David Byrne Gets Ready For Album Release With A Brisk Bicycle Tour Of New York City

This weekend, the New York Times had a short piece on some new bicycle racks designed by David Byrne, who went from “judge” to “winner” in a recent New York-sponsored contest to design some racks for the city. Byrne’s racks, which were installed on Friday, seem to go for “whimsy” over “function,” with themed designs (a silhouette of a woman that looked like it was copied from a semi’s mudflap went into Times Square; a car-shaped rack called “The Jersey,” pictured, was installed near the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel) and space for maybe four or five bikes, max. Well, at least when they’re uninstalled, they’ll be able to sell in the low five figures, thanks to Byrne’s name recognition. After the jump, a Wall Street Journal video report on the racks’ creation that, at the very end, shows just how one might chain a bike to the dollar-sign-shaped “Wall Street”:

Oh and yes, Byrne’s collaboration with Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, hits stores a week from tomorrow. I doubt the racks will be covered with promotional posters as part of the run-up, but you never know.

David Byrne’s Bike Racks [YouTube] David Byrne, Cultural Omnivore, Raises Cycling Rack to an Art Form [NYT] Everything That Happens Will Happen Today [Official site]