Bicyclette Ensevelie
Parc de la Villette, Paris
Background History
Coosje van Bruggen's Bicyclette Ensevelie -"Buried Bicycle"- was commissioned by Etablissement Public du Parc de la Villette in Parc de la Villette, Paris. It was commissioned in November 1985. It was, however, not installed until five years later in November of 1990. The sculpture is made of steel, aluminum, and fiber-reinforced plastic. It was painted using polyurethane enamel paint.
Artist's Statement
Coosje van Bruggen's work came from thoughts she had about an anti-hero named Molloy. Molloy fell off of his bicycle into a ditch, and couldn't recognize the object in front of him. The work also was going to be in France, where the bicycle -and Tour de France- was invented. The whole invisible bicycle would have been 150 feet and 11 inches long, and would have parts turned to protrude out of the ground, but only the protruding part would be built. The seat, the handle bar with a blue bell, to contrast with other red things in the park, and the wheel.
My Opinion
I really enjoy this sculpture a lot. I like the fact that you could walk in the space around it and look very closely at all the pieces and elements that Coosje used to make this work. I like the thought of all of the bicycle that would be under the ground. Just thinking about how the whole thing would come together is really cool. The colors go very well with the park, and they're accurate of an actual bicycle too. She put it in the perfect place too!