Book club

I posted some pictures from the This Is Progress release party and signing that took place last week at Hennessy + Ingalls, but never got around to writing about the actual book, which was made to commemorate 10 years of the Matix skate clothing brand. It's a somber-looking book with thick, glossy pages that has a very serious feel. Interesting, because the contents are very loose.


Yes, there is some amazing skate, snowboard, and surf photography, but the emphasis is on the team's creativity, from skating to design to photography. So along with a sampling of Daewon Song's ads, board art, and portraiture that is scattered around the book, you see his actual doodles that were used to develop the Matix clothing brand's logo. I actually thought there would be more paged dedicated to him.


Each contributor was given five questions pertaining to how they see progress, as well as however many pages they wanted to express themselves. Most of the answers are pretty short, but Marc Johnson's aren't. He also provides a few spreads of art--taking found photos or ads and tweaking them with text and word balloons. The Monty Python-esque piece on the right was used on a limited-edition T-shirt that came with the book at the event.


Most of the skate imagery shows up in the photographers' sections. Giovanni Reda has contributed to GR, and specializes in shooting skaters in New York. His gritty pages feature the likes of Huf, Donger, Jeff Pang, and Talib Kweli in the Empire State. Harold Hunter!


Paul Park spins out in a different direction, contributing his photography from the anti-war movement. It's odd to juxtapose this sort of action with that of skating and the skating lifestyle, but also important. It's an aberration that I like.


Perhaps the best thing about the book, which is much more than a collection of old ads and catalogs, is that it lets you look into the minds of the photographers, designers, and even businesspeople that contribute to Matix. Everyone knows about the skaters, but this shows a broader picture what what it takes to make a brand grow.


The Rip Zinger book by Tomonori Tanaka was published by Stüssy last year, but it's still new to me. As the title suggests, it chronicles the Japanese skate photographer's trip to the U.S.


Instead of showing the gnarliest spots, most famous skaters, or controversial imagery, he tries to give a feel for the lifestyle. I like this shot of Rip City Skates because it's where I acquired the book. (They've been selling Stüssy for decades, but are clearly an old-school skate shop not a streetwear boutique in any way.)


The actual skate photography includes some recognizable faces (Dressen?) but is mostly anonymous pushers that you'll never see again.


The nice hardcover book is definitely on the arty end, and even features guys like Guerrero playing music (not shown) or Thomas Campbell in the studio (below). The style is rich and dreamy, and apparently he shoots with a Ricoh GRD and GX100!


Sorry, no discount rates on Amazon. Buy the books at the Stüssy site or stores or Hennessy + Ingalls. For some of you, it's a tax write-off, no?