obelisk, santa rosa, bikes, bicycles, sustainable design, green design, eco art

California artists Mark Grieve and Ilana Spector recently constructed this incredible towering obelisk made entirely out of bikes on a street corner in Santa Rosa. Dubbed Cyclisk, the monument is an ode to bike culture constructed from 340 bicycles and one tricycle.





obelisk, santa rosa, bikes, bicycles, cyclisk

The 10,000 pound, 65 foot-tall behemoth was, strangely enough, built with help from Nissan. Apparently, Santa Rosa’s “1% for art” law requires major construction projects to donate money to public art projects. Nissan is building a dealership in the city, so it chose to contribute cash to the $37,000 piece of artwork.

Regardless of the project’s background, we’re happy to see old bike parts being put to good use. As Spector noted in a statement, “Collecting unusable parts from the debris piles of nonprofit community bike projects has proven to be a win-win; community bike DIY places are thrilled unusable parts are not becoming land fill and the City is psyched the sculpture will solidify Santa Rosa as bike-friendly.”

+ Santa Rosa Public Art

Via Wired Gadget Lab

Photos © Ilana Spector