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| DIE POSERS DIE Art Show / Alva Shop 5.10.09 |
| BLKPRJKT |
Scene of the scene.
Cab and his canvas.
An impressionist vision of the murf, courtesy of TA.
Lifestyles of the Hip and Vapid---
You've got to hand it to Tony Alva. Legendary skateboarder, avant garde trendsetter, cultural icon, etc. People like TA just have that glow, that aura that outsiders want to bask in for a second, to say they rubbed shoulders with the not-so-rich and infamous. Sort of like Darryl Hannah showing up at the Hosoi premiere. As if you needed any proof, TA's 50th birthday party at his tiny skate boutique played host to literally a thousand or so revellers. The best part is, TA is still as agro as he ever was, and most likely thinks very little of the hordes of hipsters descending upon his low-key Fairfax Avenue address. When word went out of the DIE POSERS DIE art show that TA was hosting it didn't take long for the news to spread throughout the internet like a deadly and virulent strain of mutated swine flu. So-called culture-monger sites such as hypebeast and others all picked up on the event and over 5000 RSVP's flooded the inboxes of the organizers of this skate-centric show. A potential crowd clusterfuck of epic proportions. The collision between the art world and the skate world has ushered in the drinkers of wine and the eaters of cheese to a realm they can only appreciate for its "hipness" factor.
Mimi Knoop breaking through the centuries' old gender bias of the old art canons.
You. Him. Everyone. Olson.
Gates of Deception. Clint Peterson.
Aw Fuck, Skateboarding is Cool Again---
It's nice to know some people actually consider us as legitimate media. So much so, that MRZ was able to stride in early and get the documentation on lock before the sardines were ushered into their can for the night. Even arriving a half hour before the doors were scheduled to open I found a line of people stretching nearly a full city block waiting to get in, of whom I only recognized 2 as being members of the skate community in some sense. Not one to suffer a queue of such length I played that "media guy" card and wormed into the back for a quick private viewing. Inside were representative works from some of our finest contemporaries, Pat Ngoho, Mimi Knoop, Lance Mountain, Christian Hosoi, Steve Olson, Clint Peterson, Chris Pastras, Jason Adams, DP, Hackett and TA himself. As TA got set to DJ, I peered through the front windows at the avant tards waiting for their brush with fame or infamy depending on one would choose to look at it. Hardly a distraction as the visual works within the space were overwhelmingly good.
Revellers.
Ngoho reflected in his own works. Surfer with a gun.
Chris Pastras' expressionary Nashville.
Black on black work by Hosoi.
The Evolution of a Species---
What once might have been considered novelty in the art world, the concept of the skater/artist is now a fully legitimate phenomena of self-expression. You can see it in the craft of Jason Adams' latest works, the evolution of his stencil-based art has resulted in mixed-media pieces which are quite stunning. Ngoho's print work is a departure from canvas. Clint Peterson is carving imagery and structures out of wood. In fact, every artist/skateboarder represented at this show could easily take either career as far as they would want to go, if they opted for a mutually exclusive life. Fortunately for the rest of us, one form drives the other and vice-versa. Their creative energy is too vast to be confined to one or the other. Meanwhile, down at ARTWEEK magazine, the uninformed and aloof are left to scratch their heads, wondering how they can manage to fool their audience into thinking that this art is somehow irrelevant for a little while longer. Perhaps it is they who are the true posers. And their world has been put on notice.
Lance's offering...
...and obligatory signing duties.
Hackett works.
Ngoho on the lurk with Sky Siljeg, Mimi Knoop and TA.
Best in show; Masterful mixed media by Jason Adams.
Parting shot: That cake was the bomb.
-BLKPRJKT / PHOTOS MRZ |
Saturday 09th 2009f May 2009 17:35
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