Sk8 of Art
March 1, 2002
I find that I contradict myself all the time. I mean some kid could see this on TV and think wow I want to become a skateboarder and then go out and start buying my products even though they probably didn’t even see me. And so I can’t say I’m against that. It’s not like there’s a big thing about integrity in skateboarding. There’s not much of it left, even with myself, I love it and I love creating the stuff I do. And without skating I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to move to New York and have free range of all the creative outlets that have nothing to do with skateboarding, but I know that in the end skateboarding got me there. (Jason Dill, 2002)
The recent Citylights exhibition of skateboarding photography in Hosier Lane and Centre Place, Melbourne, highlighted the continued exchange between lived culture and art culture, with skateboarding becoming the subject of exhibitions, and art moving into the street. The exhibition ‘concrete content’ coincided with the Globe World Cup Skateboarding competition at Melbourne Park on the 16th and17th of February. Depicting skateboarding in a distinctly non-professional context - from Melbourne and New York streets to Sydney bedrooms – the exhibition prompted comments from skaters about the problems associated with trying to turn skateboarding into a major sports event.
“You don’t want to turn skateboarding into tennis,” says pro-skater Jason Dill. To some extent there is a feeling that skateboarding has been commodified and perhaps recontextualised, however it is interesting to note that there are still fines for skating city streets and skating events aren’t exactly like tennis. Sure sponsors pay the bills but they also allow skateboarders to fund other projects: video and creative ventures outside direct skateboarding stuff. With Jason Dill for example, producing a line of limited edition t-shirts. At the moment only a few pro-skaters take competition seriously; and there is a whole realm to pro-skating that exists outside the competitive arena. Professional skateboarders are making videos and not skating competitions as much. A lot of the videos coming out, says pro-skateboarder Malcolm Watson, are being made in Spain. “Barcelona is basically skateboarding paradise, ‘cause everything is marble, and there’s no security guards, no skate stoppers or anything.”
The often-contradictory exchange between lived culture and commodity culture was exampled through the Citylights exhibition and the skateboarding competition in Melbourne. Those interviewed over the weekend liked that competitions promoted skateboarding to a large audience but said it wasn’t what they enjoyed most about skateboarding.
Jason Dill definitely feels this way: “I love it and I love creating the stuff I do. And without skateboarding I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to move to New York and have free range of all the creative outlets that have nothing to do with skateboarding, but I know that in the skateboarding got me there. The usual magazine shot of a guy sitting at the top of a 90-stair rail covered in sponsors from head to toe with stickers on his ankles, along with commercial events and art exhibitions, promote skateboarding. Skateboarding has a very bad memory in itself, you can’t expect a thirteen year old kid who’s going to go out there to the shop, which it all boils down to, to buy my board. You don’t worry about that on a daily basis but this kid doesn’t even know that I’ve been doing this for ten years. It’s like “oh wow this guy right now”. Next week is such a question mark.
Writers: Emma Adams and Adrienne Adams
Issue 11, Stu, Vol. 1