Art At Its Purest: Rieder v.s. Sinner

listen to dubstep

Citizen Kane is famously Orson Welles’ only film without studio intervention. He was given a blank check and final edit to produce what has up until two years ago, been considered the greatest film ever made. It was one man’s singular vision, pure and unhampered by the wills of studio executives. He would spend the remainder of his career struggling with financing, re-cuts, and creative control over his projects.

Skateboarding does not allow such a thing.

Many talented skaters are plucked from high schools and put into tour vans before they receive their diplomas, or form a concrete understanding of rudimentary social codes that high school is good at providing. They don’t really know the outside world in the same way normal people with rocket switch flips do, as they are both blessed and cursed with the ability to ride a skateboard for a living.

In turn, industry father-figures are required to look after their best interests. “Don’t wear that stupid hat, people will think you’re a kook,” “Don’t skate to that corny song,” “Stop doing 270 shove-its out of everything,” “You need to take a shower and put on some deodorant,” etc. Trusted team managers, video editors, photographers and journalists are appointed guardians of many pro skaters’ #trueself — the one that never finished cooking in the oven known as “the real world.”

There is an understanding that genius on a skateboard is best left on a skateboard, and that we let the people who aren’t nearly as good at riding skateboards (the “studio execs” in this analogy) handle the mediated version of that genius.

But the system broke this summer. We have our Citizen Kane(s), so to speak.

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Started From the T.F. Now We (Still) Here

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QS shirts have been spotted in some odd locations: “Holi Thirteen” by Brandon Kuzma. (P.S. If you’re still trying to get an early order in, e-mail quartersnacks [at] gmail, though quantities remain limited. Otherwise, our webstore will re-open in June with new product. Supreme New York and Exit Skateshop in Philadelphia also have them in stock.)

Don’t you guys miss when the Green Diamond was more #street? :(

These guys are still mad street.

The French blog, Café Créme, has a new interview with Quim Cardona. His 2011 Chrome Ball interview goes deeper on some of the topics they discuss though.

The Wall Street Velvet Rope Bail. Worth watching two or ten times.

NY Skateboarding rounded up New York-related bits from recent magazines, which include the photo side of Adidas’ New York barge last year and Walker Ryan’s insane trick at the Courthouse.

Black Dave has a “First Try Fridays” segment with Eric Koston over on the Berrics.

The new Cliché video, Bon Voyage, is out on iTunes today, and most shops have the DVD in stock. The video is what you expect (though a bit less European given some recent roster additions), including a solid part from every grown-up’s favorite skateboarder, Lucas Puig. The line he does at Pulaski Park is likely the best line you’ll see all year (seeing pros just do a simple, not-Torey-Pudwills-long backside tailslide on a ledge is awesome, especially in 2013.) Also, “Best Line of 2012” title holder, Pete Eldridge, continues to skate with cigarettes and has a solid shared part with J.B. Gillet. If anyone at Cliché is interested in producing an American rap re-edit of Puig’s part, we’re all ears.

#Art Updates: 1) Jeremy Elkin put together a video of Jahmal Williams’ recent Hopps installation at Labor Skateshop. 2) “Eastern Suns,” an art thing which features Jahmal, Dan Drehobl, Bosco, 30 Pack Pat, and others will have an opening reception at Da Fish on Sunday, May 5th at 7 P.M. Flyer here.

Trife Moronic Look of the Week: They actually knobbed this “sculpture” on Houston and Broadway.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Nate Robinson (yes, Nate Robinson) came one point shy of Michael Jordan’s record for post points in a playoff quarter in a triple overtime win over the Nets on Saturday. Is Nets gear 80% off everywhere yet?

How insane is it that the President of the United States walked out to DJ Khaled as intro music?

#TRENDWATCH2013: Televisions

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Loose Trucks Max — Blunt stall. Photo by Colin Sussingham.

TVs are the first must-have commodity in the impending 2013 “Trip to New York” cycle (slated to begin in April.) With recent studies indicating that Americans watch up to 3 1/2 more hours of TV on computers than on actual televisions, many TVs are ending up in the trash. Naturally, northeastern skateboarders who love skating garbage took notice, and TVs began to gain on the refrigerator’s marketshare in the “Most Frequently Skated Household Appliance” category. #Trendwatch2013 analysts expect that tricks on televisions will graduate from mere novelties, to modern-day staples of the “authentic” New York web clip checklist. Tricks on abandoned cars and wallrides on porous surfaces (e.g. chain link fences) have also been able to make this leap in recent years.

Could this be one giant skaters-go-to-art-school-and-get-crazy-ideas-from-smoking-too-much concoction intended to be a critique of America’s TV addiction? Is it performance art? Are we on the brink of scanning Craigslist curb alerts for free TVs instead of thinking about spots to skate before we call our friends on Saturday mornings? Did @SeinfeldToday fall off? Is there an industrious crew of skaters performance artists intent on making the first-ever all-TV skate clip? And if so, will they consider Kingpin Skinny Pimp, Yo Gotti and 8ball’s bass-heavy masterpiece, “TVs,” for music supervision? Does anyone like Criminal Intent more than SVU?

The answer to all of these questions, except the last two, is probably “yes.”

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Kevin Tierney — Photo by Brian Kelley

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You Know They Love the Snowman in the White House

Ty only skates transition now. Photo by Emilio Cuilan.

The first column on the 100th floor of 1 World Trade Center goes up today, which for the second time in history, makes it the tallest building in New York City, surpassing the Empire State Building by 21 feet.

E.J. made a lifestyle-y Super 8 clip for all the video art students. Part one of four.

10 Questions with the Black Ninja. If we’re trying to convince kids that the skateboard industry is abundant with jobs, what sort of example are we setting if the Black Ninja doesn’t have a six-figure salary and a head marketing position at a major skateboard conglomerate? The guy writes rap songs just to sell t-shirts.

Zered Bassett video interview on Fred Gall heating up a frozen pizza with a clothing iron, getting held at gunpoint by undercovers for riding mini bikes with Vinnie Ponte, and a variety of other subjects.

Lost Kevin Tierney Flushing footage that was found on a laserdisc and ripped to YouTube. Noseslides, lipslides, etc.

The Hells Angels have beef with Rob Dyrdek. Tell him to stay off East 3rd Street.

Rob Gonyon doing noseblunts in camo pants (a Josh Kalis classic), and Bill Pierce doing melon grabs in this Skateboarder magazine Photo File.

Some guy took a $2,700 set of skateboards and made fancy ultra post-modern shelves out of them.

Happy 10th birthday to Nelly’s “Hot in Here.”

Shawn Powers is the only American you put on your skateboard company, and Torey Goodall is the only Canadian? Sounds good.

Quote of the Week:

Skateboarding websites, Olympic swimmers, ESPN commentators, and the Commander-in-Chief are just a few who have been inspired by the Snowman’s brilliant body of work.


Don’t mention anything about sports if you see me.

Getting There…

59 today, 58 tomorrow, can’t really complain…yet.

The Pittsburgh homies from One-Up did a cross country trip this past summer, and have started to upload doc-style clips from it in small pieces. The first installment is for Minneapolis. It’s not too heavy on actual skate footage, but serves as a good reminder that it’s never too early to start planning a summer road trip, even at the onset of winter.

There’s a new Krispy Du-Rag clip out. All Maloof Park and House of Vans footage, but Luis Tolentino does some pretty sick stuff in there. Manny Santiago also dropped a new, quick clip of some Luis footage.

Two new teasers for the Poisonous Products video. The Rob Campbell cameo and abundance of Leo Gutman appearances make this video look real promising. It’s available on DVD for $7.99 over at the Color site, but “Allow 4 weeks for shipping” sounds a bit crazy in this day and age. That’s longer than the iPhone 4S waitlist.

There’s an art installation on 46th Street and Eighth Avenue right now, described as “a massive sculpture that represents suburban over-development and its effect on our natural landscapes.” Given that people skate on cars, in abandoned water parks (that Grant Taylor part in the SB video is insane), and other absurd obstacles nowadays, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone broke in to get a clip on it. (Or arrested.) Overhead view here.

Quartersnacks shot/edited Black Dave’s newest music video for his song “One Take.” He’s in skateboarder form, rather than his Black Donald Trump alter-ego, but B.D.T. is set to make a comeback sooner than later.

If you don’t personally know the G Man, and have only been able to gather a composite of his character based on his skating and endless Quote of the Week appearances, watching his latest Flip Cam clip is the best way to get to know him without actually having a conversation. A lot of ditch footage, piglets, flowers, llamas getting shaved, strippers, and a Future/Travis Porter/French Montana soundtrack that encompasses 90% of the music that matters in 2011.

Eye-Roll of the Week: Some French people are seriously making a skateboard video called Breathless. Wowwwwwwwww. (If you don’t “get it,” be grateful.)


YouTube redesigned its channel pages and made them slightly less cluttered. So, subscribe to Quartersnacks on YouTube if you have yet to do so, and browse through some of the oldies.

This is going to get deleted, and we already told you to buy the Shake Junt video, but here’s Dollin’s ender part in glorious 240p. Buy the video, you’re going to watch it a lot this winter.