The Sturgis Rally features activities such as rock concerts, motorcycle races and mud wrestling. But the rally also includes events that celebrate motorcycle culture.
The art exhibition in the new town of the Buffalo Chip, South Dakota, is titled the Naked Truth, Motorcycles Exposed. It included metal motorcycles sitting on pedestals that are scattered around the room.
A crowd gathered around the walls of the temporary gallery for the opening as photographer Michael Lichter explained his collection. Lichter is the curator of the exhibition. He says the theme changes every year.
“I produce these motorcyclists’ art exhibitions every year; this is the fifteenth year that I’ve done it. I’ve tried to combine the art on the walls with custom motorcycles. So it’s a custom motorcycle exhibition-or it’s dedicated to that-and it’s not a bike show. You have bike shows where people come up, they put their bike in, and they park it. People look at the bikes and they move on. The idea here was, put the bikes on pedestals. Now I’m not saying that this is where bikes belong, but I’m saying that bikes can belong here. Bikes are to be ridden down the highway, that’s what they’re for. But at the same time, they’re a product of design. They’re a product of a lot of passion,” Lichter explained.
This year he said he chose to display motorcycles without paint, finish or gloss to try and get the viewers to focus in the design. His photography exhibit is a combination one hundred images taken over 36 years that relate to bikes, the oldest photo dating back to 1979.
Lichter’s display will be available at the Buffalo Chip from now through August 7.