Cyclist Gets Creative Thanks to GPS Tracking Technology
3 Nov 2016
GPS tracking technology has been used for a wide range of practical and personal reasons over the years. As an emerging technology it is also being used, at least by one man, to create art. Stephen Lund is using the powerful combination of his bicycle and GPS tracking to create interesting works of art while still getting a great workout in the process.
How does it work?
Lund creates cycling paths to follow that result in works of art. Over time he has amassed an impressive array of designs on his cycling adventures. From a cyclist to a mermaid, and a little bit of wildlife in between, his bicycle paths themselves become the work or art as his GPS trackers outlines the route he’s taken in red.
Other designs have featured construction equipment, hummingbirds, masked men, and more. Not only does this provide an expressive outlet for Lund, but it also provides an amazing workout. Over the course of one year, he was able to log 13,857 miles on his bicycle creating art. That’s enough miles to drive from Victoria Canada, to Tokyo, Japan and back. And he didn’t even have to get wet to go the distance!
Lund is on a mission now to encourage other cyclists to do the same thing. He believes it’s a much better way to spend time than sitting in front of the television or computer. It’s definitely not just the exercise that keeps him motivated, but the creative process as well.
Art is definitely in the eye of the beholder. When most people first see Lund’s creations, they aren’t all that impressed. Some feel they’re a little cartoony and might be more at home on the family refrigerator. Ouch!
But, when they hear the story about how the images were created, most of them agree that it’s fairly impressive. More than fairly, actually. While bicycles may have never been designed with the goal of creating art in mind, the fact is that GPS tracking has changed the way people see the world. In some ways, it has made the world smaller. For Lund, it has transformed the world into the most unlikely of canvases upon which he can create impressive works of art on a grand scale, to have them shrunk down to size for the average person.
His giraffe, for instance, Lund drove 115 km (nearly 71.5 miles) to create one image of a giraffe. For the artist, this becomes a true labor of love rather than simply spending a few days staring at a canvas he is putting his art in motion.
You can learn more about his art and his method by visiting his Instagram page, his website, or following him on Facebook or Twitter.
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