How artist Taliah Lempert turned her cycling obsession into a life-long aesthetic

A Muse in Motion — Brooklyn-based artist Taliah Lempert’s colourful bike paintings are inspired by the beautiful machines she spots across NYC. She explains all in our latest story from The Commuter Journal – a cycling paper made by Huck and Levi’s® Commuter™

I grew up in Ithaca, upstate New York, and my dad was really into cycling. We did it a lot as a family so I grew up with it but when I left home to go to school in Boston I didn’t cycle for almost ten years. Then, one day in New York, where I was studying at the New York Academy of Art, I passed a bike shop and there was this bike that just caught my eye. For some reason it was super appealing to me, and it cost just eighty bucks, so I bought it, asked the guy for directions to the Brooklyn Bridge, and just began riding everywhere in New York.

masi

It changed the way I was in the city. Before the bike I always took the subway and I knew the city around certain subway spots. But suddenly with the bike I was going over the bridges, and going through the different neighbourhoods, and seeing the whole city and getting a feel for how it was laid out. And then whenever I would come back to my bicycle it would just be so fabulous and beautiful and so I started painting it.

chaterLea

There are a bunch of reasons why bikes are awesome to paint. Bikes are made to carry figures and so I think there’s a certain structure and geometry to them that is really figurative. The way the shape of a bike abstractly breaks up space and makes a composition and gesture is beautiful. A bicycle is a very positive thing; you’re going somewhere, you’re moving forward, you’re harnessing your own power. And it makes a person, it makes me, more powerful and faster and able to do so much more. And that’s a very powerful and positive symbol.

michael8

I spend a lot of time out and about in New York looking at locked-up bikes – the way the bars are, how they’re taped, the paint job. Sometimes the classically beautiful bikes catch my eye – new racers, the way they’re designed – but sometimes it’s the beaters, in bright colours and beautifully worn, that are wonderful. There have been a couple of times that I’ve made new friends by stopping people on the street to ask if I could borrow their bike to paint.

spaceliner

Working with a limited palette allows you to be more creative. If some things are a given, like my interest in bikes, then you wake up every day with a certain amount of focus. Most artists have certain things that they work with. I love bikes but I also love all the people I meet through them. The community is pretty great.

I’m lucky living in a city where you can cycle everywhere. The other week I took a different bridge and it was a whole new experience. It was one of these beautiful days, the sun was shining, the views were spectacular, and all the noises of the traffic and construction was coming together to be music. And I would never have seen that if I hadn’t have been riding my bike. Without it, I feel stranded.

Find out more about Taliah Lempert’s work.

You can find The Commuter Journal at select cycling destinations around the world and view the Levi’s® Commuter™ collection, which is dedicated to providing versatility and durability for everyday bike riders, on their website.

Stay tuned for more stories from The Commuter Journal on huckmag.com

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Crowd of silhouetted people at a nighttime event with colourful lighting and a bright spotlight on stage.
Music

Clubbing is good for your health, according to neuroscientists

We Become One — A new documentary explores the positive effects that dance music and shared musical experiences can have on the human brain.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Indoor skate park with ramps, riders, and abstract architectural elements in blue, white, and black tones.
Sport

In England’s rural north, skateboarding is femme

Zine scene — A new project from visual artist Juliet Klottrup, ‘Skate Like a Lass’, spotlights the FLINTA+ collectives who are redefining what it means to be a skater.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Black-and-white image of two men in suits, with the text "EVERYTHING IS COMPUTER" in large bright yellow letters overlaying the image.
Culture

Donald Trump says that “everything is computer” – does he have a point?

Huck’s March dispatch — As AI creeps increasingly into our daily lives and our attention spans are lost to social media content, newsletter columnist Emma Garland unpicks the US President’s eyebrow-raising turn of phrase at a White House car show.

Written by: Emma Garland

A group of people, likely children, sitting around a table surrounded by various comic books, magazines, and plates of food.
© Michael Jang
Culture

How the ’70s radicalised the landscape of photography

The ’70s Lens — Half a century ago, visionary photographers including Nan Goldin, Joel Meyerowitz and Larry Sultan pushed the envelope of what was possible in image-making, blurring the boundaries between high and low art. A new exhibition revisits the era.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Silhouette of person on horseback against orange sunset sky, with electricity pylon in foreground.
Culture

The inner-city riding club serving Newcastle’s youth

Stepney Western — Harry Lawson’s new experimental documentary sets up a Western film in the English North East, by focusing on a stables that also functions as a charity for disadvantaged young people.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Couple sitting on ground in book-filled environment
Culture

The British intimacy of ‘the afters’

Not Going Home — In 1998, photographer Mischa Haller travelled to nightclubs just as their doors were shutting and dancers streamed out onto the streets, capturing the country’s partying youth in the early morning haze.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to stay informed from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, with personal takes on the state of media and pop culture in your inbox every month from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.