NEW SKATEBOARD GRAPHICS

http://www.razorcake.org/site/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=17334

Don’t go into this expecting another Disposable. This is quite different. Though a collection of skateboard art, this is more in the present than in the past. And more than a collection of graphics, Hardisty and Leon both implant in your mind the thought about today’s intent of the artwork chosen. They both bring up how marketing and competing for your attention amongst the sea of other companies has directed what the bottom of today’s skateboards look like. Some are individualized, and many are going for a more instantly recognizable brand. Good or bad, I imagine that’s to be decided individually. Both options present challenges that produce interesting results. You can see that here.

The companies showcased within are 5Boro, Bueno, Chocolate, City, Element, Enjoi, Foundation, Girl, Heroin, Hessenmob,  Hopps, Mystery, Popwar, Rasa Libre, Skate Mental, Slave, Stereo Sound Agency, Toy Machine, and Zero. I’ve spent some hours looking at this book, much the same way I used to look at Thrasher in the ‘80s and the ads, studying them for all the boards with their various shapes and graphics, making mental notes about which boards I’d like to own. Of the companies featured in here, the graphics that stood out the most were from Bueno, Toy Machine, Zoo York, most of the Chocolate section, and 5Boro, in particular, with its mix of modernist cartoon, clip art, and hip hop.

At the back are interviews with some of the artists behind the graphics. My only complaint with this is I wish the interviews were personalized instead of asking the same set of questions. Other than that, this book is great, right down to the front cover, which looks like wood and has a square of clear coat with the title, author, and other information. Go to any book store and you will find a lot of books about skate graphics, and most of them suck. New Skateboard Graphics however, is worth picking up, and like the previously mentioned Disposable, this is one to keep.

By Matt Average, Posted: 5/14/2009

http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/44104/

"A new book reveals the progressive politics and corporate changes behind skateboard graphics"

Skateboard graphics are the most readily visible symbols in skate culture. The graphic is sometimes the deciding factor in which board to buy and is most likely the first thing a non-skater will notice about a skater.

"Praise the board," proclaims a deck graphic by the now defunct skateboard company PopWar, and that's just what J. Namdev Hardisty's book, New Skateboard Graphics sets out to do. Rather than retracing the greatest skateboard graphics of all time, Hardisty focused on designs released within the last two years.

Showcasing over 400 designs from both obscure and well-known companies, Hardisty states his case that graphics are no longer a solely artistic venture, but an integral part of the overall marketing and branding of a skateboard company.

Hardisty explains that as skateboarding has evolved, the thin wooden boards have become more expendable, leading companies to develop cheaper team logo boards that represent the brand instead of the individual rider. As veteran designer Michael Leon writes in the book's foreword, the shift has placed an importance on company branding rather than individual graphics.

The emergence of branding reflects a corporate takeover in skateboarding. In recent years, large corporations have bought up many skate companies that originally established their brands as independent entities.

For example, in 2001, Element was purchased by the surf company, Billabong and Zoo York, founded in 1993 by Rodney Smith in New York, is owned by Ecko Clothing. Zoo York was a well-respected East Coast company not only because they operated far away from the commercial hub of California, but also because, aesthetically, they stayed true to a raw street-skating spirit.

Some skaters will complain that these companies have lost their credibility because of corporate influence, yet both companies remain very popular, and this demonstrates the often dichotomous nature of skateboard marketing. Skateboard companies must promote themselves without being seen as mainstream. To do this, many companies find a niche market catering to a certain style of skater or a defined artistic style.

Shifting Identities

Element is well known for its Earth-conscious graphics and sustainable practices, but the idea of branding a company that cuts down thousands of trees a year as "green" seems paradoxical. Although the serene forest and valley graphics may seem almost ironic, they do represent a certain environmental awareness by encouraging skaters to consider the ecological impact of their beloved boards.

Many companies fashion themselves as wild hedonists, drinking and partying as much as they skate in a thinly-veiled ploy to use skateboarding's rebel image as a marketing tool. Yet some companies, like Toy Machine, manage to balance branding and personality, even adding a bit of social commentary to the mix. Also known as the Bloodsucking Skateboard Company, Toy Machine urges it's "loyal pawns" to "avoid future regret, buy these decks now."

Ed Templeton is Toy Machine's owner, creative director and one of its pro riders. As celebrated in the art world as in skateboarding, Templeton's graphics reflect a childhood in the conservative stronghold of Orange County, Calif. Monsters and devils are drawn spouting word bubbles filled with Templeton's thoughts on everything from the skateboard industry to American excess.

Toy Machine's graphics and ads mockingly embrace branding, exposing the deceptiveness of advertising and promoting consumer awareness in the skate community. As Templeton responded to one email from a customer angry that Toy Machine openly supported Barack Obama's campaign: "Not supporting companies you don't like is the real power we regular people have in this country."

Image Cleaned Up

However, not all companies are so outspoken with their views. After all, graphics that may be deemed offensive in one way or another may scare away potential buyers. One fallout of the skateboarding boom has been the trend of self-censorship that has seeped into every aspect of skateboarding from media to advertisements.

The mischief is not totally gone from skateboarding as graphics from Enjoi, Bueno, and Bueno's return from the dead, Roger, will attest. Bueno and Roger owner/designer, Michael Sieben, uses cartoonish violence coupled with pseudo-marketing phrasing to poke fun at the preposterous nature of branding in an industry that has long prided itself as D.I.Y. and anti-establishment.

Enjoi has been skateboarding's Monty Python since its inception, irreverently doing everything a profitable skateboard company would never do. Its graphics embrace all things '80s, colorful and silly, and their ads are more likely to feature a team rider sporting a hot dog costume than actually skateboarding. So, while skateboard companies are toning down the explicit nature of their graphics, new avenues for creativity have opened up.

While skulls and guns will always be a part of skateboard graphics, more and more companies are beginning to use graphics as a medium for promoting social awareness both inside and outside of skateboarding. Though some companies bow to the dollar sign and print uninspired graphics to promote a brand name, companies like the ones featured in Hardisty's book are looking for creative alternatives to sell their boards without sacrificing the individuality of their riders or designers.

By Adrián Castañeda, April 8, 2009

http://www.core77.com/blog/book_reviews/book_review_new_skateboard_graphics_by_j_namdev_hardisty_13032.asp

Graphics are such an integral part of skateboard culture that at first the blonde woodgrain on the cover of New Skateboard Graphics barely registers as the maple blank of a board. Nearly 300 decks are printed on the inside front and rear folds of the book on an orderly white background but the colorful little ovoids could pass for children's Band-Aids at a distance. While I'm sure that early attempts at mastering the tailslide have sent more than a few kids home with Scrappy Doo bandages, J. Namdev Hardisty's book demonstrates just how far skate culture (and design) has progressed since the green Vision Gator that left me bleeding more than once somewhere in the eighties.

For a graphic designer or a product designer interested in applique, New Skateboard Graphics is an eyeful. In the foreword, Michael Leon explains the realities of the modern sales environment where the consumer tends to observe the boards with the bottom graphics visible at a distance on a wall or in miniature in a catalog. Hardisty follows up with a short essay on the two-way connection between the branding of the company and the aesthetics of the riders, but from there it's all about the graphics. The rest of the book is framed as a series of collections that reveal (to some extent) the ethos of each company. We see the candy colors of Enjoi, the Crumb meets Steadman squiggles of Heroin, and the etched B&W artistry of Mystery all in one place. The boards should provide an immediate emotional connection to who's ever fallen off a rail, but their visual language is bound to delight even those with two left feet.

For skate history, the stitched-together merry monsters of the now-defunct Bueno and the whole Popwar collection are gathered in one place, along with interviews with designers Michael Leon andYogi Proctor. While most of America may know Bam Margera from Jackass, the pastel decks his company Element produced are far prettier than the grainy late-night pranks he pulled on his obese father on Viva La Bam. I really dug Todd Francis's Day After series, with it's "Future is Nature" tagline and its comic book image of a rusty ICBM being used as perch for birds in the savannah. For designers, the real treasure trove is relegated to the appendix at the end of the book, where the graphic artists are credited, including presidential portraitist and potential felon Shepard Fairey. Whether your taste runs toward the layered CBGB sticker look promulgated by Zoo York or the airbrushed album-cover look of Foundation, it's clear that skateboard art design now has something to offer nearly any graphic designer (especially if you don't mind a blood covered skull or two). For pure ID props, I'd still prefer the laser etched marvels of Refillseven in a heartbeat, but then again I've never seen anyone ride one and I think the authors and the skaters would agree that's where the real artistry resides.

Reviewed by Robert Blinn, posted 3/30/2009

New Skateboard Graphics by Namdev Hardisty

by Eugene Kan, March 3, 2009

For a number of artists who ply their trade in the skate industry, it was most likely their very first board which got them interested in the world of art. A sub-culture in itself, Namdev Hardisty has compiled a volume featuring over 400 illustrations of contemporary skateboard design. Highlights include Evan Hecox’s work for Chocolate, Zoo York and 5Boro pieces alongside retrospective looks into Bueno and Popwar, Rasa Libre graphics by Michael Leon and more. Also within the pages are interviews with various popular modern skateboard artists. Availble now at colette.fr and Amazon.com.