Museum of Photographic Arts "POP Thursday" features bicycle theme

MoPA, the San Diego Museum of Photographic Arts, held its monthly POP Thursday evening event on October 20, this time featuring a bicycle theme. A dozen short films focusing on bicycle culture and the green movement from the past eleven years of the Bicycle Film Festival were screened for the dozens of patrons who attended. The evening also featured members of the Penny Farthing Club with antique and antique-style high-wheel bicycles, bicycle-themed button art and a display of several bicycles. Attendees were encouraged to ride their bikes to the museum, with complementary bake valet parking provided by the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition.

POP Thursdays began several years ago as a fun nighttime event to bring in people who might not otherwise visit the photography museum, explained MoPA Director of Development Jana Holsomback. At first the evening featured cult films such as "This Is Spinal Tap," but more recently the museum has expanded into other themes. The previous POP Thursday was Tattoo Town and featured members of San Diego’s tattoo culture and industry. The bicycle theme was a natural on several levels, according to Marketing and Communications Manager Kristine Page. The museum has curated the Bicycle Film Festival for several years and has worked closely with festival originator Brent Barber. In addition, the museum is currently featuring the exhibition Infinite Balance: Artists and the Environment.

A half-dozen members of the Penny Farthing Club were on hand to show off their high wheel, or “penny farthing” bicycles. The term comes from the relative sizes of the old British penny and farthing coins which, placed side-by-side, resemble the large and small wheels of the cycle. Club founder Rick Persky was joined by Jeffrey Cashvan, Devin Haupt, Savannah Russell, Forrest Brodsky, and Andy Halbert. Halbert, who has been riding penny farthings since he was 17, had the distinction of riding an authentic 1886 English Rudge bicycle.

In addition to enjoying the movies and bicycles, patrons had the opportunity to make winter green oil rubbings of antique bicycle images, which were then made into large decorative buttons.