Shred Sled Symposium skateboard installation Installation view Early boards Aaron Rose Perfection, 1996 Princess, 1995 Keith Haring Untitled,1985 (detail) Jim Philipps Corbert O'Brien Pro Model Eli Gessner Dial Direct, 1996 Zoo York Tag, 1995 Z Train, 1995 Kevin Marburg, Jeff Tremain, Dave Persé, Andy Howell

the shred sled symposium at thread waxing space by Paul H-O The Big Kahuna has spawned one street-stick exhibition of the little Kahuna, namely the skateboard. Curated by Alleged Gallery's Aaron Rose, this excellent exhibition carves a tight thematic schema that rivals any more purportedly high-art curatorial effort. Featuring a grand total of 198 skateboards, the show sprawls around the big Thread Waxing main space laying tracks clockwise into a 360. Stretches of walls covered by boards are punctuated by large on-site paintings by Mark Gonzales, Phil Frost, Mike Mills and Thomas Campbell. Aaron points out that it took four years to put this show together and flatly denies that it's the definitive skate art show-- but all the same it's damn comprehensive! The first boards up are simple skinny skateboards designed by the granddaddies that crawled out of the primordial California ooze back in the `60s. True wheeled descendants of the wave boards, entries by Dogtown and Hobie provide a historic reference point by which to measure current deck designs. The two Keith Haring boards in the show bridge the old and new in a most sublime fashion that almost erases the fact that all this stuff was meant to be ridden to destruction. The outstanding and ball-baring breadth of visual approaches are led by Jim Phillips of megasurf company Santa Cruz Boards and by Mark Gonzales of Visions. Veteran street artists like Cleon Peterson and Johnny Mojo synthesize cartoons and pop culture with humor plus irony. (Cleons' Courtney Love Conquers All brings out a special "Yessss.") Dave Aron demonstrates the most sophisticated conceptual sensibility by putting a wheelchair picture on a pastel abstract, along with equally pithy public transportation signage. Truly free-range virtuosos like Yogi and Dave Persaul--and practically every artist here--express teen fear and loathing, sex violence, vomit, parental fear and loathing, and other boyish fantasy. Two freak examples poke out into special art awareness: the porno board of our most senior teen, filmmaker Larry Clark, and the example by (I believe) the only female artist included, Rita Ackermann. (Freaking good!) This totemic assemblage of street styles deserves to be a traveling show because it's that cool (of course I was a teen in Santa Cruz). Is it a glitch to overlook the graphic-god influences of Vaughn Bode, Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Wes Wilson, etc.? (I think yes.) There is a spiritual inscription to action these painted boards hold for the riders. The board is personal style you have to depend on, because you give your blood and skin to an ageless god that is closer when you are young. Shred sled shreds! May 11-June 15, 1996, 476 Broadway, New York. Paul H-O is a New York artist who produces and stars in Art TV Gallery Beat, appearing on Manhattan Public Access Cable Television channel 16, Weds. 12 midnight and Sat. 4:30 p.m.