‘Dale Holmes is a very peculiar guy’, I thought to myself as he made me stand up and go to the front row with my classmates because the front row seating was empty. So I sat in the front row, right in the middle, so we could say that I definitely had the best view for what was about to come. I thought ‘well, this guy surely has the audacity’ and he did, as his presentation started with performance art that included shaving his legs while reading his writing inspired by the fall of a professional biker over a stone barrier. It was a very strange start indeed, because when someone starts a presentation with something like that, then who knows what else is there to come? And actually, my judgement was right. There it was, the bike that he used as an art studio.
After he thoroughly showed us his extensive portfolio and we concluded the presentation with wide open eyes and jaws on the floor, I realised my initial feeling was right. This guy is very peculiar and his artwork is hilarious. I felt like I wanted to laugh quite a few times during the presentation but held it back because I thought, I don’t want to offend anyone. Now in hindsight, I should have just let it out, why is laughter offensive? Also, I am sure most people felt the same way. And if we think about it, art is subjective, it will create a subjective reaction, so if it seems funny why not have a good laugh? So maybe that should be my lesson for the next time I feel this way seeing hilarious artwork from peculiar guys.
There was one piece though, the bike that was his art studio, that caught everyone’s attention. The idea is ridiculous, because how could you create art while riding a bike??? And that is true, you cannot create in the physical sense, but this idea is as meta as it gets. And when you think of it that way, it makes total sense.
It is a tool that basically helps you change your mindset, just like interiors do. You go to the gym to work out, you go to the bedroom to sleep, and when you enter you change your mindset. Thinking it further even our tools around the house change our mindset. When you sit in front of a mirror, before going out and starting to do your hair or makeup, you change your mindset into creating a ‘presentable image of yourself’ for the outer world. When you take a cutting board and start chopping vegetables and place a pot on the stove you change your mindset to survival mode because you are planning your food for the week to avoid starvation or overspending on takeout, which are both survival mechanisms. So why could a bike not be an art studio if someone decides so?
“The New Aspidistra 1” (Holmes, n.d.C) is the title or the address of the studio and it is a true artwork in itself. The bike has a gradient spray paint finish that gives it a very vintage race bike feel. The title is also on it in silver capital writing that is a bit wiggly, almost like if someone would try to handwrite on the bike. There are also several quite colourful drawings visible on top of the gradient finish. These are, at least from my perspective, just as hilarious as the concept of this bike and reminiscent of child drawings giving an almost rebel-like energy to it all. If I would not know the concept behind this bike I would just think to myself what a wonderful bespoke bike design is, but this is not the case here.
This bike is tool, a vehicle that gets from A to B during which time it acts a space for the mind. Therefore the question naturally comes up, is everything defined by us as individuals? Does this mean that basically, because we are all different human beings, who have very different human experiences, everyonehas the right to come up with individual definitions for various aspects of thier lives? We do get to define ourselves as individuals when we think about it. We in fact spend our whole lives doing that, sometimes consciously and even subconsciously. So who says that we cannot do that for our tools that we use on a daily basis?
Dave Holmes’ work is a testament to that. He defines what performance art is to him, however strange it might be “The Stone That Crashed Into The Kneecap” (Holmes, n.d.D). He defines what an ‘place’ is where he creates his art with “The New Aspidistra 1” (Holmes, n.d.C). He redefines well-established brands and combines them to fit his own narrative of life and personal style with the “FiLacost Rat Catcher Wear” (Holmes, n.d.B). And while doing that there is a humorous flair to it, that is visible in each artwork. I have especially noticed this in his depiction style during his exhibition called “Broken Hand Tennis Club” (Holmes, n.d.A). It seems to me that his definition of art shows here with the humorous almost childlike drawing or caricature influenced depiction of limbs, and warms.
Listening to the talk and seeing the portfolio there was something very compelling after getting over the peculiarity of it all. It was freedom. It made me realise if a lecturer can use a bike as a studio, then it gives me freedom to do whatever I like within my design practice. If an interior that traditionally has four walls can be a vehicle then I as an interior designer can make an interior into anything. This allows me to define and redefine what a concept, a brief, a project means to me, to rebel against anything or everything in my own way and to remember that it is not that serious and laughter is allowed along the way.
Reference List
Holmes, D. (n.d.A). Broken Hand Tennis Club. Dale Holmes. https://www.daleholmes.co.uk/wtbhtc
Holmes, D. (n.d.B). FiLacoste Rat Catcher Wear. Dale Holmes. https://www.daleholmes.co.uk/filacoste-rat-catcher-wear
Holmes, D. (n.d.C). The New Aspidistra 1. Dale Holmes. https://www.daleholmes.co.uk/tna1-130619
Holmes, D. (n.d.D). The Stone That Crashed Into The Kneecap . Dale Holmes. https://www.daleholmes.co.uk/wtbhtc
Image Reference List
Figure 1. - Homes, D. (n.d.). FiLacoste Rat Catcher Wear [Photograph]. DaleHolmes.co.uk. https://www.daleholmes.co.uk/filacoste-rat-catcher-wear
Figure 2. - Homes, D. (n.d.). The New Aspidistra 1 [Photograph]. DaleHolmes.co.uk. https://www.daleholmes.co.uk/tna1-130619
Figure 3. - Homes, D. (n.d.). FiLacoste Rat Catcher Wear [Photograph]. DaleHolmes.co.uk. https://www.daleholmes.co.uk/filacoste-rat-catcher-wear
Figure 4. - Homes, D. (n.d.). Broken Hand Tennis Club [Photograph]. DaleHolmes.co.uk. https://www.daleholmes.co.uk/wtbhtc