With 90s culture poised to leap back into the mainstream, it’s probably time we gave skateboarding another look.
We ran acrossMumble’s retrospective of skate photographer Grant Brittain and it inspired us to do just that. From a pipe-bound photo of a young Tony Hawk to surprisingly quiet contemplations of Del Mar’s concrete underbelly, there’s a lot more here than just tattoos and knee shorts.
As a subculture, skateboarding has already been coopted so many times over the past 15 years that it’s been very hard to take seriously, but we’re reaching a moment when we can see it with all the hype and glamour stripped away, as a genuine reimagining of the urban landscape. Of course, it helps if you grew up in a suburb full of smooth concrete and gentle curves. And if you take a few photographers along for the ride.
For a while there, we were genuinely excited about internet culture. Smart phones like the iPhone and the gPhone were going to spawn small-scale apps that would be smart, entertaining, and elevate humanity forever.
But today we learned that the top-selling app on the iPhone is iFart. When you click the buttons, it makes farting sounds. And according to VentureBeat, it’s selling more than 10,000 copies a day.
For those of us without fabulous wealth, it’s hard to appreciate the psychic brutality at work in the art collection game. High profile collectors aren’t usually aesthetes or intellectuals; they’re corporate raiders and law partners. They play for keeps, which is why the auction system ends up being so lucrative. The goal is to put together a collection that will command respect, and whoever ends up with the best stuff wins.
Luckily, the aesthetes at Assouline are stepping in to lend a hand. They’ve just put out The Impossible Collection, a guide to the 100 most valuable works of art in the world. It says what they are, why they matter, and where you can find each and every one. The book itself will set you back 500 dollars, but the value of the art is incalculable. Still, it’s nice to have a goal.
