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Motorcycles As Art

Article By: Roadside Marty

Photos By: Mad Stork

Originally Published In The November 2014 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

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If you’re reading this and you haven’t heard of Michael Lichter I promise that you’ve at least seen his work. Every year in Sturgis Michael hosts a different art exhibit featuring motorcycles as art at the Buffalo Chip. This year’s theme was “Built for Speed”, which paid homage to all forms of racing or performance based street platforms. A multitude of artists brought in a wide variety of exhibits including paintings , photography, sculptures as well as custom built motorcycles. The list of artist’s this year was definitely a who’s who of the motorcycle art scene as it included Richie Pan, Scott Jacobs, David Uhl and the man responsible for this great mag, Chris Callen.

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Paul Wideman and the crew at Bare Knuckle Choppers was unveiled at the show. It was an extremely emotional moment for Darren when he saw the very special paint job that was done by Scott Takes for the first time, which was a tribute to Hank Bertka, a close personal friend of Darren’s who’s unfortunately no longer with us. Michael chose some of the best builders in the industry to represent the art of motocycles which included Kirk Taylor from Custom Design Studios, Kevin “Teach” Baas , ” Tator ” Gilmore, Dan “Bacon” Carr, and Matt Olsen amongst others.

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When I asked Michael how he comes up with the different themes and how he selects what builders and bikes that make up his show he just smiled that smile and said “It just always comes together Roadside” so there’s your answer folks. After walking and talking for hours just trying to absorb the amazing art that was on display we were treated to a great reception where no one left hungry. The Lichter Gallery opening is definitely one of my favorites of the week because I get to see some friends that are usually working nonstop during the Rally as well as see some of the best custom motorcycles and art around the scene today. Thanks for doing what you do Michael, I’m already looking forward to next year!

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