(Stamford, Connecticut—August 1, 2007) … Transportation meets art in The Motorcycle, Italian Style: Riding the Curves with MV Agusta, sponsored by Cliff’s Cycle Revolution, which opens at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center on Saturday, Sept. 8. A special Members Preview Reception will be held Friday, September 7 at 5:30 p.m. This exhibition is made possible with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
This vintage motorcycle exhibition, from the Gary & Connie Kohs Collection, traces the MV Agusta brand from its World War II inception to today. More than 30 bikes, most from the Classic era (1945-1980), will be on display throughout the Bendel Mansion Museum Galleries until Jan. 6, 2008.
This “edgier” exhibition is the first motorcycle show the museum has ever displayed. “We’ve always found our audience to be very interested in transportation and design issues,” said Curator of Collections Rosa Portell. “It offers us a perfect opportunity to underscore the principle that art can be found not only in the traditional media, the kind that hangs in museums, but in these beautiful machines which are, themselves, art works.”
“Museums take objects and interpret them for the public. Hopefully, we’ll help people see things that they may not have thought about,” Portell said. In this show, isolated parts of the machines will be display on pedestals as objects of beauty.
And for children, Chica, MV Agusta factory’s guard dog, will guide them through the exhibition. Tots 2 to 4 years old will be able to ride toy bikes in their special section in the Bendel Mansion Great Hall, as they learn about safety on two-wheeled vehicles.
As World War II came to a close in Italy, the Agusta family saw the opportunity to create a new machine that would provide inexpensive and reliable transportation to a country ravaged by war.
MV Agusta motorcycles had barely hit the market when one of them was driven into first place in a modest race. From 1956 to 1976 MV Agusta would win over 3000 international races, becoming the most successful brand in the history of the sport.
By the mid 1960s motorcycles began to represent a certain non-conformism. Motorcycle-riding itself with its individualistic, in-your-face, ruggedness became coded speech for counter-culture, with an ethos and worldview of its own.
“If it were a machine strictly for practical purposes, it would have long ago disappeared,” Portell said. “If it was strictly a way to get from point A to point B, there are ways that are more practical than on the back of a motorcycle. Riding a motorcycle is a lot more than a matter of transportation. It’s about image and the experience of the open road.”
In recent years, some motorcycles have evolved into luxury objects and status symbols with their spectacular esthetic qualities. Sometimes priced higher than many an automobile, their machines’ craftsmanship, materials, looks, and limited production numbers are meant to identify their riders as people of means and taste set apart from the crowd.
RELATED PROGRAMS
EASY RIDER, Italian Style Festival, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007 – All motorcycles, vintage and new, American and import, are welcome at this mega-festival with trophied motorcycle shows sponsored by American Iron Magazine and RoadBike to kick up the fall season. Join us at this open-air show to celebrate the culture of the motorcycle. Meet racing aces and enjoy delicious Italian food.
Visitors will have a chance to meet the 2006 Bonneville land speed record holder, Roosevelt “Rosey” Lackey, and get his autograph, while the bike itself will be on display in the Museum building. New Canaan’s own motocross champ, Wilson Fleming, winner of the 88 cc junior division at the 2006 New England Regional Championships, will also be on hand, showing the sport’s multigenerational appeal. Stamford native Buzz Kanter, AMA Hall of Famer and motorcycle magazine publisher will attend and display some of his vintage motorcycles. Bring your cameras as there will be photo opps with bikes and leather jackets, free activities and crafts for kids, and a safety demonstration. The live auction of a ca. 1954 MV Agusta 125 TR (Turismo Rapido) will take place at 2 pm. Awards for the motorcycle shows will be presented by the staff of American Iron Magazine and RoadBike at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9. 2007, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission fees: Bike riders: $5 (includes entry in the trophied motorcycle shows), park in designated display area; Members: Family Plus & above, FREE; Adults $5; Children $2; Italian Center Members: Adults $5; Children $2; Non-Members: Adults $10; Children $5; All children 3 & Under, FREE. For more information, e-mail info@stamfordmuseum.org, visit www.stamfordmuseum.org or call 203.322.1646 ext.6521.
Avon Theatre documentary film screening of On Any Sunday, Nov. 28 – On Wednesday Nov. 28 at 7 p.m., the Avon Theatre on Bedford Street in downtown Stamford will host a Documentary Film Screening of On Any Sunday (1971), which was nominated for an Oscar in the Documentary, Features category.
The screening, which is presented by the Stamford Museum & Nature Center in conjunction with its exhibit, The Motorcycle, Italian Style: Riding the Curves with MV Agusta, will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by Stamford Museum & Nature Center Curator of Collections Rosa Portell, American Iron Magazine and RoadBike publisher Buzz Kanter, along with past Formula One National Champion Mike Baldwin and expert dirt track racer Mark Zimmerman.
Tickets are available at the theater box office or by calling 203.661.0321. Tickets are $6 for Avon Theatre and Stamford Museum and Nature Center Members; $7 for Seniors and Students; Free for Avon Carte Blanche members; and $10 for Non-members. For more information, e-mail info@stamfordmuseum.org, visit www.stamfordmuseum.org or call 203.322.1646 ext.6521.
Getting there
The Bendel Mansion Museum Galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stamford Museum & Nature Center is located at 39 Scofieldtown Road, Stamford, CT (3/4 mile North of Merritt Parkway Exit 35.) For more information on The Motorcyle, Italian Style: Riding the Curves with MV Agusta, visit www.stamfordmuseum.org or call 203.322.1646 ext.6521. Members: FREE; Non-Members: Free with gate admission: Adults $8, Seniors & Students $6, Children (4-17) $4, Under 3 FREE.
