Washington’s headline act is its natural environment.
21.04.2024 - 08:20 / forbes.com / Art
For the uninitiated, the Bicycle Day international holiday might suggest a celebration of bicycles and riding bikes. But that’s only part of the story.
Not to be confused with World Bicycle Day, which is on June 3rd, Bicycle Day is celebrated on April 19th, and its purpose is to honor the first LSD trip, which took place in Switzerland by its creator, Albert Hofmann, in 1943. Wherein the famous chemist was the first to ingest a dose of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). He then rode his bike home from his lab at Sandoz and recorded the experience in colorful detail.
“Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images burst in upon me, alternating, variegated, opening and then closing themselves in circles and spirals, exploding in coloured fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves in constant flux,” he later wrote in his memoir, LSD: My Problem Child.
Bicycle Day, along with psychedelic therapies more broadly, has entered the mainstream in recent years. The holiday itself has been covered by Bicycling, Scientific American and even Forbes. These once-demonized substances are now treating a range of mental illnesses, along with addiction, by enabling a veritable rewiring the brain. Michael Pollan’s seminal work on the topic, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, both uncovered and accelerated the adoption of psychedelic therapies in modern society. Today, many states are moving to decriminalize psychedelics for medical use, even if the federal government lags behind.
To commemorate Bicycle Day this year, I commissioned what can only be described as a work of art. It takes the form of a carbon fiber mountain bike frame that’s been stripped and re-painted as a tribute to Albert Hofmann, LSD and Bicycle Day. What frame is it? That doesn’t really matter, actually, because this is all about the art. I worked with TWCarbon to bring this vision to life, and it’s fair to say they completely over delivered on the assignment.
Psychedelic art is its own genre. It is characterized by a pallet of bright pastel colors—a kaleidoscope, if you will—with various psychedelic archetypes including God-like figures, geometric shapes and scenes of Mother Nature as viewed through the prism of an LSD trip. Bicycle Day is a sub-genre of this art form, where Hofmann himself is depicted riding his bike among the Swiss Alps with his character immortalized through so many artists’ interpretations. This is precisely what I wanted to capture on this bike frame.
My direction to Nick Hand, founder of TWCarbon, was pretty simple. I’ve been doing so-called dream bike builds for years, where every part is curated and assembled according to an ideal
Washington’s headline act is its natural environment.
This summer, as you step into the grand halls of Rome's Palazzo Barberini, you'll find yourself amidst "Day for Night: New American Realism," an engaging exhibition that showcases over 150 works by American artists from the Tony and Elham Salamé collection. Curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Flaminia Gennari Santori, this exhibit explores the textured realities of American life, presented in collaboration with the Aïshti Foundation.
With summer just around the corner in the USA, you’re likely already dreaming of where to spend your vacation.
The 60th edition of the art extravaganza that’s the Venice Biennale runs until 24 November at the two main venues Giardini and Arsenale. as well as countless offsite locations, official and unofficial. There are 88 National participations this year, with four countries participating for the first time: Republic of Benin, Ethiopia, United Republic of Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of Timor Leste. Here are eleven of the must see country pavilions.
Myth distorts any city’s musical history, and in Manchester myth looms as large as the new Co-op Live, a £365m, 23,500-capacity mega-venue that opens today and will soon be staging big-name acts, including Take That. So, for every occasion a music fan mentions the hit-making boy band or, for that matter, 10cc or the Hollies, a thousand more bark back: Joy Division, the Fall, Happy Mondays. Not that 10cc were a small Manc band, but they peaked before punk and a wall went up at the end of the 1970s that relegated all that had passed prior to 4 June 1976 – the night the Sex Pistols performed at the Lesser Free Trade Hall – to prehistory, as in dinosaurs, fossils, folk musicians. New hagiographies about music impresario Tony Wilson (1950-2007) are no doubt at the printers as I write. But how about we spend half an hour mooching round the Rainy City aboard the free buses and trams in search of the underplayed, surprising and tangential – with a few Gen X/6 Music standards for when we’re stuck at the lights.
The creations of Arizona-born Orlando Dugi, a member of the Diné Nation, are nothing if not dramatic: gowns glittering with delicate beadwork, silks embroidered with symbolic flora and fauna. Some have been exhibited at places like the Denver Art Museum and the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles. While his imagination is fueled by his upbringing—days spent watching his grandmother sew and nights stargazing at his family's sheep ranch—Dugi also finds inspiration in Santa Fe, which he's called home since 2010. “All the tribal, colonial, and Spanish history—it's all here,” he says. “It's very small, but it's also pretty international.” New Mexico's capital city is set to draw a global audience as host of the inaugural Santa Fe Native Fashion Week, the first of its kind in the country, held from May 2 to 5, where Dugi will present highlights from his mens- and womenswear collections. When he's not designing, he enjoys connecting with Indigenous culture on the ancestral lands of the Tewa people—or kicking back with a margarita.
If your travel-loving mom loves painting her nails before or during her travels, she’ll love to open her Mother’s Day gift and see nail polishes in colors just right for her. These vegan, cruelty-free nail polish options can help make your mom’s life more colorful and fun. Also, nail polish is a gift that can last for months or even years, and your mom is sure to think of you and remember your thoughtfulness every time she goes to choose one of her favorite shades.
There’s much to consider when selecting a running shoe. Will you be running on the pavement, a treadmill, or a crushed-gravel trail? Is it more important for a shoe to be lightweight for competing or cushioned for comfort and knee relief? Is your gate neutral or does over pronation occur?
Packing healthy and nutritious snacks for the road helps travelers to avoid high-sodium and high-fat food often sold in airports. From snacks to supplements, beating jet lag and keeping a wellness routine going on the road are easier with the right diet and exercise. These products make great gifts for the frequent-traveling moms in your life.
Celebrating Mom this Mother’s Day is an opportunity to show how much people love and appreciate her. Gift ideas abound from flowers and chocolate to jewelry and clothes. But, what if you could give the gift of memories with her? Even if time is limited, there are lots of creative hotel packages for entertaining weekend getaways to celebrate with her or for her to enjoy on her own or with friends. These are some of the limited-time deals available for Mother’s Day this season.
Mom may have a daily skincare routine that she follows religiously at home but packing a variety of creams, gels and serums can be challenging when traveling – especially if she doesn’t want to check a bag.
Can’t impress mom with your cooking? Try scoring a special reservation to celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 12. Of course, brunch is the move here and so many New York City restaurants are pulling out the stops to celebrate moms, grandmothers, step-moms, dog moms - whoever wants to indulge in special mid-morning through mid-afternoon meals. Here’s where to treat mom to a top notch meal this spring.