From Boston to Austin: Art on Deck: Skateboard Art

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Art on Deck: Skateboard Art

Skateboarding to me is more artform than sport. It doesn't hurt to be a good athlete who can jump high, but the aim of a true skater is to be smooth, stylish and innovative.

An often overlooked part of this "art of skateboarding" is the artwork that graces the bottoms of decks (the wooden platform of a skateboard). If you've skated, when it came time to buy a board, you probably remember being drawn to a certain one. Maybe it was the shape, maybe it was the skater who endorsed the board, but more than likely the artwork was why you picked that board to skate. Whether it be a simple pattern (like my second board -- a Brand X), the all-too-common bones and skulls imagery, or a more abstract graphic, every board makes a unique statement.

This underappreciated form of art was the subject of a unique art show held this past weekend. The show, called Art on Deck, was at a small gallery called the United States Art Authority. There were perhaps 200 decks from a variety of eras, including a few very old boards from the pre-Dogtown age. Most of the boards were from the present back to the mid-80s, when I used to skate. There were lots of decks from skaters I admired: Steve Caballero, Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Natas Kaupas and Christian Hosoi. My favorites were the boards painted by the great classic street skater, Mark Gonzales. Not too many skaters did the artwork on their decks. Mark Gonzales was an exception. Gonzales always skated with as much style as he put into the designs on his boards. Not surprisingly, he eventually moved on to painting on more traditional media (Donald Trump and Sean "Puffy/Puff-Daddy/P-Diddy/Diddy" Combs are two collectors).

Here are a few pics I took at the show. Sorry about the glare!