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Nirve Bikes

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Yeah, that was the idea. It's poking fun at the idea that "girls" bikes have to be converted to "boys" bikes to have any value or so that a certain type of guy would be willing to ride them, so I picked the most phallic representation I could think of without using an actual phallus to add a top tube to a step-through frame.

But you made think that maybe I've considered it too seriously as if it were intended as purposeful industrial art and completely missed that Barris' creations were intended to be humorous (the ones he actually made, not the ones he claims to have built that were made by someone else). I just thought they were largely contrived aggregations of elements that fit a theme on a car that was barely more than a prop to be parked behind velvet at those sweaty indoor car shows. Being barely usable, that put them in the realm of sculpture for me, but I thought they looked like the kitschy junk that would be found in a tourist gift shop rather than an art gallery. The only thing of his that I liked growing up was the Batmobile because it seemed more inspired, coherent, and purposeful, but I later found out that what I liked about it was the Lincoln Futura it was based upon. If his work was intended to be a joke, it would make a lot more sense and I can appreciate it from that angle, even if it's not my sense of humor.
 
I'm a huge fan of DragULa, but for the most part...there is definitely a pre- and post- hollywood split for Barris. TV, movie, and stars cars kind of took over as the emphasis...the cool customs of the earlier years were left behind. The departure of Sam Barris was probably the 'beginning of the end' of Barris Customs as a car guy shop.

The Hirohata Merc is still a gold standard for old school customs.

I don't think anybody took cars like the bathtub buggy seriously :eek:
 
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It's not a Barris or a Coddington, but here's my creation still in the works.
 
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