Poster Image
$20
Item#: 2012SYR04
Purchase Details
11x17-inches, printed on heavy weight (100-pound) Hammermill cover paper. We package each print with a piece of chipboard in a clear plastic sleeve.
You also receive…
An information page with photos of the artist and poet, and hand-written comments from each.
Medium- and large-format posters are available by custom order. Contact us for details.
Poem Inspiration Location
Onondaga ramps
poster information
Description
Onondaga ramps
Lake Park teens jump all day
radical flip—turns
My interest in skateboarding was sparked in my teen years as a punk rocker listening to groups like Black Flag, whose fans were into it. I also enjoy watching the Dew skateboarding and BMX bike tournaments on TV. I never really had the balance for it, but I knew friends who did.
During my sister's and nephew's trip here, we stopped at the Skater Park at Onondaga Lake in Liverpool for Ryan to watch and play. He was so excited, I wanted to capture the eagerness in poetry that he experienced seeing the sport for the first time as a four and a half year old.
The flips and turns were something Ryan was hoping to do when he got older. Ryan was so thrilled, he insisted we bring him back to see the skaters and BMX bikers another time before he went home to New Jersey. I want to dedicate this haiku to my nephew, Ryan Scott.
Growing up with both parents active in the military I was privileged to see various parts of the country like: Texas, Florida, Colorado and Hawaii. I now find myself in Syracuse, NY and it's been almost six years. As different as each place was, I always made sure to bring my love for skateboarding and art.
I was fortunate enough to get a job in McKie sports rental shop on Onondaga Lake which allowed me to be somewhat involved with the skate scene. There are people of all ages and skill levels that use the skate park on Onondaga Lake. It is a great place to test out new tricks.
For the poster, I thought it would be dynamic to capture a skateboarder in the middle of a trick, with a very abstract gesture. In my artwork I enjoy expressing motion, capturing energy. I thought the best way to represent that would be having a figure elevated in the air with his skateboard floating at an off angle beneath him. Whether or not the trick is landed is uncertain, but I see a lot of freedom in at least trying.