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Fine Art and Playing Bikes - Luc Sokolsky

Finding a link between fine art and cycling, observing moments of pause along the way. 

Equally passionate about fine art and cycling, I've always pondered the link and balance between the two. The former based in creativity and material, the latter in activity and escapism; in my life the two play more counterpoint than counterpart. Two not-so-parallel planes that come together to form a whole.

"The aim of every artist is to arrest motion." - William Faulker

I've narrowed down their mutual influence on me to the sense of awe and inspiration they impart. A sunset atop Mt Tam and larger than life canvas by Joan Miró have the same ability to arrest motion, that is, to stop me in my tracks and for a powerful moment, to purport that nothing else matters.

Sometimes coincidences seem too perfectly timed to be truly coincidental. With the idea of art and nature arresting motion floating around my mind, I happened to pick up Libra by the esteemed Don DeLillo. Just two chapters in, yet nearly a century after Faulkner, DeLillo writes of secrets," Secrets are an exalted state, almost a dream state.

 

"They're a way of arresting motion, stopping the world so we can see ourselves in it."

Consider 'secrets' as the magical places and detours along a bike ride or in a museum and DeLillo's words ring true. You can call it an adventure or whatever you like, but at the core is the fact that the world is out there, and we want to be a part of it.

To a large extent, that's why I ride bikes these days. I'll always enjoy being on a bicycle, and I still enjoy riding fast and suffering hard. But these days, it has become more important to let the bicycle take me to places so astonishing that they arrest motion, thus contradicting the very nature of the bike itself.

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Luc Sokolsky is an artist, gallery manager, and cyclist who will be contributing his thoughts and stories to the Ornot blog. He has just left home for a trip down to Columbia, and will be sharing his experiences from the road on his Instagram. Be on the lookout for some more words and images from Luc here in the future.