• Comment: The draft is too unfocused – if the topic is one specific piece of functional art, the draft should not discuss other bicycle racks in detail, nor does the paragraph about Greek architecture fill any function here since it is not about the topic of the article. bonadea contributions talk 21:20, 20 April 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: I don't understand why this draft, for an article that's ostensibly about a single (functional) art work, includes a long paragraph on "functional art".
  I was most surprised to read that These bicycle racks were initially created to promote the city's green living initiative while doubling as a lighthearted and enjoyable way to engage with art in your community, as I'd never thought of Nashville as my community. (It's a very, very long way from where I now sit.) The statement cites a source, which says: The racks promote our city’s green and healthy living initiatives while providing a fun opportunity to experience art around your neighborhood. This hasn't either been summarized for the article or been quoted for it; rather, I'd say it has been tampered with, perhaps in an effort to avoid the need for quotation marks. This is rather a dubious practice. Hoary (talk) 23:11, 27 March 2025 (UTC)

Good Eats! is a 16-foot-tall cooking whisk that lives on 21st avenue and Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee.^[1] It is a bicycle rack made by Wayne Henderson and it is a piece apart of a larger collection.^[2] This collection consists of 21 completely distinct art bicycle racks that are situated throughout Nashville and surrounding towns.^[2] Despite the fact that Good Eats! is a piece of functional art, it is often left alone with no bicycles stored in it.

The title Good Eats! and idea of a whisk is in reference to the fact that there are many restaurants all along the street and the vicinity where the whisk is located.^[1] This whisk is right outside Vanderbilt University's campus, often seeing students pass by. It is across the street from the Kimpton Aertson Hotel with restaurants such as Ichigo Ichie, Henley, and Torchy's Tacos in the surrounding area.^[1] This large sculpture is made of stainless steel and concrete, with a powder coating. ^[1] The metal was sourced from the fabricator Bellex of Nolensville.^[3] It was made in 2015 by Memphis, Tennessean Wayne Henderson and it serves as a bicycle rack to the public. ^[3]

While talking about his art piece, Henderson stated, "To see a bike rack you designed come to life is a big thrill. From the drawing board to that first bike parked, it is definitely a learning experience. Your best allies in the journey are the fabrication team and arts program manager. During my Nashville project they made great suggestions for design tweaks which allowed for ease of fabrication and installation. And because of that help it became a better art piece."^[4]

Good Eats! is owned by the city of Nashville and Davidson County, but it was designed to be used by anyone and everyone.^[1] In front of the sculpture there is a plaque that lists the title, artist, year it was created, and suggesting to the viewer to visit publicart.nashville.gov for more information on this sculpture. Good Eats! was created as a part of an art instillation of 21 unique bicycle racks around Nashville.^[2]

In 2010, seven bicycle racks were installed in various parts of downtown Nashville and nearby neighborhoods. These bicycle racks are still there today, a part of a series of Artist-Designed Bike Racks that are all located in and around Nashville.^[2] This series is a part of the Metropolitan Nashville Arts' public-art collection. According to Metro Arts Nashville, "The racks promote our city’s green and healthy living initiatives while providing a fun opportunity to experience art around your neighborhood."^[2] There are 21 bicycle racks in total installed between 2010-2015: seven installed in 2010, ten installed in 2013-2014, and finally four installed in 2015. ^[2]

Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission accepted applications for different bicycle rack designs that would later be selected and produced.^[5] Each artist was given a budget of $3,500 for their project and they were not required to have any prior experience with creating public art. This budget covered the cost of the design fee, any possible project-related travel, and a consultation with Metro Arts. ^[5] If an artist was selected then they are required to attend, at the minimum, four meetings or events with Metro Arts and they would need to meet with the contracted fabricator. Each artist was given a "bike rack fabrication budget" of between $10,000-$20,000 to make their creation come to life. ^[4] Good Eats! cost $14,200 in fabrication.^[4]

These bicycle racks are all unique and all represent or reference something different. The design of each bicycle rack was usually a reference to the surrounding area or location that it is in.^[2] For example a flower style bicycle rack located in a park or a tomato style bicycle rack located near a popular farmers market. One very popular bicycle rack is Microphone by Franne Lee, Keith Harmon, and Mac Hill. It is located on the Northeast corner of Demonbruen Street and Music Row and it was even selected by the Americans for the Arts 2011 Public Art Network Year in Review.^[5]

In 2016, Metro Arts department of public art published a 58 page "toolkit" for anyone who wants to "promote art/artists or cycling or both." ^[4] Within this information toolkit there is information on finding fabricators, ideas on how to find artists to create these bike racks, a sample timeframe and budget, and much more.^[4] According to Caroline Vincent, the author of this toolkit, in the following pages "you will find the things we wish we’d known. It’s like we’re your fairy godmother of artist-designed bike racks. Just read it and you too will be graced with intricate knowledge about U-Locks!"^[4]

Good Eats!, along with every other bicycle rack within the public-art collection, serve as functional art.^[2] Initially, they are detailed structures, however, they also serve a function, holding bicycles. According to Art in Context, functional art refers to "art objects that are created with both aesthetics and utility in mind." ^[6] Some examples are an opulent chandelier, a decorative grandfather clock, or an ornamental fountain.^[7] All of these items are aesthetically pleasing, but they also serve a purpose. Functional art is very common as house décor and it has been produced throughout history.^[7] It is very common to see functional art pieces, especially throughout the early Archaic period (before ca. 550 B.C.). ^[8] These bicycle racks are often left alone and not used for their intended utilitarian purpose. Despite the fact that these sculptures were designed to be used as bicycle racks, there are rarely ever bikes parked in them. This clearly stems from the idea that since these artistic bicycle racks do not actually look like normal bicycle racks, then people don't use them as such. A lack of awareness leads to a lack of action.