For those of you who have read my blogs....they aren't perfectly written, they jump around and they include run on sentences etc.....I don't want them to be perfect...I just want them to be how I want to write...and express my point the way I want to....I believe blog writing should be free flowing and not be too edited and re-read and corrected to be how your English Teacher would want you to write...The reason I have opened with this is because that's exactly the same way I feel about Skateboarding...it is an individual activity..call it a sport, call it a hobbie...or an activity..who cares?....the bottom line is, it is up to you what you want to do with it...you don't have a pumped up coach telling you what to do or how to do it...(some of your buddies might fit that "coach" position unfortunately, haha) Anyways,(this is the part where I slightly jump around) I feel that Skateboard Art is extremely important. It shouldn't be forgotten about.....think about this...you are an Artist on your Skateboard....your canvas is the streets...you can do whatever you want on your Skateboard....Artists see things the same way creative Skaters see their "past time" So Skateboarders and Artists are very much alike and intertwined. Artists have been involved with Skateboarding almost since the begining and their work has been just as much the reason boards sell as the shape or the Pro Rider endorsing the board. Sadly, that seems to be going away...I grew up obsessing and drooling over how bad ass the Skateboard Graphics were in the 80's...Artists like Jim Phillips, Sean Cliver, VCJ, Bulldog, Gonz etc were so cool to me...looking at all the sick graphics in the magazines was just as enticing to own and stare at as the idea of actually riding the damn thing...all the World and Blind graphics were so cool and hilarious...A lot of the graphics had several series and deeper meanings....fast forward 20 years and a lot of the old graphics are re-emerging as new recycled adaptations, (as us Old Skullers describe them)....it is great to see that pro riders are doing this.....how ironic...skateboard graphics have been ripping off other forms of media for years, now Skate Artists are ripping off old Skate Graphics!!! That's a rad concept! A lot of reissue Boards are coming out too.....and lets not forget...a lot of new, relevant companies are producing some really cool graphics now as well... you should be stoked on Skateboard Art...support it....Art in Skateboarding is still alive today....but I feel it is being threatened by the appeal of blank, cheaper boards...the scary part is, I totally understand....they are cheaper because there is no Art and no Pro Rider attached to it....and money is really tight now....and it seems kids are burning through boards a lot faster....However, it is obsurred and rediculous for me to picture Skateboarding without, classic, offensive, hilarious, intriging, clever graphics....Pro Skateboard Manufacturers are worried and are noticing already the huge impact and threat of blank boards...they have even been forced to produce generic style logo boards at cheaper prices to compete...listen, the point of my long, drawn out rant is....a lot of high quality blank decks will skate just as well as a top of the line graphic board....but Skateboarding Art will be missed if it ever goes away ..it’s a “you don’t know what you got till it’s gone” type of thing...and a lot of kids will never have that feeling of being completely stoked, checking out the latest models at the local shop ..They will just buy some blank board that was mass produced in China with the same enthusiasm as if you were buying toilet paper....our society is already cookie cutter to the max, and extremely Plastic...take a look at this years Grammy Awards for example....we are losing our creativity....without creativity, there wouldn't be Art and without creativity, Skateboarding would be on the same level as a Hula Hoop or a Pogo Stick.....I encourage you to find value in the Art that is on the bottom of your Skateboard....it's all about expressing yourself...why go through life on a blank canvas????????
