Art and motorcycles: can motorcycles be art? It’s a question posed long before the 1998 Art of the Motorcycle Guggenheim exhibit flung its doors open amid Gehry-designed splendor, and became their most popular exhibit in their history. But the Art World – an amorphous culture absorbing penurious painters and billionaire corporate money launderers alike – deflects the question by leaning on a fine point of Beaux Arts distinction: it’s art versus design, people, meaning if an object has a function other than elevating the spirit or stimulating the senses, it is thrown onto the elegant slagheap called design. But don’t get your panties twisted: design objects are venerated too, and always have been. Before the standardized 19th C. Beaux Arts education laid down the laws on what is what in the arts (Fine vs. Applied), everything from suits of armor to tapestries to carriages to paintings were displayed side by side in the collections of the very wealthy, and the first museums – which were the same thing.
“Art exists and has existed in every known human culture and consists of objects, performances, and experiences that are intentionally endowed by their makers with a high degree of aesthetic interest.” – Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Despite the acknowledgement that motorcycles (and other vehicles) can be brilliant examples of industrial design, and that art + design exhibits and auctions are fairly common, I can find only one instance when the combo includes top shelf motorcycles + art + design: the ADAM sale happening tonight at Christie’s NYC. There was another auction that came close: a Design Masters auction at Phillips in 2010 that botched sale of the very first Brough Superior SS100 prototype, when it was rumored the late Alain de Cadenet phoned in serious questions about the provenance of said Brough (to settle a score with its owner Mike Fitzsimons), which was then pulled from the sale at the very last minute. So much for the experiment in rolling an exquisite and unique motorcycle into a fancy NYC auction house. Perhaps the ADAM auction will fare better.



Paul d’Orléans (PDO): Are you excited about the sale?
Adam Lindemann (ADAM): Honestly, it’s more like anxiety. A friend suggested we go to a private room at Christie’s and drink champagne, and I said are you fucking high?
I put things in for ambience and to tell a story. Theress someting to surprise and tickle everyone. That’s what I like about art collecting – the story.
PDO: Will you actually be in the room?
ADAM: No, I’ll be sitting by my computer with a pencil, keeping track of how much things are selling for versus what I paid for them. I’ve never been in the room when I sold my (auction catalog) cover lots: when I sold my Jeff Koons cover lot, my Basquiat cover lot, etc. I was never in the room but it was never the ‘ADAM’ sale, so I was wondering if Adam has to be there for the ADAM sale? But the auction people told me no. At the end of the day, when the auction comes, it’s business.

ADAM: A lot of the things I put in the sale for decoration, I put them in for ambience and to tell a story. When you look at the auction, there’s something to surprise and tickle everyone. That was the idea – everybody gets tickled in a different way. There are two reasons for my selection: I like that the narrative. I like to tell stories. That’s what I like about collecting: art is a story, and I like to tell stories. That’s one part. The second thing is this is a mid-season sale. This is dead time, the weakest moment in the New York auction cycle. So when I’m doing a single owner sale at a dead moment, it’s up to me to row the boat. I have to bring the eyeballs. I have to bring the attention. It’s not like the May auctions when there are 10 Picassos and a Jeff Koons bunny and everyone’s focused. This is like dead week. So I needed to throw in a lot of spicy lots like for color, for decor, and to look cool. I put very low estimates on the work because otherwise it’s a snoozer.

ADAM: Well, I must have paid $120,000 for that painting. I didn’t need to put it in the sale, but I put it in because he just died, and because I had the car thing going with the Richard Prince El Camino. If I put my estimate at what I paid, no one would bid, whereas if I put it in at $40 grand or whatever, and he just died, well, maybe somebody will go for it. But I would say that that piece is not there for the money. This sale is a historic moment for me, and I’ve sprinkled a little of the Billy Al Bengston cool on it, if that makes any sense.
PDO: That absolutely makes sense.

PDO: So, let’s talk about the motorcycle: a 1974 Ducati 750 Super Sport ‘green frame’, widely considered among the most beautiful motorcycles ever made.

PDO: But the Ducati ‘green frame’ is special.

PDO: I’ve already noted that, compared to just about all the other design/art in the sale, the motorcycle is cheap. I mean, it’s pinnacle design, and I agree with you, I think that particular model is undervalued. Compared to something as crude as an Indian 8-Vavle or Cyclone or Crocker, all worth worth half a $Million. So, this gorgeously designed vehicle seems like a bargain to me. And by the way, I’m also a big Italian fan – I’ve owned a lot of bevel drives twins and singles, I love the design, especially the engine castings, superb.
ADAM: So, this is a little moment in the motorcycle world.

ADAM: Well, I mean, Christie’s called it the ADAM sale, which is totally outrageous. The idea that anyone could be so pompous and ridiculous to call a sale by their name is like, wow. So that’s all them. The sale otherwise is all me, but they had the veto, right? They threw stuff out. As far as design, they asked for this and that and, and I included a lot of women because I wanted to be some balance of women and men. I didn’t want just a bunch of dudes. And then I decided to put in a motorcycle and not a race car or any kind of a car…although I do have a painted Richard Prince El Camino, which is amazing. So I have that and I put in the Billy Al Bengston and I have the ’89 car hood and then the motorcycle. Because as I said, it’s one of my first motorcycles and it’s one of my, it’s kind of my favorite: if I had to pick one, that’s the one. So to me, I just told a story, and motorcycles are more closely related to design. They have functionality. I mean, a car is a chair with four wheels, and the motorcycle is a seat with two wheels. Its pared down to the essential design as much as possible. And I think that at the end of the day there’s more sex appeal in the motorcycle. It’s just more visceral. You sit on it, it’s between your legs. And so it told the story that I wanted to tell.
PDO: That’s fabulous – thank you!
ADAM: Oh, thank you. I’m so happy to be a small part of The Vintagent.


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Together they Re destined for either…
Seems to be a bit of disparity e.g. revisionist definition here between ART … and CRAFT … cause what’s on offer here falls firmly into the category of CRAFT ( in some instances barely even that ) … with no ART to be seen .
And yeah … I know … I’m an effin elitist … but seeing as how so was the likes of Robert Hughes LJK Setright etc … I’s in damn fine company .. and damn proud of it .
FYI ; Just because some idiot it willing to pay a bloody godawful fortune for it ( ala NeoLiberal Anarcho Capitalist mentality ) Does Not make it ART … it just makes it over priced CRAFT .. or in more cases than not .. overpriced CRAP
Damn … I can only imagine what future generations will make of us when they dig our crap up 200 years from now … assuming we survive that long ..
One thing I can guarantee you though … NONE of this generations music will even exist .. never mind be judged
” Tis better to go down in ball of flames fanned by the minions surrounding you than to conform to mediocrity ” GTR ..
😎