This is the third iteration in my series of mixed media skateboards, Pop Shuvit. Within this series I try to investigate streams of consciousness through mixed media and recyclables I find locally on the streets. The inclusion of locally sourced recyclables, trash, and abandoned/broken skateboard decks as my work's main mediums is an intentional investigation into the concept of low vs. high art, and aims to observe how my potential audiences may regard and interpret found materials in a gallery setting vs. on the street. Are all of these elements only beautiful, or art, when hung on a white gallery wall? Would this piece on the street get the same attention? Additionally, I source my boards through a local skate shop (Olympia), and participate in a system where they take in young Ann Arbor skaters' broken boards, grant them a discount off their next deck, and then sell the broken decks back to me. This system helps encourage the protection and funding of local AA youth skate, gives young skaters an accessible incentive to keep practicing and get back up when they fall down, and cuts down on waste by recycling the boards into canvasses.
