To the mainstream, until relatively recently, skateboarding has been a largely ignored subculture. It has chosen instead to define its own parameters, art movements, design heroes and fashion trends. The RaD retrospective book aims to throw a light on this vibrant and little understood aspect of youth culture, displaying a host of images featuring a peculiarly British take on this once very American or more specifically Californian youth cult. It will be a unique opportunity to visit a version of the 1980s and 90s not usually represented in photographic essays featuring that period.
The book follows the evolution of skateboarding from the so-called ‘dark times’ of the late 1970s. Long hair and surfing influenced clothing give way to more specific, designed-for-skateboarding, protective clothing. The hard-to-buy pads, helmets and shoes of the early 1980s evolve as the tricks and manoeuvres become more radical and physically demanding. The ‘sport’ aesthetic is enriched with a strong DIY punk influence and screen printed fabrics in dynamic patterns eventually take centre stage. A unique mash-up of bike, surf and skate labels takes the scene by storm. The eventual reaction to this by a new generation of skaters is an altogether cooler and more urban feel, dispensing with the protective clothing and loud garb that had defined the 1980s. The skate influenced clothing brands explode in the early 90s and have a huge impact on more mainstream youth culture.
The Read and Destroy archive has until July 30 to raise the funds to publish this extensive overview of British skateboarding as covered by RaD magazine. Help the Read and Destroy archive commit to paper, for future generations, this amazing photographic record of an influential period in the life of the powerful cultural force that is skateboarding.
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