Skateboard File V: Daisuke Tanaka
Skateboarding needs art as much as it needs skaters. One of the pros and artists operating at the intersection of the two forms is Daisuke Tanaka. Although more affectionately known as “DEE,” Tanaka goes by a few other best-not-published nicknames you will just have to ask him about; another one of them, “Diskah” was given by West coast pro Matt Rodriguez. Daisuke “DEE” Tanaka grew up in West Tokyo and his continued balance of painting, photography and skateboarding through exhibitions and appearances in skateboard films has made him one of the most recognized faces in the skate community.
“Since I was a kid, I had been painting with my mother, who had done a lot of ceramic painting and my dad actually worked for a paint company so I had endless supplies. I actually wanted to be a comic artist but I ended up getting so involved in skateboarding that I somehow forgot about that dream. …»
Skateboard File iv: Sb Editor Senn Ozawa
The current issue of Sb, The 2010 Photo Annual, bears an attention-grabbing gold reflective font and runs the musing title, “A life with a piece of wood and four wheels.” More than a quote, this phrase is enough to adequately echo the Sb editorial ethos of portraying skateboarding. Featuring a series of thought pieces on the aforementioned adage from a diverse array of contributing pros and photographers such as Taro Hirano, Deshi, Anthony Van Englen and Honma, Ozawa establishes the issue’s tone with a pensive pen in the opening editor’s note, “Today, the fascination and power of print is endangered and I would like to restate the appeal and excitement of printing photos on paper, or should I say, printing skateboards on paper.” …»
Perspective Reach i: Yuri Shibuya
The first in a new series taking a closer look at Japanese photographers.
Whether a photographer’s vision constructs the photographs or the it’s the photographs which construct the vision, Yuri Shibuya has achieved a style that allows her to operate like a Venn diagram, in intersecting circles of documentary, reportage and travel. Yuri Shibuya initially started documenting her surroundings, “with no preparation” as she frankly puts it. Although Shibuya’s initial interests in photography developed from early trips to New York as an art student, upon returning to Tokyo Yuri soon switched out of her design program at university for the adventure of photography.
One of the early forays into photography was coverage of the flourishing …»
Skateboard File III: Professional Skater Deshi
“I grew up in nature- my house was surrounded by it, I used to play in the mountains and venture into caves and spent endless hours at the beach swimming and trying to catch sea urchins.” Its been years, since the second grade, when Deshi moved from Ehime prefecture to Tokyo with his family. Growing up in West-Tokyo ward Ota, Deshi took up skateboarding when he was thirteen years old and recalls the spark that lit the friction, “When I was living in Ota-ku, I remember being in my earlier teenage years and I was hanging out at the local arcade. One day I saw some gangster-type kids skateboarding. One of them was actually pretty good and when he popped a kickflip I was totally stunned. I knew I couldn’t do something like that but witnessing it was just etched into memory.” Deshi continued his story as Paper Sky listened. …»
Skateboard File II: Lesque Skateboards
For Koji Asada and the Lesque (les-ke) team, skateboarding isn’t particularly the answer to all the endless questions we face in life, but rather an essential way of dealing with the tribulations and occasional emotional turbulence of life. This ethos of acknowledging skateboarding as a positive force and its indispensability remains at the center of the Lesque team and their march towards progress. In 2007, the Lesque team formally blasted onto the Japanese skate scene and raised eye brows with an introductory collection of five models and the timely premier of their then new video, “Endless Question.” While 2007 proved to be a tremendously busy and active year for the young skater-run company, the road there was not necessarily the stuff of pipe dreams. This is the story of Lesque Skateboards. …»
Skateboard File I: Photographer Taro Hirano
Taro Hirano is better known as the photo editor of skateboard journal Sb, though its likely many have come across one of his more popular photo books which focused on abandoned skate pools in California. When Taro isn’t taking photographs, skateboarding or working in his darkroom, he’s probably downstairs in his own quaint gallery space, Gallery No. 12. The story goes back to the early 2000s when Taro was searching for a suitable darkroom however the inspiration for opening the gallery comes from the time which Taro spent in the United States, in particular a visit to New York. …»
