A Platform for Art

All hail skateboarding! If nothing else, skateboards give artists an outlet for their talent. And if you think about it, there are precious few outlets for art in this day and age. When was the last time you went to a gallery? When was the last time you were impressed by a piece of grafitti? But if you look at the underside of a skateboard, chances are you’re going to see something truly amazing. Catching my eye at the moment are the Mike Giant boards for Santa Cruz Veterans Division. Giant is a San Fran-based tattoo artist, and his mastery of black and white comic-book style art is something to be seen.

I guess the first skateboard art would be the “Dogtown” grafitti’d cross circa 1976, and following that, the board art by Wes Humpson for Dogtown Skates. For a long time, it was just logos adorning the boards, with perhaps a pro signature as well. Then artists like V Courtland Johnson (VCJ) came along and gave boards a truly original voice, doing for skateboarding what artists like Gilbert Shelton, Robert Crumb or Daniel Clowes did for the comic book. World Industries (as ever) took the whole thing too far and parodied every logo, poster or comic strip they could think of. Who can forget their Natas 666 deck? Too offensive! It way have been way out there, but at least it was original and thought-provoking. Now a lot of these boards are highly collectable, and that is a good thing: skateboards are works of art whether they are hanging on a wall or sliding down a rail.

So the next time you’re choosing a deck, don’t just think of the brand or the pro, but think of the artist as well: by buying their work you are supporting the arts in a very real way.