Early on in my skateboarding life, I fell in love with the Denny Riordon "People in My Head" graphic as advertised in TWS in 1988. I still consider it one of the great bits of skate art, though -- regrettably -- I have no idea who actually did the graphic. Here wa…
Denny Riordon: Bridging the 70's and 80's
Early on in my skateboarding life, I fell in love with the Denny Riordon "People in My Head" graphic as advertised in TWS in 1988. I still consider it one of the great bits of skate art, though -- regrettably -- I have no idea who actually did the graphic. Here wa…
A Future Skate Pilgrimage -- For Now a Virtual One
Some people dream of making a pilgrimage to some holy site or shrine that is particularly important to them, whereas others of us dream of a pilgrimage to the "shrines" of skateboarding. For some while now I've been thinking about what would be a fun and inte…
Basic "Six Million Dollar Man" Team Deck: Rare 1990's Skate Art
Speaking more on the subject of rare decks from the 1990's, here is a Six Million Dollar Man team deck from Basic skateboards.
Here are a couple of details from the deck:
1990's decks can be so very fun. They have a character that is quite distinct from the classic …
The Wonder Twins: Rare 1990's Skate Art
As skate art is concerned, I am admittedly primarily drawn to and focused upon decks from the 1980's as well as the original Dogtowns from the 1970's. This is in no small part due to the fact that I was born in the first half of the 1970's and so it was the 1980…
Two Dogtown Originals
Wes Humpston's skate art is, of course, legendary and has a well deserved cult-like status. As skate art goes, I am not certain you can find any more precious relics than the hand-drawn Dogtown boards that were created in the 1970's. Those boards are not only of int…
"Ah, Venice!" Part II (Or: "How Much Skate History Can You Find at One Venice Intersection?")
Check out this great shot from Jim "Red Dog" Muir and Dogtown Skateboards , showing their classic Dogtown style deck ("OG Rider custom fades with a small spoon nose mid eighties style concave") right in the heart of Venice, California. (Take note of the …
Sean Cliver's Disposable 1 Now Ready for Order
For those of you who don't already own a copy, the 10th Anniversary reprint of Sean Cliver's book, Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art , is now in stock and available for order from the publishers, Gingko Press. You can purchase the book either in a softcover or …
Rarely Seen Red SMA Natas Kaupas Deck
Recently, this rarely seen red Santa Monica Airlines Natas Kaupas deck (from the pre-Santa Cruz era) came up via the good folks at the Skateboard Museum in Switzerland.
One more commonly sees this particular deck in either a black or white dip and, as such, I couldn't r…
"Ah, Venice!" (Or: Venice O.G.)
"Ah, Venice!" Most of the time, when people talk about the sights and wonders of Venice, their thoughts will most likely turn to gondolas and water-filled canals walled in by gothic and Italianate architecture. I think of that too, of course, but I also think of a…
Claus Grabke's Custom Topside
While most of the attention for skateboard art is focused on what is on the bottom of the deck, occasionally you are really "wow-ed" by what some skaters personally did on their topsides.
I am not referring here to the silk-screened art that is often on the top of…
More Jay Adams
Just a couple of more Jay Adams items I wanted to share. The first is a home video, recorded in 1989, which shows Jay Adams skating at one of the area skate spots. I find this particular video particularly fun to watch, precisely because it is so authentic, so "raw&quo…
Your Legacy Lives On Jay
The skate community and skate culture took yet another blow today with the loss of another pioneer, Jay Adams. Your legend and your legacy lives on Jay.
Sean Cliver's "Disposable" to be Reprinted this Autumn
Good news is afoot for those who are tired by the prospect of having to pick this volume up at around $100 secondhand, as well as for those interested in skateboards and skate art generally. Sean Cliver's Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art (also informally known a…
An Interview with Spidey De Montrond on Skateboard Collecting
Skate Culture is a site interested in, amongst other things, the history of skateboarding and skateboard art and so naturally I am also interested in the collecting of these pieces for artistic as well as historical and nostalgic reasons. Now some might see skateboards onl…
Skate Culture Conference, Drew University
Drew University has kindly sent us information on a forthcoming conference on skateboard culture that they are hosting in Ireland in January 2015 and presently making a call for papers for:
Drew University Transatlantic Connections Conference invite proposals for papers w…
Iconic Jimmy'z Skateboarder Ads
Skate related ads have always been a source of immense interest to me. I remember when I picked up my first skate magazines back in the 1980's; the creativity of the various advertisements in those magazines particularly caught my attention and imagination. Aside from …
Jimbo Phillips Stickers
Jimbo Phillips carries on the Phillips family tradition of surf and skate art with these stickers that he offers on his official webstore . I particularly like the Barf Brain and Surf Freak and the latter in particular I'd love to have both in my skate sticker collectio…
Interview with Jim Phillips, Legendary Santa Cruz Artist
Designboom has published an interview with legendary skate and surf artist, Jim Phillips, who is responsible for some of the most iconic skate graphics in all of skate history.
Here's a short excerpt from the interview: DB: what do you know now that you wish you knew wh…
Skate Stickers from Santa Cruz
Stickers have a for a very long while now been a significant part of the skate scene. While vintage stickers are of course an item of interest unto themselves as collectibles, there is still a place for these items today and in that regard newly printed stickers are the be…
Ride It Sculpture Park, Detroit
Relatively speaking, I am not too far from Detroit. It is only a couple of hours away. Whenever I have gone to Detroit, I've always been quite amazed by the sight of the abandoned homes, commercial buildings, even multi-story buildings that have no windows. I have a fr…
John Moyaert's Work "Goes Pro" (Via Jeff Grosso)
John Moyaert's work has already been shared here only recently but I wanted to just share a bit more. There has been a great response to John's woodburning works both here and elsewhere online, but what may not be as publicly known is that John's work has not o…
Rodney Mullen: Skater, Thinker, Creator, Teacher
Rodney Mullen has always struck me not only as an immensely talented skater (obviously) but also as extraordinarily talented individual generally. His brilliance in skateboarding comes across through his skating of course, while his obvious intellectual gifts come across t…
Two Great Skateboarding Photo Sets
There are some pretty great Flickr groups out there and I wanted to share a couple with you today that I've found particularly edifying to go through.
First, there is the Santa Cruz Skateboards group.
This particular group is, as the name suggests, dedicated to the ska…
Jay Adams: Dogtown Legend
While these aren't newly released videos, some skaters are such legends that it really doesn't matter as far as I'm concerned. Their stuff is worth seeing and seeing again, and worth sharing and re-sharing in case anyone missed it the first time or if they are …
A Sneak Peek at "Agents Provocateurs"
"A gents Provocateurs" from Gingko Press is a forthcoming publication which I only recently mentioned . It is a book whose focus is upon controversial skateboard graphics that pushed the boundaries of skate art as they stood by the time the 80's has passed. Sk…
The Dogtown Big Boy
Dogtown needs no introduction (and if it does, well...). I saw today that Dogtown Skateboards have announced that they have now gotten in their Big Boy Pool boards. The Big Boys measure 9.375" x 33", have a 16" wheelbase, a 6" nose and a 7" tail.
I…
"SK8FACE" Documentary on History and Evolution of Skate Art
Given that this site is itself focused on skate art and culture, the following documentary really caught my attention. Many of you have likely already heard of it, but for the sake of those who perhaps haven't, it's a documentary that is currently in production und…
Slave Skateboards, Ben Horton and the Tradition of Skate Art
The symbiotic relationship between skateboards and art has been such a quintessential part of the skateboard scene for so long now that it may be difficult for many of us to imagine any situation otherwise. Still, at one time, boards were such that their design was often l…
