COLUMBIA — A crowd of spectators gathered Sunday to watch the judging of Art in the Park’s first ArtCycle competition, which challenged participants to make working bicycles into moveable art.
Among the 10 entries in the junior division, first place and a $1,000 prize went to West Junior High School, whose students fabricated a deer, whose legs turned with the pedals, across the body of the bike.
Pam Ingram’s Granny’s House took first place in the adult division, which had five entries. With faces of children made completely of beads, a bubble blowing machine and other decorations, the announcement of first place brought the loudest cheer from the crowd. Ingram also won a $1,000 prize.
Mayor Darwin Hindman presented the Mayor’s Choice Award to Jefferson Junior High School Art Club’s entry, while the People’s Choice Award, in which the public voted for their favorite, went to Chris Teeter and Wayne Leal for their “ReCyclator.” The “ReCyclator,” which used multiple bikes to fabricate a chariotlike creation, also took first place out of the 10 bikes that were commissioned by local artists.
After the awards were given, an auction for the commissioned bikes raised nearly $2,000, said Diana Moxen, director of the Columbia Art League. She said that was about what she had expected.
“When something is this new, it takes awhile to enter the public consciousness,” she said.
Auctioneer R. E. Voorheis worked the crowd in classic auction style and eventually sold each bike. The ArtCycle that sold for the most was the crowd favorite “ReCyclator,” whose creators engaged in a crowd-pleasing bidding war that ended with their $1,000 bid.
The next highest-earning ArtCycle went with a bid of $450 to Susan Taylor-Glasgow’s “Fly High Birdie,” a tricycle with thousands of glass beads glued to it.
Proceeds from the auction will help the Columbia Art League move to its new location, the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts.
Moxen said she hopes to see more entries next year but understands it takes time for people to become interested. She said she has hopes that the competition will one day draw contestants from around the country.
Commissioned artist Larry Young said: “It’s like a seed. You plant it, and it grows.”