Freedom of Space?
"Most people don't go to galleries. They're intimidated, they feel like they have to know about "art" to interpret it. I think art should be a tool of communication that's available to everyone. That's why I've always felt that the public space is the best place for art. The argument that graffiti is an eyesore and that advertising is ok because it's paid for seems a little bit ridiculous to me." -Shepard Fairey on street art
these are a couple quotes from a documentary on skateboarding called "Freedom of Space"
"There's "public" and there's "public space," let's put it that way. "Public" is all the people who live in a society. "Public space" ends up being a function of which representatives within that pool of the "public" have been able to collect themselves and assert their right to recreate or to be within that space. So, for an example, if i said the Pearl district, it's optimized for people who wanna sit on $45,000 Harley Davidsons and wear leather but they're like 65 years old and have a light white fluffy dog with a $5 cup of coffee. It is not optimized if you're a single mother with a 5 and a 7 year old who wanna play in the park. Skateboarders, and of course the homeless, and people who ride bikes, and all kinds of other things are really not welcome within the public spaces that are being created." -Kent Dahlgren
"skateboarders are the leading edge of a revolution of the human being's relation to his/her environment. What you already have done is reinvent the idea that a human being can create, spontaneously out of their own interior feelings, a movement through whatever environment happens to catch their fancy. Which is built on the creative application of the human body moving through an environment and relating to it." -urban architect Edmund Bacon
so i've been on this kick lately thinking about the idea of "public space" and "public domain." it's a very integral part of my life at this point not only since i skate, but if you really look at what it means to have a "public space," you'll see that for the most part there isn't any. Land is either privatized or the government comes up with ordinances and laws on how it thinks the land should be used. Of course as a skateboarder, I find this truth alarming in the sense that i have almost no control over whether or not i'm able to use an environment. Beneath the facade of grunge and rebelliousness and angst there is a fundamental part of being a "skater" that feeds on not only passing through, but experiencing my environment. It is a very unique enterprise. In no other way can you interact with the world around you. What look like just mundane and simple structures to most, a skater's eye sees possibility and adventure. When i look a a set of stairs i think- "i wonder what i could do down that..." I wonder in what way i could experience this spot by going down it or over it or through it..." It's a world view. And with the issue of "public space" in mind, i've been wondering what i can do about the restrictions imposed by companies and governments. The argument of safety has been long overplayed, and its obvious at this point that the skater assumes all liability as soon as he steps on the board. It has become a matter of aesthetic. Bums have about the same rights as skateboarders. The homeless that wander around from street corner to street corner are as welcome in most places and me and my friends. We are both seen as nuisances. An eyesore or a blemish on the landscape of a property. But the thing is- we are using the space more efficiently than anyone else. I find enjoyment in sliding across a ledge or throwing myself down some stairs. No one else can say that unless they skate. And sure we are a minority, but that doesn't mean we should be persecuted for it. Skaters have just as much right to operate in the context of the public space as anyone else. No harm is being done to anyone or anything so why are there so many restrictions against it? the only thing the governments on the city level have been able to do is offer the building of skateparks, but this isn't an adequate solution to giving skaters what they need. This goes back to the idea of a skateboarder experiencing their environment and interacting with everything around them. It is an innate attraction that draws them to a spot, and that can't always be satisfied at a skatepark. Even the idea of a skatepark is disturbing to me when seen from the eyes of most politicians or business owners. It's just a place to try to round them all up and keep them out of their hair for the time being. And even when they provide a space it comes along with restrictions and penalties for acting outside those restrictions. Will there ever be anything we can truly define as "public space"? Will society ever accept it's environment as a place of free expression and free interaction?
Thank you for your time and attention.
these are a couple quotes from a documentary on skateboarding called "Freedom of Space"
"There's "public" and there's "public space," let's put it that way. "Public" is all the people who live in a society. "Public space" ends up being a function of which representatives within that pool of the "public" have been able to collect themselves and assert their right to recreate or to be within that space. So, for an example, if i said the Pearl district, it's optimized for people who wanna sit on $45,000 Harley Davidsons and wear leather but they're like 65 years old and have a light white fluffy dog with a $5 cup of coffee. It is not optimized if you're a single mother with a 5 and a 7 year old who wanna play in the park. Skateboarders, and of course the homeless, and people who ride bikes, and all kinds of other things are really not welcome within the public spaces that are being created." -Kent Dahlgren
"skateboarders are the leading edge of a revolution of the human being's relation to his/her environment. What you already have done is reinvent the idea that a human being can create, spontaneously out of their own interior feelings, a movement through whatever environment happens to catch their fancy. Which is built on the creative application of the human body moving through an environment and relating to it." -urban architect Edmund Bacon
so i've been on this kick lately thinking about the idea of "public space" and "public domain." it's a very integral part of my life at this point not only since i skate, but if you really look at what it means to have a "public space," you'll see that for the most part there isn't any. Land is either privatized or the government comes up with ordinances and laws on how it thinks the land should be used. Of course as a skateboarder, I find this truth alarming in the sense that i have almost no control over whether or not i'm able to use an environment. Beneath the facade of grunge and rebelliousness and angst there is a fundamental part of being a "skater" that feeds on not only passing through, but experiencing my environment. It is a very unique enterprise. In no other way can you interact with the world around you. What look like just mundane and simple structures to most, a skater's eye sees possibility and adventure. When i look a a set of stairs i think- "i wonder what i could do down that..." I wonder in what way i could experience this spot by going down it or over it or through it..." It's a world view. And with the issue of "public space" in mind, i've been wondering what i can do about the restrictions imposed by companies and governments. The argument of safety has been long overplayed, and its obvious at this point that the skater assumes all liability as soon as he steps on the board. It has become a matter of aesthetic. Bums have about the same rights as skateboarders. The homeless that wander around from street corner to street corner are as welcome in most places and me and my friends. We are both seen as nuisances. An eyesore or a blemish on the landscape of a property. But the thing is- we are using the space more efficiently than anyone else. I find enjoyment in sliding across a ledge or throwing myself down some stairs. No one else can say that unless they skate. And sure we are a minority, but that doesn't mean we should be persecuted for it. Skaters have just as much right to operate in the context of the public space as anyone else. No harm is being done to anyone or anything so why are there so many restrictions against it? the only thing the governments on the city level have been able to do is offer the building of skateparks, but this isn't an adequate solution to giving skaters what they need. This goes back to the idea of a skateboarder experiencing their environment and interacting with everything around them. It is an innate attraction that draws them to a spot, and that can't always be satisfied at a skatepark. Even the idea of a skatepark is disturbing to me when seen from the eyes of most politicians or business owners. It's just a place to try to round them all up and keep them out of their hair for the time being. And even when they provide a space it comes along with restrictions and penalties for acting outside those restrictions. Will there ever be anything we can truly define as "public space"? Will society ever accept it's environment as a place of free expression and free interaction?
Thank you for your time and attention.