are we growing up?

Almost a year ago I wrote about feeling uncomfortable going to art shows in my hometown since I’d been gone from the city for a while, and was unsure of where I stood in the community. Last night I went to the second iteration of that show, almost all of the same artists and friends were there, but both myself and the show are at very different places in life. 

The first version of the show, Shed, was held at a DIY skate spot inside a loading dock warehouse some friends were renting through the winter. It was curated by a friend of mine and and partially supported by the skate shop in town- both the atmosphere and the space felt very LES. This year’s show, Choke Slam, was installed at an artist run centre (coincidentally the one I used to rent my art studio from), and although the work was made by mostly the same people, the location of the show in a more “white cube” setting changed the tone of the show from friends wanting to have fun and show their work, to a group of artists putting on a fun show. Last year my friend Daniel had a QR code which, to the dismay of any parent who accompanied their child, would pull up a photo of his balls on your phone screen. Choke Slam had no ball sack, just a Nat Sack (stupid joke), but it still had the anti-capitalist, anti-formal art world tone to it. Daniel’s balls were replaced by a zine library which was so busy with people flipping through and trying to buy zines, it was almost impossible to get a chance to look at all of them, and I mean that in the best way. I love zines because of their history within the art and punk subcultures, and the cheeky humor of Danile’s QR code still felt present within the imagery and construction of many of the zines. Most notably my friend Jackson who made one composed of images of him holding different things, mostly drinks, in his hand. The back panel of the zine had an image of our friend Casey at the Penguin DIY spot (RIP), and the zine folded out into a print of a can of Pilsner, an integral element to the Calgary skate and art scenes.

The more orthodox nature of the white walls at the artist run centre, as opposed to the unconventional loading dock walls, made the contrast between the shows stark. This is neither good nor bad, to me it read as the artists not conforming to archaic standards of practice within the art world, but as them taking a different approach to showing their work, which to me felt more effective. There were less artists in Choke Slam than there were in Shed, albeit the space was significantly smaller, and as much as I love to shit talk white cube traditionalism, this made the work feel more impactful and cohesive, and maintained a hefty line outside the gallery all night with people trying to get in. Primarily comprised of 2D work, there was still plenty of space to socialize and this years added element of a DJ made the show still feel like community was at the forefront of its intentions. This isn’t to say Shed was unsuccessful in any way, or that the work in Choke Slam was better or worse, this is strictly an observation on the evolution of people and our community.

Choke Slam felt much more warm and fuzzy from a social aspect than Shed did. I think this is moreso reflective of where I’m at in life than anything to do with the show itself, but I am an absolute sucker for my friends and community. Few things beat walking into an art show and being greeted by hugs and laughs from a billion friends. Much like Shed, the unpolished exterior of skaters et al can feel intimidating or cold at times, but I have yet to find another group of people who are as ride or die for their community as they are. I haven’t seen as many of them since summer because I’ve been away skiing and working, but coming back to all of those people and their art made me feel so at home and at peace with not being in New York right now, which is something I have been really struggling with lately. 

Choke Slam in some ways felt like a love letter to the art, skate, and skate-adjacent communities, and the progression the show and artists have made over this past year was really heart warming. Although I suspect next to none of the participating artists would become a white chip artist if they had a say in it, it was really incredible and affirming to see that their work hasn’t changed from its core intention, and that the work can exist within multiple spaces and planes. Congrats to everyone involved, it was truly lovely <3