The White Bicycle
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2017 The White Bicycle: Performance, Installation Art, and Activism in Ghost Bike Memorials Nicole Marie Costantini Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Costantini, Nicole Marie, "The White Bicycle: Performance, Installation Art, and Activism in Ghost Bike Memorials" (2017). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4462. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4462 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE WHITE BICYCLE: PERFORMANCE, INSTALLATION ART, AND ACTIVISM IN GHOST BIKE MEMORIALS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Collage in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Communication Studies by Nicole Marie Costantini B.A., Iona College, 2010 M.A., Hofstra University, 2012 May 2017 Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge all of the individuals who were a part of this process. First, thank you to my advisor, mentor, and friend Patricia Suchy. Your guidance, enthusiasm, and encouragement have made me a better person and scholar. Thank you to my committee, David Terry, Helen Regis, and Geoffrey Coalson, for your constant support and constructive feedback. Tracy Stephenson-Shaffer, Rachel Hall, Bryan McCann, Loretta Pecchioni, and chris collins for all of the thought-provoking conversations and coffee. Donna Sparks, for always having a friendly smile for me, even on the roughest of days. Diane Ferrero-Paluzzi and Lisa Merrill for all of the guidance, friendship, and support. I could not have made it to this point without you. I want to thank all of the people who have contributed to this project. The cast of The White Bicycle for all of the laughs, and for your patience, commitment, and care. All of the people who have helped me look for ghost bikes from the very beginning, and who continue to contact me every time they spot a white bicycle on the side of the road. The people who were willing to be interviewed for this project for all of your insight and time. Travis Southard for your feedback, friendly conversation, and willingness to show me around Philly. I also want to acknowledge all of the people who have responded to my work at conferences and festivals for taking the time to do so, and for all of the suggestions that have made my dissertation better. Special thanks to the Brew Ha Ha staff in Baton Rouge for keeping me caffeinated and for giving me a place to write. Thank you to my friends for your love, support, late night pep talks, and hugs. Cynthia Sampson, for keeping me sane and for putting up with all of my shenanigans. Stephanie Heath, my wonderful officemate, friend, and dissertation buddy. Sanela Osmanovic, Ryan Rasner, Colin Whitworth, Wade Walker, Rebekah Whitaker, Travis Williams, Johanna Broussard, Chris ii Vincent, Rico Self, Julia Leslie, Doug Mungin, Patrick McElearney, and Raquel Robvais. Y'all have made my time at LSU so special and I am so grateful for each of you. Jacinda Quinones, Susom Ghosh, Adam Burgman, and the rest of my friends from home for the long distance skype dates and care packages that keep me going. Thank you to my parents, Diane and Frank, my siblings, Frankie and Kristin, and my grandmothers, Mary and Sara. None of this would have been possible without the support you have given me. Though this experience has separated us physically, your love and encouragement have always been with me. I love you more than I can put into words. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. v Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Ghost Bikes and Other Roadside Memorials ...................................................................................... 4 1.2 Intersecting Methodologies ................................................................................................................. 6 1.3 Plan of Chapters ................................................................................................................................ 12 1.4 Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 15 Chapter 2: New York, New York – Discoveries from a Ghost Bike Pilgrimage ......................... 17 2.1 The City ............................................................................................................................................ 21 2.2 (Re)Mapping the City Through the Digital Archive ......................................................................... 29 2.3 From Mapping to Touring: Creating Alternate Routes & City Identities ......................................... 35 2.4 Seeing Double ................................................................................................................................... 44 2.5 Ghost Bike vs. Citi Bike ................................................................................................................... 51 2.5 Touring, Tourist, Tourism ................................................................................................................. 56 2.6 Revisiting the Past to Understand the Present ................................................................................... 66 Chapter 3: Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Ghost Bike Building and Bike Lane Spaces .................... 72 3.1 The Role of the Individual in Memorial Building............................................................................. 75 3.2 Correlation between Cycling Infrastructure and Safety .................................................................... 79 3.3 Difficulties Involving Infrastructure (or, Lack Thereof) ................................................................... 82 Chapter 4: Lafayette, Louisiana – Mickey Shunick’s Ghost Bike and Extended Network .......... 96 4.1 The Memorial .................................................................................................................................... 98 4.2 The Digital Presence and Network of Mickey Shunick .................................................................. 106 4.3 The Digital Legacy ......................................................................................................................... 111 4.4 Mickey’s Loop ................................................................................................................................ 119 Chapter 5: New Orleans, Louisiana and Durham, North Carolina: Ghost Bike Installation, Protest and Removal ............................................................................................................................... 125 5.1 New Orleans, Louisiana – July 2015 .............................................................................................. 125 5.2 Bicycling in New Orleans ............................................................................................................... 127 5.3 The Protest ...................................................................................................................................... 131 5.4 Non-violent Protest ......................................................................................................................... 137 5.5 Durham, North Carolina ................................................................................................................. 144 5.6 Ghost Bike Removal in Durham ..................................................................................................... 147 5.5 Memorial Removal across the US................................................................................................... 152 Chapter 6: Conclusion................................................................................................................. 164 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................ 171 Vita .............................................................................................................................................. 189 iv List of Figures Fig. 2.1. Qi Yu Wei Ghost Bike………………………………………………………………18 Fig. 2.2. Andrew Ross Morgan Ghost Bike…………………………………………………..25 Fig. 2.3. Ghostbikes.org World Map………………………………………………………….32 Fig. 2.4. Ghostbikes.org New York Map……………………………………………………..33 Fig. 2.5. Biographical Page for Ralston Bryan……………………………………………….35 Fig. 2.6. Pilgrimage # 1………………………………………………………………………40 Fig. 2.7. Pilgrimage # 2…….………………………………………………………………...40