this that it won't be a typical "motorcycle show."

 

[Magnetoman]

For Australians who won't be able to get to the exhibition anytime soon, or for those who can but don't want to risk the first print run selling out, or for those who are simply impatient, QAGOMA's on-line bookshop now has the catalogue in stock ahead of its general release to other bookshops later this month.

 

[timetraveller]

With all the expertise and personnel involved in this I imagine the catalogue is going to be an expensive item?

 

[Magnetoman]

With all the expertise and personnel involved in this I imagine the catalogue is going to be an expensive item?

Phaidon is a major publisher whose costs are completely independent of QAGOMA's expenses for assembling the actual exhibition. QAGOMA's website shows they have the book discounted at AU$62.95, which converts to £34.65. For comparison, twenty years ago the Guggenheim's catalogue retailed for US$75, which is US$120 (£57) in inflation-corrected money, so it's a relative bargain.

 

[timetraveller]

Sadly US$120 is no longer £57. More like £90 - £100 without looking it up.

 

[Magnetoman]

Sadly US$120 is no longer £57. More like £90 - £100 without looking it up.

You're right. I used an on-line calculator and copied the result without thinking about it. A different calculator gives a more reasonable £91. Even if I originally had entered AU$ by mistake, that still would be £66 so I don't know how I ended up with the original figure.

 

[Albervin]

It is pointless calculating the price of the Guggenheim book because it is a collector item now, prices range up to $500 for a mint copy.

 

[Magnetoman]

the Guggenheim book because it is a collector item now, prices range up to $500 for a mint copy.

Not counting the well-used working copy in my office...

 

[Chris Launders]

I got a virtually untouched copy of the Guggenheim book for £1 from a charity shop, and gave it to a friend as a Christmas present last year. And yes we both knew they were worth quite a bit.

 

[Magnetoman]

Only one more weekly Zoom call to go before the exhibition opens to VIPs on the 27th (a few of whom are reading this), and to the public on the 28th. The clock is winding down, there are still three bikes in transit, and a number of bikes remain to be installed, but no one is panicking. Yet.

I'm reminded that the Guggenheim exhibition was to open with a dinner in the rotunda for lenders and major museum donors on a Wednesday evening. On that Sunday afternoon I arrived from a conference in Europe, changed clothes, and went straight to the museum, where I saw that there was no possible way it could be finished in time. However, somehow amazing things got done over the next several days. Despite that, fresh plaster was being painted and labels were being attached to walls when I left late Wednesday afternoon to return to my hotel to change into a suit. At 6:59 the last of the work was finished and the exhibition was completely ready, in time for dinner which was at 7:00. I expect it will be much the same at QAGOMA.

They've been surprised by the number of visitors there to see the "normal" works of art who have inquired about the opening date for the motorcycle exhibition, and also that books have been flying off the shelves at their bookshop, the only place where they are available as yet. So, there's growing concern they might have under-anticipated demand when placing their original book order.

Additional footage shot during the installation was added to the videos we sent them a few weeks ago for the press events, with the draft of the "final" press video to be sent to us at the end of the week for approval. We also shot longer videos to be used in a more comprehensive "virtual tour," but some of the additional footage needed for that can't be shot until the installation is completed so it probably won't be until early January before the virtual tour will be ready.

Toby Price's father dropped off his son's Dakar-winning KTM yesterday and was then given a tour of the still-incomplete exhibition. He was amazed at what he saw and commented that he "had no idea" to expect something like this. Which is basically what everyone who has seen the still-incomplete exhibition has said, despite having had it described to them ahead of time. Not to compare it to the Grand Canyon, but I've found that no matter how much someone has been prepared to expect when they see the Grand Canyon for the first time, invariably they comment afterwards that they had no idea it was as large as it is. So, if you're lucky enough to see 'The Motorcycle: Design~Art~Desire' in person, expect it to be more than you expect it to be.