10.6092/issn.2038-3460/17283
application/pdf
2038-3460
17283
1
en
Gianluca Gimini
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/
Tecnoscienza – Italian Journal of Science & Technology Studies
Velocipedia (Cover’s Comment)
Text.Serial.Journal
https://tecnoscienza.unibo.it/
7
Editorial
2016-07-08
2023-06-20
2016-07-08
2023-08-07
TS
Gianluca Gimini
2016/07/08
10.6092/issn.2038-3460/17283
2038-3460
1
en
Velocipedia (Cover’s Comment)
https://tecnoscienza.unibo.it/article/download/17283/16145
7
                                                            Cover’s comment

Velocipedia by Gianluca Gimini (Italy)




     There is a quite funny story behind this project. It all started in 2009 in a bar
in Bologna where I was chatting with a friend. We were talking about school time
memories and I recalled this very embarrassing moment: a classmate was being
questioned by our technical ed. teacher. He was doing pretty bad and was on the
verge of tears at a certain point, so the teacher tried to help him out by asking him
to describe his bicycle. The poor kid panicked and couldn’t even remember if the
driving wheel was the front or the rear one. My friend laughed at this story and
said that anyone who has ridden a bike must know how it’s made. Then he tried
drawing one on a napkin and miserably failed. That’s the day I started collecting
bike drawings.
     I would walk up to friends, family or total strangers with a pen and a sheet of
paper in my hand, asking that they immediately draw me a men’s bicycle, by
heart. Soon I found out that when confronted with this odd request most people
have a very hard time remembering exactly how a bike is made. Some did get
close, some actually nailed it perfectly, but most ended up drawing something
that was pretty far off from a regular men’s bicycle.
     I collected hundreds of drawings. There is an incredible diversity of new
typologies emerging from these crowd-sourced and technically error-driven
drawings. A single designer could not invent so many new bike designs in 100
lifetimes and this is why I look at this collection in such awe.
     In 2016 I eventually decided it was my turn to take part in this project. I
selected those sketches that I found most interesting, genuine and diverse, then
rendered them in digital form as if they were real. I became the executor of these
two minute projects by people who were mainly non-designers and confirmed my
suspicion: everyone, regardless his age and job, can come up with extraordinary,
wild, new and at times brilliant inventions.

    www.gianlucagimini.it
