Kaleidospoke is pleased to host Mellow Velo’s 2nd Annual Bicycle Beauty Pageant!

July 15, 2011. 5pm at the Center for Contemporary Arts. 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM. 87505.

Press Release for @thekaleidospoke

Kaleidospoke has been mentioned in this week’s Santa Fe Reporter. Check it out here!

MURALIST INTERVIEW

David Polka is an artist and designer based out of Albuquerque, NM. Check out his art and design, it’s pretty rad!

(Be sure to check out Kaleidospoke’s other muralists, Broox Pulford & Chip Thomas.)

Describe yourself in five words.
Artist, graphic designer, cyclist, human.

When did you first realize you were an artist?
Age 4, summer ceramics class at NMSU.

What inspires you to keep going and how do you keep yourself motivated?
People doing cool things, by surrounding myself with talented individuals.

How does cycling fit into your life?
Transportation, fitness, enjoyment, self discipline, nerding out, fresh air, 

Name your favorite moment riding a bike?
3 am when the streets are all mine.

Lastly, any words of advice for aspiring designers/artists..?
Work your ass off. The quickest way to get better at what you do is to do it all the time.

Photo of David Polka by Ryan Garcia.

MURALIST INTERVIEW

In our last muralist interview, we showcased Denver artist Broox Pulford. This time around we interview Chip Thomas, a talented photographer, street artist, cyclist and Doctor based out of Shonto, AZ. KALEIDOSPOKE is pleased to have Chip contribute to the show. Enjoy!

Describe yourself in five words.
Inspired, relentless, thankful, patient, faithful

How did you fall into the lovely world of creativity?
I didn’t really fall into the world of creativity. It’s a force/awareness that has always been with me. I’ve constantly worked to acknowledge it in some way. Because words often fail me, the arts have been an area where I feel comfortable being Chip. I started drumming when I was 10; I’ve always danced and started shooting black + white film when I was 12. My mom was a primary school teacher. I remember being in the basement our home watching her make graphics for her class by using an overhead projector. This was in the 60s. (it was cool to see last summer that this is the same process my man chris stain uses today.) but my mom supported my early efforts in the visual arts.

What are your behaviors that inspire or motivate others?
From what I hear when people comment about my work, it’s the simple, unadulterated, no bullshit, to the point, empathetic perspective my photography speaks to. I really work to be present with the people I photograph, especially when it’s people of color. we’ve been maligned far too long.

What motivates/inspires your work?
I believe everybody has a story to tell if we’re willing to listen. I try to tell those stories and tell them in such a way that both the viewer and the person being photographed recognize that truth even if it’s not pretty and easily digested.

When did your love affair with cycling begin?
I attended an alternative, Quaker, boarding junior high school in the mountains of North Carolina from 1969 (the summer of love) to 1972. We did all sorts of outdoors activities there - like inner tubing on the south toe river near the school, hiking + camping in the Appalachian Mountains, climbing and rappelling with outward bound, canoe trips in the everglades and bike riding near Mount Mitchell (the tallest peak east of the mississippi). there were classmates of mine who attempted to ride their bikes along the blue ride parkway from North Carolina to New York and Connecticut after our 9th grade year. They didn’t make it but it instilled in me a desire to see Babylon by bike (which lead to me getting a Guinness World Record by cycling with 4 other guys 12,000 miles from the top of Africa to the bottom in 1992). 

What’s your opinion of cycling mixed with art?
Well, I haven’t given it a lot of thought. However, art can be used to inspire people to achieve things they never thought possible or considered doing. It can do so in a subtle manner without clobbering them on the head saying, “hey, cycling is the most energy efficient form of transportation for any species on the planet; it’s sustainable and nonpolluting.” Art gives you a chance to deliver that message without feeling like you’re preaching to the choir.

What type of bicycle do you own? Have you named your bike?
When I started medical school in 1979 I purchased a new Peugeot 10 speed. I rode that bike a mile to and from medical school every day for 4 years. A few years ago I had it converted to a fixie which i take on distance rides here on the rez (on paved roads). I try to ride at least every other day (but have to admit that during the spring when we have the big winds, I ride indoors. I’m a weenie.) I have the Cannondale rigid frame bike I cycled across Africa on. I’ve a hard tail kona mountain bike (with standard 26 inch wheels), an old school Dave Scott Centurion road bike; a Yokota tandem hard tail mountain bike and a vintage 1960s Schwinn tandem cruiser. A prototype 1986 Specialized Rock Hopper that I had converted into a fixie was stolen in 2007. That hurt. In it’s place I got a custom made IRO fixie which a girlfriend refused to give back to me when i broke up with her. Beyatch. That was in 2008. At least we’re talking again but I still haven’t gotten the bike back.

Best advice anyone has given to you concerning cycling? Has it proven useful? Any advice you can give?
Cycling for me isn’t about being a hammer head or being the first person to get from point A to point B. When we did the bike trip across Africa we’d joke that a journey of 12,000 miles begins with the first revolution of the pedals. That’s what it’s about for me - taking in the scenery, chilling with people and moving forward one revolution at a time. One other thing. One of my biggest influences in cycling is Major Taylor who at the turn of the century (1899 - 1900), was considered the fastest human on earth. As a person of color excelling in a sport in which blacks were systematically excluded by economics and access, he defied the odds.