In the tradition of pairing contrasts in order to create new mediums of expression, ISM: a community project presents, “SK8OLOGY: fine art on skateboards” an exhibition that combines skateboard counter culture with the world of fine art.

On Saturday August 23, 2008, at 7 p.m. the ISM: gallery will be hosting an exhibition showcasing over 100 creative deck canvases from some of today’s most exciting artists and professional skaters. Contributions from Jason Lee, Mike Shinoda, Chris Pastras, Steve Caballero,Danny Gonzalez, and Nathan Pratt will be displayed: along with pieces from Audrey Kawasaki, Aaron Jasinski, Blaine
Fontana, Brian Viveros and Joshua Clay.

Contributing artists and professional skaters are donating their creative deck canvases to raise awareness and resources in an effort to support Now That You Know, a non-profit organization that helps provide ambitious girls from developing countries a secure environment for learning and growth.
Proceeds will also contribute to benefiting the youth of our society through the artistic enrichment of our community.

The ISM: gallery has blank skateboard decks for those who wish to contribute. The decks have been donated by Deck Display who will also be preparing the exhibit at the ISM: gallery. The deadline for artwork is July 26th. The ISM: gallery is located in the Koo’s Art Center at 540 East
Broadway in Long Beach.

The exhibit will be on display at the ISM: gallery for one month before it travels to San Diego in September. While in San Diego, SK8OLOGY will be displayed in the Action Sports Retailer (ASR) Trade Show. An inventive art show like SK8OLOGY is one that should not be missed.

Here is a little background information about Danny Way. Danny went pro in 1989 at the age of 15 and was a child prodigy. To this day he is well known for his technical innovation and for paving the way of skateboarding over-sized structures.

In addition to being the only person to ever leap from a helicopter onto a vert ramp on a skateboard, Way has also set and broken six world records. He currently holds the world records for highest air out of a quarterpipe at 23-feet, 6-inches, and distance on a skateboard at 79-feet. He set the last record in 2004 at X Games X with officials from Guinness World Record on-hand.

Danny has had some personal setbacks and they come along with the job. Some of those setbacks include a broken neck in 1994, a dislocated shoulder, and injuries requiring seven surgeries between 1999 and 2002. Way has continually proven his athletic skills as well as his dedication to the progression of his sport. Highly regarded within the action sports community as a pioneer and a visionary, Danny has repeatedly challenged the limitations set by other athletes and himself, breaking his own records when no one else could.

Danny Way Bomb Drops from Helicopter into a Half pipe
In 1997 Danny Way broke the world record for highest air at 16 feet 6 inches. Then after he broke that record, he bomb-dropped out of a hovering helicopter into the same monstrous ramp just for fun.

Danny Way Jumps the Great Wall of China
Danny Way already held the world records for distance (24 meters / 79 feet) and unaided height (7.14 meters / 23.5 feet) while skateboarding, but that wasn’t enough. Today, Danny Way set a new world record. Danny Way is the first person to leap the wall without a motor vehicle and land successfully.

Danny Way Bomb Drops From The Fender Stratocaster atop the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas
On April 6, pro skateboarder Danny Way smashed the “Bomb Drop” world record by freefalling 28 feet from the Fender Stratocaster guitar atop the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas onto a ramp below.

Key Facts of the world record jump:
-Freefall World Record – measured and confirmed by Guinness Book of World Records: 28’/8.53m
-Height of drop-in spot on guitar: 78’/23.77m;
-Height of the landing ramp 56’/17.1m. Width of landing ramp 24’/7.27m; Flat bottom 64’/19.4m;
-Height of quarterpipe 27’/8.2m; Width of quarterpipe 48’/14.54m.
-Previous record 12’ 3.6” held by Adil Dyani.

This place is bitchen but you have to hop a fence to get there and its a pretty stiff fine if you get caught. Isn’t that the case when you jump any fence and trespass to skateboard? Its kind of the price you pay sometimes. Go check out The Hook if you can find it as it is a great skatespot.

Here is a night session at the nude bowl. This is a tough pool to skate. Check out Dave Ruel going frontside and backside around the steps at the beginning and Brian Patch doing just about everything else throughout the end of this video clip.

Here is a little History on the Nude Bowl. Located in the hills outside of Palm Springs, the Nude bowl has been a legendary skateboarding spot since the late 1970’s. The name comes from what this place used to be, a nudist camp. The buildings are now in complete ruin, but the pool is kept in perfect condition with exception to the graffiti.

It has been buried and unburied a few times to skateboard over the past 10 years for special sessions but then it got covered back up again.

Tony Hawk is the biggest name is skateboarding history and has won 74 professional skateboard contests of the past 20 years. Tony Hawk has invented 90 skateboard tricks and continues to bust through new boundaries with his million dollar vert ramp.

When Tony Hawk first started skateboarding back in the late 70’s and early 80’s, there was either vert skateboarding which was pools or freestyle skateboarding. There was no street skateboarding which dominates the industry today. Pools eventually evolved into half pipes and the very first half pipes where very hard to skate. The were made out of Plexiglas and had little or no flat bottom and no decks to stand on. You just kind of got in there and tried to hit the coping. Tony Hawk spent many a day skating the Del Mar Skate Ranch and once that closed down he ended up getting some land in Fallbrook and built a massive ramp.

His father Frank Hawk supported Tony very heavily and it must have been cool to have a dad like that. When you are a vert skateboarder pads are a necessary. You cannot bust out a 540 or even a 360 on a vert ramp for the first time with out relying on your pads to knee slide out on so you can get up and try again until you land it. Today vertical skateboarding is not very popular probably because it is so difficult. There are very few newcomers to the Vert Skateboarding scene but with the big boom of skate parks that where built over the last 10 years kids are learning to be more well rounded skateboarders and are able to hit vertical walls now in addition to hitting the rails and ledges that grace the pages of every skateboard magazine on the market. Long live vert skateboarding this is my favorite genre of skateboarding.