skateboarding and skateboarding related art / photography books!

all of these below are my small and humble collection of skateboarding and skateboarding related art books that i have been gathering for some years now. these are my gems and i take care of them carefully and not to crease the spines of the books. i hate it when that happens, don'cha?

click on the image above to enlarge.

photo: pinkviolence

the top most from left to right:
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blabac photo : the art of skateboarding photography, cliché : résumé, skateboard art of jim phillips, made for skate : the illustrated history of skateboard footwear and upper playground : ten years of t-shirt graphics.

the second top most left to right:
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full bleed : new york city skateboard photography, skate and destroy : the first 25 years of thrasher magazine, thrasher magazine : insane terrain, independent truck co. - built to grind : 25 years of hardcore skateboarding and bam magera : serious as dog dirt!.

the second bottom from left to right:
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the disposable skateboard bible by sean cliver, disposable : a history of skateboard art by sean cliver, supreme, skateboarding is not a crime : board culture past, present & future and thrasher epic spots : the places you must skate before you die.

the most bottom from left to right:
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art, skateboarding & life + two dvd set by andy howell, vans - off the wall : stories of the sole from vans originals), concrete to canvas : skateboarder's art by waterhouse & penhallow, michael sieben : there's nothing wrong with you. (hopefully) and concrete 2 canvas : more skateboarders' art by jo waterhouse.

there are still a bunch more books that i'd like to add to my small collection of skateboarding art and related books. you can check them out from my amazon.com wish list here.

peace.

p.s. i apologise before hand, 'cause there are also non-related skate books there in my amazon.com wish list. sorry... =)

books, books and more books!

art, skateboarding & life + two dvd set by andy howell

art, skateboarding & life is an action packed story that is related in a series of awesome visuals. in his first monograph andy howell’s work on the deck and as an artist is presented within the context of an expansive network of artists, skaters and agitators, all bent on having an impact. it is an intense mixture of interviews, narrative text and non-stop visuals that follow howell’s journey through pro skateboarding, the action sports industry, and allied segments of the diy movements within art, music and design.

the two dvd set features interviews with artists and skaters, skate videos, and music by alyashaowerka-moore, monkey wrench, mass prophets, the blowing rock triplets and more! — directed by ted newsome (former art/film director of transworld skateboarding) — contains interviews and videos with andy howell, shepard fairey, ed temleton, rodney smith, and other artists and skaters. plus full length videos from new deal, freedom, and howell’s personal archives!

the disposable skateboard bible by sean cliver

with the release of disposable: a history of skateboard art in 2004, author sean cliver made a brilliant attempt at artfully cataloging every important skateboard deck ever released. in the process, he created a classic, but was left feeling less than satisfied. ever the completist, the gaping omissions in the first book gnawed at him and drove him to envision compiling the ultimate encyclopedia of skateboard decks.

while disposable: a history of skateboard art was beautiful, capturing the essence of the aesthetic, the disposable skateboard bible sets out to be the ultimate guide. the author’s industry insider status (mesmerized by his first visit to a skate shop in 1986 he went all out and in 1989, landed his first job as a designer at powell-peralta) allows him to guide readers through the culture and experience, the art and the mania of the skate world with authority and expertise.

as the boards take center stage, fascinating vignettes and recollections by an a-list of skateboarding personalities from tony hawk to mike vallely, mark gonzales to mark "gator" rogowski, steve caballero to stacy peralta and more, complete the book.

skateboarding is not a crime by james davis, photographs by skin phillips

electrifying full-page color photos of skateboarders in action will attract readers to this history of the sport. davis traces skateboarding back to its origins in surfing and the homemade toys of the 1950s to the huge industry it is today, covering developments in equipment, shoes and safety gear as well as stars like tony hawk, mark gonzales, waves of devotion and eric koston. chapter two looks at skateboarding around the world, from the us and canada to south america. australia, japan, europe, and more. davis then goes on to discuss skate culture: skateboarding music, fashion, art, contests, the nomadic way of life, and authority and rebellion. the last chapter examines skateboarding media, such as magazines, videos, and the movies, and describes some skateboarding tricks and techniques. skateboard fans will love this, and the photos are quite amazing.

cliché: résumé

cliché: résumé spotlights the largest, best known european skateboard brand from its humble beginnings during the days of vhs and polaroids to the present. classic skate photography takes center stage with crucial work from some of the industries' most renowned lens-men such as mike o'meally, olivier chassignole, oliver barton, alexis zavialoff, benjamindeberdt, fred mortagne and more.

this epic narrative is given form with a lively text written by transworld skateboard’s mackenzie eisenhour. "resumé" chronicles the tactics of jérémie daclin, as he launches cliché skateboards in france in 1997 and pours his heart and soul into a start-up with no money, investors, or even employees. daclin’s shoestring budget never held him back, as breath-taking tour imagery ranging from athens, greece, to new york city, to the island of sardinia and italy quickly makes clear.

interviews, tales of camping in sewer tunnels, rental van tours, and home-cooked meals are all integral to the story of resumé. this modus operandi at the heart of cliché’s strategy culminates with the gypsy tours 1 & 2 — a skateboard "survivor"-style challenge to team skaters, forced to test their mettle by traveling with no secured lodging on only 10 euros a day. more recently, cliché has broken into the american market, just as daclin dreamed, and now with the release of "resume", tackles the rest of the world too.

concrete 2 canvas: more skateboarders' art by jo waterhouse

since the first time a graphic was hand-drawn onto a board, there has been a deep-rooted connection between skateboarding and art. the culture of skating is a very creative and visual one, with by-products such as board graphics, videos, stickers, magazines and clothing. as more skater-artists emerge, skateboard magazines feature more artwork in their pages, and there are an increasing number of exhibitions focusing on skater art. bringing together the finest artwork produced by skateboarders around the world, this second volume of skater-art follows on the successful first book, concrete to canvas. each artist's work is highly individual and distinctive, and there is a huge variety in genre, style, method, medium, subject matter, inspiration and influence. the work featured includes digital art, street art, fine art, paintings, drawings, doodles, illustration and installation.

blabac photo: the art of skateboarding photography

blabac photo: the art of skateboarding photography is a stunning chronicle of a youth movement as seen through the lens of mike blabac, a man who is as dedicated to his craft as he is to the skateboarding lifestyle that inspired it. for millions of people around the world, skateboarding is more than a mere hobby or a sport—it's a way of life that has shaped everything from fashion and music, to video games and art. blabac photo proves that point with 300 awe-inspiring images that communicate the stories and exploits of some of the most creative athletes to ever step on a skateboard including eric koston, stevie williams, colin mckay, rob dyrdek, and danny way. as skateboarding evolved over time, from a hobby for kids on the venice boardwalk into a global culture, skate legends were born, records were broken, titans of industry materialized—and mike blabac was there to document the history of the movement as it developed before his eyes.

mike blabac is one of the preeminent skateboard photographers of his generation. his career has been built on a strong work ethic, a small dose of good fortune, and an undying love for riding on a small board with four wheels. his parents gave him his first camera at age 13, but he didn't grasp the full power of photography until he started looking at skateboard magazines. in the early '90s, blabac caught his first break. he began taking pictures of a rising skater named josh kalis, and an image off the first roll he shot ran as a full page in transworld skateboarding magazine. in the '90s, blabac moved to california, where his career took off. he began shooting spreads and covers for the top skateboard magazines, including thrasher and skateboarder, and eventually became staff photographer for mad circle and girl skateboards. In 1999, blabac joined friends ken block and damon way and helped to shape the image of their at their rapidly expanding skate shoe company, dc shoes.

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for more information about the above mentioned books, go google 'em yo'selves, a'ight?

peace.

art, skateboarding & life.

click on the image above to enlarge.

photo: pinkviolence

i copped this andy howell's - "art, skateboarding & life" book at one of my favourite book stores earlier, for cheaps! he is definitely one of the most prolific artist in history of the skateboarding culture.

this coffee table book also includes two dvds which i have yet to check out but i assume they'll kick ass, just like the book!

i'll be sure to do a short write up / review about this book as soon as i am done with it (in the near future, hopefully...). in the meantime, check out the link below for the synopsis of the book.


check out andy howell.

peace.