Yesterday I wrote an email that, among other things, contained this paragraph, and I thought it warranted posting.
“The new project is definitely a decision to work within that tradition. I’ll use an analogy. The reason I enjoy photography so much is because of the ways it is similar to skateboarding. The beauty of skateboarding is that it is about virtuosity. Everyone who skateboards is essentially riding the same thing, so the progression of the sport is about what you can do on that thing, how you look doing it, and how you decided to do it, but you can’t step off of your board. Because of their loyalty to the sport skateboarders must progress slowly, feed off of one another, and take cues from their peers. That is beautiful to me, that competitive aspect is beautiful. Skateboarding is definitely about doing new tricks, but it is also just as much about doing older tricks well. Every skateboarder can do a kickflip, but you can still see someone do a really good kickflip and be wowed by it. The invention of new tricks is rare, but the pushing of older ones in new directions is commonplace. That is sort of how I think about photography.”
Let me expand a little further on this analogy. What I am trying to say is that sometimes photography feels like a different kind of art to me, and art of imitation and improvement. The most obvious example I can think of is Stephen Shore’s Uncommon Places, and Joel Sternfeld’s American Prospects. Which were released in 1982 and 1987 respectively. Both photographers shot color film on cross country road trips, using 8×10 field cameras. The photographs in each book have a backed off democratic aesthetic. I thoroughly enjoy both books, and Stephen’s book laid the groundwork for Joel’s book. Without Uncommon Places, American Prospects would be totally different, and it might not even exist. In essence they are both doing really good kickflips, and maybe neither of them invented the kickflip, but they put ther own twist on it, and they also happen to be doing it down like a 20 stair.
I guess though if you really look at the history of art, this sort of one-upping of one another runs across genres. The abstract impressionists, the conceptual video artists of the 70’s, the impressionists of the late 1800’s, etc. etc. I am just most familiar with the photography world, and the focus on equipment and “straight photographs” reminds me of the purity of 4 wheels and a board. Disclaimer* I am terrible at skateboarding, I cannot do a kickflip or even an ollie, but I do enjoy being a spectator in the sport.
Here is local Salt Lake skateboarder Lizard King talking about the history of the kickflip:
