page_title: People's Bike Library of Portland
section_title: Unveiling
hierarchical_section_title: People's Bike Library of Portland / Unveiling
caption_attribution_description: Event: Mayoral Announcement at Roots Brewery
context_page_description: People's Bike Library of Portland, also known as Zoobomb Pyle or simply "the pile", is a 2009 steel and gold leaf sculpture by local artists Brian Borrello and Vanessa Renwick, located in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It was erected in collaboration with the Zoobomb bicycling collective, and serves as a bicycle parking rack, a "lending library" for weekly bike riders, and a monument to the city's bike culture. The sculpture features a two-story spiral pillar with a gold-plated small bicycle on top; bicycles intended for Zoobomb riders are locked to the pillar and base, which has metal loops serving as hooks.
  The sculpture is part of the City of Portland and Multnomah County Public Art Collection, courtesy of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, which commissioned the work with funds from the Portland Department of Transportation. The collaboration between the two groups was occasioned by the "Art on the Streets" program set up by Mayor Sam Adams.
context_section_description: On May 29, 2009, Adams and other community leaders hosted an event to commemorate the sculpture. The participants, who included a variety of cycling enthusiasts and current and former Zoobombers, gathered at the former "Holy Rack" before parading to the sculpture. The parade had been promoted by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and City Repair Project, and featured small and tall bikes, chopper bicycles, and a homemade bakfiets. At the ceremony, long-time Zoobomber Shannon Palermo introduced the Regional Arts & Culture Council's public art manager, who spoke about the work. "Handsome Dave" thanked those who made both Zoobomb and the sculpture possible, then introduced Adams, who cut the ribbon after a countdown and spoke about the work's origins. He said:
  It was three or four years ago that Mr. Handsome said, 'you know what, we need a place to catalog and store our bikes' ... He said we want to do a sculpture ... and he said, 'Oh and we want you to pay for it!' ... Portland's bike culture is not only fun, it's absolutely necessary for the future success of this city, to reduce our footprint on the environment, to make ourselves a lot more healthy ... and it's great, quirky stuff like this that makes Portland, Portland, and I was really proud be a little part of it.
  Following Adams' speech, attendees created the first pile of small bicycles. One participant, who was one of the first women of Zoobomb, said about the creation of the first new pile: "I pushed through the crowd and handed it forth, bowing in honor of the golden b(eye)cycle winking in the sun. As I retreated to the crowd, my whole body was shaking. My hands were in disbelief. I paced in a circle and half-sigh/half-laughed and this darn smile was holding me so tight, I felt like the kiln was burning it into my clay, smile-shaped cheeks forever." A long chain was wrapped through each of the nearly twenty bicycles, which were locked to the sculpture by Adams. Event attendees then posed for a group picture, and sang a song called "16" Rims", a parody of Janis Joplin's "Mercedez Benz". The commemoration ended with "dancing in the streets" and music by The Sprockettes.
caption: Mayor Sam Adams spoke at the dedication ceremony for People's Bike Library. His "Art on the Streets" program helped bring the sculpture to fruition.
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D70s", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS2 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2008:04:18 08:39:50", "Image ExifOffset": "220", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "858", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6652", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "24/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:10:03 17:36:22", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:10:03 17:36:22", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "9/2", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode, return light detected, red-eye reduction mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "52", "EXIF SubSecTime": "70", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "70", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "70", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "447", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "513", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "78", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Soft", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}