I think the title is a very significant part of an image as it sets the insiewing scene for the whole story behind the image, it sets the president to what the image is all about. Without a title its just a picture that has no meaning no story no worth or point to a random viewer.
Topic/ Theme
The topic/ theme backs up the title by giving it substance, something to relate to or to make it identifiable, it puts things into context providing the building blocks, giving the image a reason.
Audience
It is important who you direct your work at as if it is directed at the wrong audience nobody will take note and all your efforts will be in vain. If you've created a body of work that artistically shows the demise of the local pub for instance, by photographing old pubs that have been turned into flats or are just run down and abandoned, an exhibition or a newspaper/ magazine article might be the way to go. Maybe sending samples of your work to advertising agencies if you want to go into product photography.
Approach
Your approach to a project should start with research, look into how other photographers have gone about similar projects. Read about the background history of the place, person, car, building etc. Build and store information to gain knowledge about the subject of your project. Take notes, carry a notebook and pen or some way of recording ideas. Keep going back to your research look at it from different angles to find different points of view.
Getting in
If you need to get into a restricted area or on private land you will need to seek permission and by having a well informed well written proposal makes your chances of getting that permission all the more likely to be granted, plus it gives you more chance to gather more information about the place you are trying to gain access to.
Proposal
A proposal could be made up from all of the above starting with your initial idea where it came from and where you see it going to, include all research and methods create a time line from start to finish stating how long your project will take to set up and how long it will run for where it is to be presented and how. A proposal will be needed if applying for funding, you will need to out line how much you will need and what its going to be used for. It is also a good guide for your future reference for similar or new projects.
Timeline
You need to work out how much time you want to devote to a project and how long it will be shown for or if its going to be an ongoing project. you also need to be aware that the longer something goes on the more money it tends to cost so keep that in mind when planning your budget.
Budget
If your looking to get funding you need to consider how long you plan to spend on your project and what your going to use the money for. You also need to think about where the funding is going to come from, are you going to fund it yourself or seek funding from government art bodies, private funders, grants or trusts each of the above may require different information or there may be different ways you need to apply. one might ask for a presentation of your resent work or a proposal via a meeting or email, so in every case good knowledge and understanding of the background of your project is a must.
Shadi Ghadirian.
Aeroplastics Contemporary presents the first complete monographic exhibition of the Iranian photographer Shadi Ghadirian. Coming to wide public attention in 2001 with the series Qajar and Like Everyday, the artist has ever continued to explore the theme of conflict between tradition and modernity, and that of the position of women in a society dominated by male stereotypes. Showing just beneath the surface appears the whole saga of the relationship between Orient and Occident, set within a world context that sees Iran, pulled between the will to reform and conservative retrenchment, at times placed beyond the pale, at others considered as an unavoidably essential economic and political partner.
Represented at the Venice Biennale since the 1960s, Iran withdrew after the revolution, to then again take up its pavilion place in 2003. Paradoxically, that year also saw the return of conservatives to power, after a period of reform that had sparked hope for a wider opening to the world, as well as an improvement of human rights and the status of women in the Islamic republic. The series Like Everyday(Domestic Life), which presents women entirely veiled, the face hidden behind assorted items of kitchenware, might appear an acerbic critique on the obligation to wear the veil. But the artist warns against a too literal reading of these images, and underscores that the theme woman-object unfortunately has a universal dimension. The series West by East plays with fashion codes to explore the same theme: in these portraits of women in Western dress, Shadi Ghadirian uses broad black hatching to cover those exposed parts of the body as well as coiffure, reminding us of the public prohibitions against exhibiting to view what one may banally see in the pages of magazines. The technique employed is simple and effective: the models are placed behind a glass pane upon which the artist intervenes – a method also used for the series Be Colourful. These investigations round a body at once hidden and revealed may be seen as far back as 1998, in the images comprising Out of Focus. As for her series Qajar, the title evokes the dynasty of the same name (1794-1925), under which portrait photography was introduced in Iran. Veiled and dressed as in times of old, posing before 19th-century décors, women presenting objects like a radio, a mountain bike or a vacuum cleaner, like a bridge between two worlds, built upon the rather futile, though so-human, need to possess. Further, the images that make up Ctrl+Alt+Delete subtly combine the gap between tradition and modernity with a query concerning the taboo surrounding the female body within Islamic society: positioned in front of a black background that she blends into, the model is at the same time revealed by the computer icons that go to delineate the form.
The new series White Square, Nil Nil and My Press Photos may seem an extension of these various themes, to which here the subject of war is added. For White Square, Shadi Ghadirian photographed (against a white, neutral background) objects of military use - helmet, canteen, ammunition belt, etc. - that she decorates with a little red silk ribbon. Removed from their context, these accoutrements of war appear at once menacing and delicate, their aggressivity tempered by the feminine element. With Nil Nil, these same objects penetrate the domestic space (hand grenade in the fruit bowl, bloody bayonet as place-setting, gas mask in the kiddies' toy bag, etc.): the menace of conflict grafted onto peaceful everyday life, while in a way also becoming contained by the tranquillity of the familial location. As for the collages that comprise My Press Photos, they combine images drawn from press-agency catalogues with old portraits of Iranian military men. Across time and space, war's violence sadly reminds us of its universal, essentially male, dimension.
Pierre-Yves Desaive
Critic and curator
Brussels, January 2009
Shadi Ghadirian My Press Photo #04 2005-08 B/W print
Ellie Davies (Born 1976) lives in London and works in the forests of the South of England.
She received her MA in Photography from London College of Communication.
Davies had her sixth solo exhibition in the autumn of 2012 at The Richard Young Gallery, London. Her work has recently been exhibited at Arles Photo Festival in France, The Noorderlicht Photofestival in The Netherlands, and the Singapore International Photo Festival, with touring exhibitions in 2013. In late 2012 The Open to Interpretation: Intimate Landscape Exhibition toured the USA including Gordon Parks Gallery, St Paul, Minneapolis, and Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, Oregon.
Solo shows in 2011 included Come with Me – New Landscape by Ellie Davies at ThePrint House Gallery in London, Smoke and Mirrors: Solo Exhibition at10GS in London, and Ellie Davies Solo Exhibition at Bruce Collections, Kiev in Ukraine.
Her work has recently been featured in Interior Design USA, Fraction Magazine’s 50th Issue, Circle Magazine-France, Snob Magazine-Russia, Fuzion Magazine, Photo+ Magazine-South Korea, Conscientious, Silvershotz, Lens Culture, Art Ukraine, Tree Magazine, Entitle Magazine, Urbanautica, F-Stop Magazine, Le Monde Magazine and The London Independent Photography Selected Artist Showcase. Recent books include WUD: Four Fictional Walks in the Woods, a limited-edition hardcover Photobook published by Tangerine Press in December 2012. Also,Open To Interpretation: Intimate Landscapes – Published October 2012, and Behind the Image By Natasha Caruana and Anna Fox.
Davies has recently been awarded an Honourable Mention in the Professional Women Photographers International Juried Exhibition 2012, ArtSlant Showcase Juried Winner, The Lens Culture International Exposure Awards 2010, 1st Place in the Fine Art Landscape category of the 2010 PX3 Paris Photo Prize, The Exeter Phoenix 2010 Audience Choice Award, ArtSlant Showcase Juried Winner in 2010 and 2011, and Commended in the LPA Landscape Awards 2010.
Her work is held in private collections in the UK, the US, Central and Eastern Europe, South Korea, Russia and The United Arab Emirates. WUD: Four Fictional Walks in the Woods has been added to the collections of the National Art Library at the V and A Museum in London, The Library Project Bookshop, the Glasgow School of Art Libruary, and is stocked in Foyles London.
Statement
I have been working in UK forests for the past seven years, making a number of bodies of work which explore the complex interrelationship between the landscape and the individual. Our understanding of landscape can be seen as a construction in which layers of meaning that reflect our own cultural preoccupations and anxieties obscure the reality of the land, veiling it, and transforming the natural world into an idealization.
UK forests have been shaped by human processes over thousands of years and include ancient woodlands and timber plantations. As such, the forest represents the confluence of nature and culture, of natural landscape and human activity. Forests are potent symbols in folklore, fairy tale and myth, places of enchantment and magic as well as of danger and mystery. In recent cultural history they have come to be associated with psychological states relating to the unconscious.
Against this cultural backdrop my work explores the fabricated nature of landscape by making a variety of temporary and non-invasive interventions in the forest, which place the viewer in the gap between reality and fantasy. Creating this space encourages the viewer to re-evaluate the way in which their relationship with the landscape is formed, and the extent to which it is a product of cultural heritage or personal experience.
The forest becomes a studio, forming a backdrop to contextualize the work, so that each piece draws on its location, a golden tree introduced into a thicket shimmers in the darkness, painted paths snake through the undergrowth, and strands of wool are woven between trees mirroring colours and formal elements within the space.
These altered landscapes operate on a number of levels. They are a reflection of my personal relationship with the forest, a meditation on universal themes relating to the psyche, and call into question the concept of landscape as a social and cultural construct.
Ellie Davies CV
ellie@elliedavies.co.uk
MA Photography, London College of Communication 2008
Lives and works in London
Solo Shows
2012
Into the Woods, Solo Exhibition at Richard Young Gallery, W8, 5th October – 17th November 2012
2011
Come with Me - New Landscape by Ellie Davies, Print House Gallery, London, E8, 21st Oct – 27th Nov
Ellie Davies: New Landscape at LBi, 146 Brick Lane, London, E1, 7th Sept – 14th October
Smoke and Mirrors: Solo Exhibition - 10GS, London, W1, 12th May – 5th September
Ellie Davies at Bayeux Imaging - Newman Street, London, W1 5th May – 5th June
Ellie Davies Solo Exhibition - Brucie Collections, Artema St, 55-b, Kiev, Ukraine, 16th March – 2nd May
Group Shows
2013
Forest Stories Autumn, Patriarshie Prudy (Patriarch Ponds), Moscow, Russia, 20 Sept - 20 Oct 2013. Curator Irina Zhuravleva, Partners: WWF, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council*) and Tetra Pak Russia, and Art Project FOREST*.
Affordable Art Fair Battersea, with Crane Kalman Brighton, 13-16 October, Hampstead
Affordable Art Fair with Crane Kalman Brighton, 13-16 June, Hampstead
London Art Fair with Crane Kalman Brighton, 16-20 Jan, Islington Business Design Centre
Arles Photography Festival Open Salon ‘An Eye for an Ear’- Hearing Nature
•China House, 153-155 Beach St, Penang, Malaysia, 28 March - 17 April
2012
Matt Roberts Gallery Photo Open 2012, Griffin Gallery, W11, 7 – 27 Dec
Matt Roberts Gallery,25b Vyner Street, E2 9DG, 12 Oct – 3 Nov
- The Griffin Gallery, The Studio Building, 21 Evesham Street, London, W11 4AJ, 6-28 Dec
3rd Singapore International Photo Festival, Art Science Museum, Singapore, 10 Oct-29 Nov
Noorderlicht Terra Cognisa Photofestival, JB Groningen, The Netherlands, 2 Sept – 7 Oct
Arles Photography Festival Open Salon ‘An Eye for an Ear’- Hearing Nature
BA (Hons) Photography, Kent Institute of Art and Design, Rochester
Solo Exhibitions
2010
Nummianus, Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow
La Posa, Goethe Institute, Glasgow
Nummianus, New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall
2009
In Process, Pavillion, Leeds
2007
Nummianus, Wendt+Friedmann Gallery, Berlin
Nonsuch, 2piR Gallery, Poznan, Poland
Nonsuch, Architecture Centre - Beam, Wakefield
2006
Nonsuch, Andreas Wendt Gallery, Berlin
Nonsuch, Photofusion, London
A Scape, Focal Point Gallery, Southend–on–Sea
2005
A Scape, Andreas Wendt Gallery, Berlin
Group Exhibitions
2013
X-Border, X-Border Art Biennale, Konsthallen, Luleå, Sweden
Unnatural Selection, MC Theatre, Unseen Festival, Amsterdam
Tarantel 1, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
Convulsive Walls, Departure Lounge, Luton
Alternatives: Borders and Boundaries, Ohio University Art Gallery, Ohio
2012
The Photobook Show, Finish Museum of Photography, Helsinki
2011
Fringe Focus, Phoenix Art Gallery, Brighton
On the Ephemeral in Photography, HotShoe Gallery, London
2010
Aktualizacja UK, Galeria Camelot, Krakow, Poland
The Skinned City, Yinka Shonibare’s Space, London
A Positive View, Somerset House, London
New Photography, Djanogly Art Gallery, Nottingham (Pavilion Commission)
2009
Strange Places, Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston/London
Vision – A View of Life, Museum Künstlerkolonie, Darmstadt, Germany
2008
What Happens Next?, PM Gallery, London
2007
Landscape Photography, Sadler's Wells, London
Up & Now, Photographic Centre Northwest, Seattle
Open 06, Artsway, Sway
2006
PLUG, County Hall Gallery, London
2005
Grand Coalition, Wagdas Gallery, London
2nd Berlin Art Salon, Magazine and Glashaus of the Arena, Berlin
The Summer Show, Hoopers Gallery, London
The Summer Exhibition, The Royal Academy of Art, London
Divine, Andreas Wendt Gallery, Berlin
2004
Made in England, European Parliment, Brussels
2002
Urban Vision, Flowers Gallery, London
Publications
2013
“Granta Magazine”, Issue 124, August 2013
"History of Photography Journal”, Issue 3, August 2013
2012
"Spatialities: The Geographies of Art and Architecture", by Dr.Judith Rugg and Craig Martin, Intellect Publishing (UK)
"Behind the Image", by Anna Fox and Natascha Caruana, Ava Publishing (UK)
2010
"New Photography", 'The Secret Copy', Pavilion & Djanogly Gallery (UK)
"Earth", TNeues, Prix Pictet Art Prize (UK)
2009
"Art Review", December 2009 (UK)
"Architectural Review", September 2009 (UK)
"Polo bound for Passaic (Monograph)", Cornerhouse Publications (UK) and Schaden Verlag (Germany)
"Independent Photography" , Spring 2009 (UK)
2008
"fotoMagazine", Nb.10, October 2008 (Germany)
"Autoportret", issue 23, 2-2008, November 2008, Poland
"Time Out", issue 1952, 16th January 2008 (UK)
2007
"Tagesspiegel”, 15th Decemeber 2007, Germany
“Flash Forward: Emerging Photographers 2007” (UK)
"Fash N Riot", Issue 4 (UK)
2006
“New Art From London”, Thames and Hudson (UK)
"fotograf Magazine", Issue 8 (Czech Republic)
"Portfolio Magazine", Issue 43 (UK)
"The Independent" (UK)
2005
"The Times-T2" (UK)
"Hotshoe-Crude Metaphors", Issue 136 (UK)
"photo-london", Catalogue (UK)
2002
Urban Vision, Exhibition Catalogue (UK)
"Camera Austria", Issue 89 (Austria)
Awards
2012
UCA Research Fund
2010
Renaissance Art Prize
UCA Research Fund
2009/2010
Pavilion Commission
2009
Merck-Prize
Arts Council England
Voigtlaender New Talent Award in Photography
2007
Man Group Photography Prize
UCCA Research Fund
2006
Arts Council England
2005–2006
Arts Council England
2005
Hoopers Gallery Award
National Grid Transco Award
2004–2005
DAAD Educational Award in the Fine Art
2004
NGT Student Prize
2002
St. James Future City Award, London
Guest Speaker
2012
Conference “Expanded Photographies” organised by Southampton Solent University, Southampton
2010
Conference “The Burden of Photographic Theory” organised by Sunderland University, Newcastle
2009
“Framing the Urban” Rudolf Steiner House, London
2007
Symposium “Contemporary Photographic Art and the City” organised by Kingston University London, Bargehouse Oxo Tower, London
Symposium “Constructing Images – Fabricating Spaces and Framing Places” organised by the Research Centre at MIRIAD, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester
2006
"In conversation with Steffi Klenz” – Talk with Chris TownsendPhotofusion, London
Conference “Photography and the City” organised by University College Dublin-Clinton Institute for American Studies, Dublin, Ireland
Conference “Fictions Abound” organised by the Centre for Photographic Research at the University of Wales, Newport and Ffotogallery, Chapter, Cardiff
2005
"Forum Discussion with John Slyce” Hoopers Gallery, London
photo-London: Emerging Artists, The Royal Academy of Arts, London
I came across the photographers below whilst looking at the three web sights we where asked to evaluate for reading week which are, http://www.exitmagazine.co.uk/photography/ http://www.aperture.org/ http://www.aperture.org/
Marc Lagrange
http://www.2photo.ru/ru/post/8
Dmitry Noskov
http://www.2photo.ru/ru/post/31884
Michael Barr
http://www.2photo.ru/ru/post/31890
Candid photos of Chinese photographer Ren Hang
26-year-old Chinese photographer Ren Hang deliberately removes provocative work. In a country where society is very conservative and the arts are strict requirements that do not approve of such experiments, Ren is a new generation of artists and photographers, more open and free from cultural prejudices.
http://www.2photo.ru/ru/post/31875
Basilio Silva
http://www.2photo.ru/ru/post/31865
Corinne Day
http://www.corinneday.co.uk/
Proposal.
Title: Hog Warts and All
Topic/ Theme: Bikes and Bikers
Audience: Artistic gallery,s, Internet web sights, social network sights, magazines and news papers.
Approach: look at biker web sights i.e. Harley Davidson, Hells Angels etc, survey/questionnaire, social media and interviews
Broad outline.
Hog Warts And All
I have chosen bikes and bikers as I have a good connection with a large local bikers community I will also cover a history of Harley-Davidson and the Hell's Angles, Mods and Lambretta.
What is the divide between Mods and Rockers. My aim is to produce a body of work depicting the difference between the two cultures. I would like to take a trip to America to the birth place of Harley-Davidson to see where it all began. Then meet and photograph the original chapter of the Hell's Angels. Then flip the coin to see the other side of the biker lifestyle and go to Italy to the birth place of Lambberetta. My research will look at how the Mod scene came about and the battles between the two.
Image.
This is a picture of my mate Mick Walsh on his bike about 40 years ago.
this is secondary and qualitative information.
Piece of writing.
1901
William S. Harley, age 21, completes a blueprint drawing of an engine designed to fit into a bicycle.
1903
William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson make available to the public the first production Harley-Davidson® motorcycle. The bike was built to be a racer, with a 3-1/8 inch bore and 3-1/2 inch stroke. The factory in which they worked was a 10 x 15-foot wooden shed with the words "Harley-Davidson Motor Company" crudely scrawled on the door. Arthur's brother Walter later joins their efforts.
Henry Meyer of Milwaukee, a schoolyard pal of William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson, buys one of the 1903 models directly from the founders.
1904
The first Harley-Davidson Dealer, C.H. Lang of Chicago, IL, opens for business and sells one of the first three production Harley-Davidson motorcycles ever made.
1910
The famed "Bar & Shield" logo is used for the first time. It is trademarked at the U.S. Patent office one year later.
At least seven different first place finishes are captured at races, endurance contests and hillclimbs across America. All seven winners are riding Harley-Davidson® motorcycles.
1911
The "F-head" engine becomes a workhorse of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle until 1929.
1912
Construction begins on what will become the six story headquarters and main factory building at Juneau Ave. in Milwaukee. A separate Parts and Accessories Department is formed.
H-D exports motorcycles to Japan, marking the first ever sales outside of the U.S. Dealer network grows to over 200 nationwide.
1913
The Racing Department is formed, with William Ottaway as its first Assistant Engineer to racing engineer William S. Harley. Also, the Forecar delivery van is offered for the first time.
1914
Sidecars are made available to Harley-Davidson buyers. Clutch and brake pedals now available on F-head singles and twins.
The Motor Company formally enters motorcycle racing this year. The first Racing Engineer is William S. Harley. Within a few short years, team Harley-Davidson is referred to informally as the "Wrecking Crew" because of their incredible dominance of the sport.
The Two-Speed rear hub transmission is introduced for two years only in the Model 10F. Patented by William S. Harley, it was effective but discontinued in order to further improve drivetrain function in 1915 with a three-speed design.
1920
By 1920, Harley-Davidson is the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. New Harley-Davidson® motorcycles can be purchased from over 2,000 dealers in 67 countries worldwide.
Leslie "Red" Parkhurst breaks 23 speed records on a Harley-Davidson 61 cubic inch racing motorcycle. Also, the "hog" association starts when the racing team's mascot, a pig, is carried on a victory lap after each race won by the team.
This is secondary Qualitative and quantitative
1. Interview my mate ask him questions like how many people within the group of bikers which he rides with. how long he's been riding. whats the most popular model of Harley. This info is primary Qualitative and Quantitative. This info could be subjective.
2. Harley-Davidson web sight. Secondary, Qualitative and Quantitative.
3. Hell's Angels web sight. Secondary, Qualitative and Quantitative.
Origin of "Hog" nickname
Beginning in 1920, a team of farm boys, including Ray Weishaar, who became known as the "hog boys," consistently won races. The group had a live hog as their mascot. Following a win, they would put the hog on their Harley and take a victory lap.[18] In 1983, the Motor Company formed a club for owners of its product taking advantage of the long-standing nickname by turning "hog" into the acronym HOG., for Harley Owners Group. Harley-Davidson attempted to trademark "hog", but lost a case against an independent Harley-Davidson specialist, The Hog Farm of West Seneca, NY,[130] in 1999 when the appellate panel ruled that "hog" had become a generic term for large motorcycles and was therefore unprotectable as a trademark.[131]
On August 15, 2006, Harley-Davidson Inc. had its NYSE ticker symbol changed from HDI to HOG.
Here is a link to an article called Inside the worlds deadliest biker gangs.
A chopper is a type of motorcycle that is either modified from an original motorcycle design ("chopped") or built from scratch to have a unique hand-crafted appearance. Some of the characteristic features of choppers are lengthened or stretched frames, long front ends with extended forks often coupled with an increased rake angle, hardtail frames (frames without rear suspension), larger than stock front wheels, very tall "ape hanger" or very short "drag" handlebars. The "sissy bar", a set of tubes that connect the rear fender with the frame, and which are often extended several feet high, is a signature feature on many choppers.
Choppers typically are stripped down and have had many parts found on stock bikes "chopped" - that is cut down or modified to be smaller, or removed altogether. Parts often removed include the front fender, turn signals, one or more mirrors, speedometers and gauges, electric starters, batteries, chain guards, and various covers. Two anachronistic front suspension systems, the girder fork and the springer fork, are often used on choppers, to further differentiate them from the telescopic forks found on almost all modern production bikes.
Perhaps the best known choppers ever are the two customized Harley-Davidsons, the "Captain America" and "Billy Bike", seen in the 1969 film Easy Rider.
Here's some photos from the iconic film Easy Rider.
The Bobber Era, 1946-1959
Before there were choppers, there was the bobber, meaning a motorcycle that had been "bobbed," or relieved of excess weight by removing parts, particularly the fenders, with the intent of making it lighter and thus faster, or at least making it look better in the eyes of a rider seeking a more minimalist ride.
The heavily valenced fenders of the 1940 Indian 440 four.
An early example of a bobber is the 1940 Indian Sport Scout "Bob-Job" which toured in the 1998 The Art of the Motorcycle exhibition. Indian Scouts and Chiefs of the time came with extravagantly large, heavily valenced fenders, nearly reaching the center of the wheel on the luxurious 1941 Indian Series 441 while racing bikes had tiny fenders or none at all. The large and well-appointed bikes exemplified the "dresser" motorcycle aesthetic and providing a counterpoint to the minimalist bobber, and café racers.
In the post-World War II United States, servicemen returning home from the war started removing all parts deemed too big, heavy, ugly, or not essential to the basic function of the motorcycle, such as fenders, turn indicators, and even front brakes. The large, spring-suspended saddles were also removed in order to sit as low as possible on the motorcycle's frame. These machines were lightened to improve performance for dirt-track racing and mud racing. In California dry lake beds were used for long top speed runs. Motorcycles and automobiles ran at the same meets, and bobbers were an important part of the hot rod culture that developed in this era.
The first choppers were built in America, and were an outgrowth of the milder customization trend that had originated after WW2 when returning soldiers and others began modifying cars and motorcycles, frequently to improve performance in top-speed races on dry lake beds in Southern California and similar desolate spaces such as unused airstrips in other parts of the country, or on the street for street racing. These early modified motorcycles were known as "bobbers", and there are many common features between bobbers and choppers, with choppers differentiated being more radically modified, and especially by having the frame tubes and geometry modified ("chopped" by welding) to make the bike longer.
The earliest choppers tended to be based on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, at first making use of the Flathead, Knucklead and Panhead engines - many of which could be found in surplus military and police motorcycles bought cheaply at auction. As new engines became available they were soon utilized in choppers. British bikes, particularly Triumphs, were also a popular motor for choppers early on. As the Japanese manufacturers began offering larger engines in the late 1960s these motors were also quickly put to use by chopper builders. The Honda 750-4 was the most widely used Japanese motor for chopper builders early on. Choppers have been created using almost every available engine, but builders have always shown a preference for older air cooled designs. It is rare to see a chopper with a radiator.
Over time choppers became more and more about achieving a certain look, rather than being primarily performance oriented modifications. The modifications that had had their origin in hotrodding evolved into an artistic and aesthetic direction. By the mid 1970s stock Japanese and European performance motorcycles would outperform most bobbers and choppers. The one exception to this was the drag racing arena, which placed a premium on pure engine power, rather than handling over curvy courses. Chopper styling continued to be influenced by drag-bike modifications throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
While all choppers are highly customized bikes, sometimes even being built from scratch using all custom parts, not all customized bikes are choppers. In Europe at roughly the same era that choppers were invented and popularized in the USA, bikers modified their bikes (primarily English brands like Triumph, BSA, Norton and Matchless) in a different way, to achieve different looks, performance goals and riding position. The resulting bikes are known as "cafe racers', and look very different from a chopper.
As the popularity of choppers grew, in part through exposure in movies such as the 1969 classic Easy Rider, several motorcycle brands took note and began to include chopper influenced styling in their factory offerings. None of the factories were willing to go all out and do things like abandon rear-suspension to achieve the classic chopper look, however. As a result these bikes were given the name "factory customs" and are not considered choppers.
Over the decades since the first choppers were created many different trends and fads have taken hold and held sway, so that that it is often possible for someone to look at a chopper and say that it's a "1970s" style or fits into a specific era or sub-type. Currently some builders specialize in building choppers that very exactly fit into these styles, they are frequently referred to as "old school" style choppers.
1960s - early choppers
One of the earliest choppers, built by Wild Child's Custom Shop of Kansas City, Missouri.
By the early 1960s there was a big enough contingent of people modifying motorcycles, still mostly big Harley Davidsons, that a certain style had begun to take hold. A set of modifications became common: the fat tires and 16" wheels of the stock motorcycles were replaced with narrower tires often on a larger 19" or 21" wheel. Forward-mounted foot pegs replaced the standard large 'floorboard' foot rests. Frequently the standard headlight and fuel tank were replaced with much smaller ones. Often upgraded chromed parts (either one-off fabricated replacements or manually chromed stock parts) were added. It is in this era that we today would consider a chopper came into existence and began to be called the chopper.
During the 1960s, candy colored paint, often multicolored and metal-flaked with different patterns, became a trend that allowed builders to further express their individuality and artistry. Soon many parts were being offered by small companies expressly for use in building choppers, not necessarily as performance parts as was common in the Bobber Era.
The first famous chopper builders came to prominence in this era, including Arlen Ness who was a leader in the "Frisco" or "Bay Area Chopper" style. Ness's bikes were characterized by having long low frames and highly raked front ends, typically 45 degrees or more, and frequently made use of springer front ends. Many made use of the newer Harley Davidson Sportster motor, a simpler and more compact "unit motor" that included the transmission in the same housing as the motor itself, which lent itself nicely to Ness's stripped down style. Many of Ness's bikes in this era retained the rear shocks of the donor Sportster to provide a more forgiving ride than the typical hardtail chopper.
In 1967 Denver Mullins and Mondo Porras opened Denver's Choppers in San Bernardino, California, and soon became famous for building "long bikes", often referred to as "Denver choppers". These featured even longer front ends than the Bay Area style, and had a much higher frame (stretched "up and out"). Danver's was particularly well known for the springer forks that they fabricated, as well as the overall style of their bikes.
With choppers still not yet a mass market concept regional variations and formulations flourished in this period. Many innovations were tried in this period, found not to work that well, and then abandoned. A great deal of knowledge about how to build long bikes that handled well adjusting rake and trail was developed, yet less sophisticated builders also created a lot of bikes that had handling issues in this period as expertise was still scarce and closely held.
The 1970s: iconic choppers, diggers and Japanese motors
The huge success of the film Easy Riders instantly popularized the chopper, and drastically increased the demand for them. What had been a subculture known to a relatively small group of enthusiasts in a few regions of the USA was now a worldwide wave. The 1970s saw the first wave of European chopper builders, and the "Swedish Chopper" style has its roots in this period.
Custom shops multiplied, and with them the number and diversity of bikes. According to the taste and purse of the owner, chop shops would build high handle bars, or later Ed Roth's Wild Child designed stretched, narrowed, and raked front forks. Shops also custom built exhaust pipes and many of the “after market kits“ followed in the late 1960s into the 1970s. Laws required (and in many locales still do) a retention fixture for the passenger, so vertical backrests called sissy bars were became popular installation, often sticking up higher than the rider's head.
While the decreased weight and lower seat position improved handling and performance, the main reason to build a chopper was to show off and provoke others by riding a machine that was stripped and almost nude compared to the stock Harley-Davidsons and automobiles of the period. Style trumped practicality, particularly as forks became longer and longer handling suffered. As one biker said, "You couldn't turn very good but you sure looked good doing it."
The Digger became another popular style. Similar to the Frisco choppers Diggers were frequently even longer than earlier bikes, but still low. The coffin and prism shaped tanks on these bikes were frequently mated with very long front ends (12" over stock and more), with the archaic girder fork often being used to accomplish this instead of the more common springer or telescopic types. Body work was also moulded to flow seamlessly, using copious amounts of bondo. New paint colors and patterns included paisleys, day-glo and fluorescent, along with continuing use of metal-flakes and pearls.
Honda's ground-breaking 750cc four cylinder engine, first introduced to America in the 1969 CB-750, became widely available from salvage and wrecking operations and became a popular alternative to Harley-Davidson's motors. Harley's then-current big-twin motor, the Shovelhead was extremely popular with chopper builders in this era, and use of the older motors, particularly the Knucklehead and Flathead declined as parts became harder to get and the performance of the new motors proved superior.
The 1980s and 1990s: improved engineering and aftermarket suppliers
In 1984 Harley-Davidson, who had been using chopper inspired styling for a number of years, released the 'Softail', a design that hid the rear shocks under the engine creating a profile that looked a lot like a hard-tail. This frame was initially offered in the Softail Custom, a bike that took many styling cues from choppers, including the narrow 21" front wheel. Buyers looking for the chopper look had a plausible factory alternative, and interest in choppers declined.
With some time out of the limelight chopper builders seemed to work on craft more than wild innovation in this period. While individual builders still built long bikes, the trend was towards more moderate geometries, and the basics of how to build a good handling but still great looking chopper became more common knowledge. In this period it became possible to assemble a complete chopper using all aftermarket parts, companies like S&S built complete Shovelhead style replacement engines, frame makers such as Paughco offered a variety of hardtail frames and many bikes were built using these new repo parts. Super long girder and springer forked bikes were less popular in this era, while the use of telescopic forks grew, and builders upgraded to larger diameter tubes in both forks and frames to gain more rigidity.
Japanese bike builders offered a dizzying array of new bikes, including full-faired racing styled machines as well as many 'customs' that picked at chopper styling in a random way and rarely achieved the powerful integrated style that more and more custom chopper builders in this era seemed able to consistently achieve. As materials, fabrication and knowledge improved the performance of the better choppers improved. More powerful engines drove the need for stronger frames, brakes and bigger tires with more grip. These trends worked together so that as the 1990s closed the modern chopper was larger looking, more powerful machine. The widespread use of CNC made it possible for even small shops to fabricate out of block aluminum, and billet components became a signature item often replacing stamped and chromed steel components of the earlier eras.
The 21st Century: Choppers on TV, Fat Tires and Big Power
The millennium began with the cable TV network "The Discovery Channel" creating a number of television shows around several custom bike builders who built choppers. Jessie James, of Long Beach, California was the first builder to be so featured, and that first special Motorcycle Mania provided both a vehicle for his stardom and a trigger to the second great chopper hype wave, much as the movie "Easy Rider" had kicked off the first wave 30 years previously.
The celebrity builders featured on the cable shows enjoyed a large following. Companies like Jesse James' West Coast Choppers have been successful in producing expensive choppers, and a wide range of chopper-themed brands of merchandise such as clothing, automobile accessories and stickers.
The American Chopper reality television series featuring Paul Teutul Sr, and his sons Paul Jr. and Mike, enjoyed a six year run of building bikes at Orange County Choppers (OCC).
While Jessie James and OCC built different sorts of bikes, both were firmly in the modern school most of the time: aftermarket motors, frequently with huge displacements of up to 120 cubic inches and well over 100 horsepower, modern low profile tires in extreme widths sometimes on wheels as wide as six-inches, lots of fancy computer cut billet parts. The OCC team went a step further and built many bikes with themes such as supporting a particular company or product. The prices for their bikes, and similar bikes built out of all-new, high end and custom parts rose quickly placing such bikes out of the range of many enthusiasts.
I found some examples of modern choppers on Google images.
Mods and Rockers
The mods and rockers were two conflicting British youth subcultures of the early to mid-1960s. Media coverage of mods and rockers fighting in 1964 sparked a moral panic about British youths, and the two groups became labelled as folk devils.
The rocker subculture was centred on motorcycling, and their appearance reflected that. Rockers generally wore protective clothing such as black leather jackets and motorcycle boots (although they sometimes wore brothel creeper shoes). The common rocker hairstyle was a pompadour, which was associated with 1950s rock and roll — the rockers' music genre of choice. The mod subculture was centred on fashion and music, and many mods rode scooters. Mods wore suits and other cleancut outfits, and preferred 1960s music genres such as soul, rhythm and blues, ska and beat music.
Physical conflicts
In the United Kingdom, rockers engaged in brawls with mods. BBC News stories from May 1964 stated that mods and rockers were jailed after riots in seaside resort towns in Southern England, such as Margate, Brighton, Bournemouth and Clacton. Mods sometimes sewed fish hooks or razor blades into the backs of their lapels to shred the fingers of assailants; the same thing was done by Teddy Boys in the 1950s. Weapons were often in evidence; coshes, bike chains and flick knives being favoured.
The mods and rockers conflict led sociologist Stanley Cohen to develop the term moral panic in his study Folk Devils and Moral Panics, which examined media coverage of the mod and rocker riots in the 1960s. Although Cohen admits that mods and rockers had some fights in the mid-1960s, he argues that they were no different to the evening brawls that occurred between youths throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, both at seaside resorts and after football games. He claims that the UK media turned the mod subculture into a negative symbol of delinquent and deviant status.
The conflict came to a head at Clacton during the Easter weekend of 1964. Round two took place on the south coast of England, where Londoners headed for seaside resorts on Bank Holidays. Over the Whitsun weekend (May 18 and 19, 1964), thousands of mods descended upon Margate, Broadstairs and Brighton to find that an inordinately large number of rockers had made the same holiday plans. Within a short time, marauding gangs of mods and rockers were openly fighting, often using pieces of deckchairs. The worst violence was at Brighton, where fights lasted two days and moved along the coast to Hastings and back; hence the Second Battle of Hastings tag. A small number of rockers were isolated on Brighton beach where they – despite being protected by police – were overwhelmed and assaulted by mods. Eventually calm was restored and a judge levied heavy fines, describing those arrested as sawdust Caesars.
Newspapers described the mod and rocker clashes as being of "disastrous proportions", and labelled mods and rockers as "sawdust Caesars", "vermin" and "louts". Newspaper editorials fanned the flames of hysteria, such as a Birmingham Post editorial in May 1964, which warned that mods and rockers were "internal enemies" in the UK who would "bring about disintegration of a nation's character". The magazine Police Review argued that the mods and rockers' purported lack of respect for law and order could cause violence to "surge and flame like a forest fire".
Cohen argues that as media hysteria about knife-wielding, violent mods increased, the image of a fur-collared anorak and scooter would "stimulate hostile and punitive reactions". As a result of this media coverage, two British Members of Parliament travelled to the seaside areas to survey the damage, and MP Harold Gurden called for a resolution for intensified measures to control hooliganism. One of the prosecutors in the trial of some of the Clacton brawlers argued that mods and rockers were youths with no serious views, who lacked respect for law and order. Cohen says the media used possibly faked interviews with supposed rockers such as "Mick the Wild One". As well, the media would try to get mileage from accidents that were unrelated to mod-rocker violence, such as an accidental drowning of a youth, which got the headline "Mod Dead in Sea"
Eventually, when the media ran out of real fights to report, they would publish deceptive headlines, such as using a subheading "Violence", even when the article reported that there was no violence at all. Newspaper writers also began to associate mods and rockers with various social issues, such as teen pregnancy, contraceptives, amphetamines, and violence.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Here are some images I found on Google images.
I know this last one is a mock up but you can't beat a good girl fight.
I made a survey on Survey Monkey and posted it on Facebook I will post the results as soon as I have them. Below is the link.
Lambretta was
a line of motor scooters originally
manufactured in Milan, Italy by Innocenti. In 1972, the Indian government
bought the Milanese factory and the rights to the Lambretta name, creating
Scooters India Limited (SIL). Today, the Innocenti brand name
rights are owned by Fiatwhereas the oldest
Lambretta and Lambro trademark registrations worldwide are owned by SIL.[1] Lambretta scooters were also manufactured
under licence by Fenwick in
France, NSU in
Germany, Serveta in Spain, API in
India, Yulon in Taiwan, Pasco in
Brazil, Auteco in Colombia andSiambretta in Argentina.
In 1922, Ferdinando Innocenti of Pescia built a steel-tubing factory in Rome. In 1931,
he took the business to Milan where he built a larger factory producing
seamless steel tubing and employing about 6,000. The factory was heavily bombed
and destroyed during World War II. It is
said that surveying the ruins, Innocenti saw the future of cheap, private
transport and decided to produce a motor scooter, competing on cost and weather
protection against the ubiquitous motorcycle.
The main stimulus
for the design style of the Lambretta and Vespa dates
back to pre-World War II Cushman scooters made in Nebraska, United States. These olive green
scooters were in Italy in large numbers, ordered originally by the United
States military as field transport for the paratroops and marines.
The United States military had used them to get around German defence tactics ofdestroying roads
and bridges in the Dolomites (a section of the Alps)
and the Austrian border areas.
Aeronautical engineer General Corradino D'Ascanio,
responsible for the design and construction of the first modern helicopter by Agusta, was given the job by Ferdinando Innocenti of
designing a simple, robust and affordable vehicle. It had to be easy to drive
for both men and women, be able to carry a passenger and not get its driver's
clothes soiled.
D'Ascanio, who
hated motorbikes, designed a revolutionary vehicle. It was built on a spar
frame with a handlebar gear change and the engine mounted directly onto the
rear wheel. The front protection "shield" kept the rider dry and
clean in comparison to the open front end on motorcycles. The pass-through leg
area design was geared towards women, as wearing dresses or skirts made riding
conventional motorcycles a challenge. The front fork, like an aircraft's
landing gear, allowed for easy wheel changing. The internal mesh transmission
eliminated the standard motorcycle chain, a source of oil and dirt. This basic
design allowed a series of features to be deployed on the frame which would
later allow quick development of new models.
However, D'Ascanio
fell out with Innocenti, who rather than a stamped spar frame wanted to produce
his frame from rolled tubing, allowing him to revive both parts of his pre-war
company. D'Ascanio disassociated himself from Innocenti and took his design to Enrico Piaggio who produced the
spar-framed Vespa from 1946 on. The final design of
the Lambretta was done by aeronautical engineers Cesare Pallavicino and Pier
Luigi Torre. Pallavicino had been Technical Director at the Caproni airplane factory during World War
II before working on the Lambretta design. Torre was an engine designer at Italo Balbo's Idros; he designed the engine
and organized Innocenti's factory for mass production.[2][3][4]
Taking a year
longer to produce, the 1947 Lambretta featured a rear pillion seat for a passenger or
optionally a storage compartment. The original front protection
"shield" was a flat piece of aero metal; later this developed into a
twin skin to allow additional storage behind the front shield, similar to the
glove compartment in a car. The fuel cap was underneath the hinged seat, which
saved the cost of an additional lock on the fuel cap or need for additional
metal work on the smooth skin.
Deriving the name Lambretta from
the small river Lambro in Milan, which
ran near the factory, Innocenti started
production of Lambretta scooters in 1947, the year after Piaggio started production of its Vespa
models. Lambrettas were manufactured under licence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, India and Spain, sometimes under other names, but always to a
recognizable design, e.g. Siambretta in
South America and Serveta in Spain.
As wealth
increased in western Europe in the late 1960s, the demand for motor scooters
fell as the small car became available to more people and Lambretta started to
struggle financially, as did parent Innocenti. The British
Leyland Motor Corporation took advantage of Innocenti's
financial difficulties and their production and engineering expertise and
contracted Innocenti to produce cars under licence from BLMC. The Innocenti Mini used the mechanical
components of the original, but was in many ways superior to it.
Innocenti/Lambretta
was eventually sold to BLMC. Unfortunately, lack of foresight had caused BLMC
to join a fashion trend that was ending rapidly. Long industrial strikes in
BLMC ensued; motor-scooter sales declined sharply, and both Innocenti and
Lambretta closed shop in 1972.
The Indian
government bought the factory for essentially the same reasons that Ferdinando
Innocenti had built it after the war. India was a country with poor
infrastructure, economically not ready for small private cars yet with a demand
for private transport.
Automobile
Products of India (API) began assembling Innocenti-built
Lambretta scooters in India after independence in the 1950s beginning with 48
cc, Ld model, Li 1st series. They eventually acquired a licence to build the
Li150 Series 2 model, which was sold under the Lambretta name until about 1976
and later on changed the name to Lamby for legal reasons. They also for
sometime made and sold Lambretta TV 175 series under the name of Mac 175.
Scooter India Ltd acquired the entire Innocenti Unit in 1972. API also built
the trademark model [API-175] three-wheeler which was based on Innocenti's
Lambro. API continued to build Lambretta-derived models until the 1990s but
have been non-operational since 1993.
In 1972, Scooters
India Ltd. (SIL) a state-run enterprise based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, bought the entire Lambretta
manufacturing and trademark rights. Former Innocenti employees were used to set
up an Indian factory as all the manuals and machinery instructions were in
Italian. The first scooter built was the Vijay
Delux/DL, which was badged the Lambretta GP150 in export markets.
This was later enhanced to become the Vijay
Super. Further improvements were made in the final years of
production by incorporating a contemporary Japanese CDI unit and
an advanced front suspension. SIL also distributed complete knock downs that
were assembled in different parts of India and sold as the Allwyn Pusphak,
Falcon, and Kesri. These were of a lower quality than the SIL-produced models
and sometimes incorporated significant styling changes.
SIL production
seems to have peaked during the financial year 1980–81, with around 35,000
scooters being built. However, by 1987 this had dropped to around 4,500 units
with production finally ceasing in 1997. As of 2011, SIL's production now
centres on the Vikram 3-wheeler, powered by the Lambretta engine. SIL also
produces limited spares for the GP/DL range of scooters.[5][6]
In 2010 Lambretta
returned to 125 Grand Prix racing in order to gain publicity for its new range
of scooters.[7] This was the LN range, launched
in 2011, with styling inspired by earlier models. These scooters are assembled
in Taiwan by SYM Motors and
use their single-cylinder "twist and go" engine and transmission
unit. However, the scooter's steel body panels are manufactured in Italy.[8]
There are still
clubs across the world, both national and local clubs, devoted to the Lambretta
scooter. The clubs still participate and organize ride outs and rallies which
regularly take place during weekends over the summer months and have high
attendance, some rallies achieve 2,500 paying rally goers. Across the UK there
are many privately owned scooter shops which deal with everything Lambretta,
from sales, services, parts, tuning, performance and complete nut and bolt
restorations.
In Brazil,
“lambreta” is used as a synonym for “scooter”, being listed at the Novo
Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, one of the country’s main
dictionaries, as a noun/substantive.
The small village
of Rodano, near Milan, hosts the biggest
Lambretta museum in Europe and the Innocenti archives. In the collection are
also several non-Lambretta scooters, including some first models from the 1910s
and US Army scooters parachuted over Normandy in 1944.
In Weston-super-Mare, England, there is a Lambretta Scooter
Museum which houses a total of 61 Lambretta models – at
least one from each year between October 1947 through to May 1971. It also
houses a large amount of Lambretta memorabilia. This museum and collection was
sold in early 2007 and re-opened on 8 August 2008 following refurbishment.
In 1997 the
UK-based Lambretta Clothing brand
of clothing and accessories was founded.
Like Vespas of the
day, Lambrettas had three or four gears and two-stroke engines with capacities
ranging from 49 cc to 198 cc. Most two-stroke engines require a
mixture of oil with the gasoline in order to lubricate the piston and cylinder.
Unlike the Vespa,
which was built with a unibody chassis pressed from sheets of steel, Lambrettas
were based around a more rigid tubular frame, although the "J" series
model produced from 1964 through 1971 did have a monocoque body. Early versions
were available in "closed", with fully covered mechanicals or
"open", with minimal panels and thus looking like an unusual
motorcycle. The model A and model B were only available in "open"
style. The D models were noted for their torsion-bar rear suspension; at its
peak, the D model outsold all other two-wheeled vehicles combined. (For the
latter, see Ruth Orkin's famous
photograph American Girl in Italy.) The much greater
success of the "closed" version confirmed that riders wanted
protection from the weather and a clean-looking machine.
Along with the Vespa,
Lambretta was an iconic vehicle of the 1950s and 1960s when they became the
adopted vehicle of choice for the UK youth-culture known as Mods. The character Jimmy from the influential
scooter movie Quadrophenia rode
a Lambretta Li 150 Series 3. Of the 1960s models, the TV (Turismo Veloce), the Special (125 and
150), the SX (Special X) and the GP (Grand Prix)
are generally considered the most desirable due to their increased performance
and refined look; the "matte black" fittings on the GP model are said
to have influenced European car designs throughout the 1970s. These three
models came with a front disc brake made by Campagnolo. The TV was the world's first
production two-wheeled vehicle with a front disc brake.
Lambretta
Luna Range designed by Bertone
As the race to be
the first person on the moon gathered pace, Innocenti's new model was launched,
the Luna range (Luna meaning "moon", in Italian). The machines looked
very advanced for their day, reverting to the open frame style of the much admired
"D" types, and although sales were slow to start with, racing success
from grass-tracking to circuit-racing soon made them a sales success. Designed
by Bertone Innocenti
wanted a small frame and engine Lambretta that could be sold alongside the
larger models. The frame had a tubular-steel front end, with bolt-on leg
shields, and a monocoque pressed-steel rear frame.
Lambrettas have
attracted an eclectic following of "revival" Mods, collectors, scooterists, cutdown enthusiasts, and even racers.
Vespa and Lambrettas both can be converted to fun and relatively fast machines
with little (but relatively expensive) modification. Many owners customize
these scooters with elaborate customizations and paintwork and attend well-organised scooter rallies. The Lambretta has benefitted
from advances in technology in the motorcycle world. To boost performance some
owners have fitted aftermarket cylinders and crankshafts that increase the
swept volume to as much as 250 cc. Common modifications include a Nikasil plated aluminium barrel with
radical porting, large Dell'Orto or Mikunicarburettors and bespokeexpansion chambers. Hydraulic disc brakes in the front are
becoming common on the more highly tuned machines, as are hydraulic clutches
and rear brakes. Modern low-profile tyres greatly
improve handling, as do uprated front and rear suspension units.
.jpg)
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment