SHAUN GLADWELL

In Skateboarders v’s Minimalism, Shaun Gladwell once again confirms his idea that the only worthwhile art is that which involves the body, and on an intense level. Beyond its spectacular dimension, sport is an exercise that aims for both health and self-transcendence. We need to get our body-machine working at full capacity to exploit its full potential, to make it comfortable with its own nature. And that is precisely what is done in this new video, featuring Rodney Mullen, Hillary Thompson, and Jesus Esteban—three of the world’s best professional skaters. This time, though, the context is singular, unexpected and unconventional. This time, the skateboarding is not in front of the roaring ocean, on the Pacific Seashore, nor in the street or on the undulating slopes of a skatepark—but in a museum. For as Gladwell says, for skateboarders, “the streets are our museums.” It is tempting to say that the human element prevails in this battle between body and object: it is the gesture that the eye is ultimately drawn to. As Paul Ardenne says, “the spectator, in watching the gestures of the skateboarders, becomes embodied in them, feels their effort, their joy, their pain, and sometimes, their exultation.” Thus the match between gesture and sculpture seems to be one that is rigged from the beginning. But Gladwell intentionally leaves the victor of this conflict open to interpretation. By bringing museum culture and extreme sports culture into direct confrontation with each other, he tempts us to declare a clear winner, or even to fall into the trap of dismissing the comparison as absurd or irreverent. But for Gladwell, there is no inherent difference between the gesture and the sculpture: both are part of the same creative force. “With creation comes destruction. The sculptors create, and perhaps destroy the norms and traditions of those who came before them, while the skateboarders create, and in doing so, must destroy the sculpture, their boards, their own bodies.” The superficial conflict in Skateboarders vs. Minimalism reveals something deeper, more essential to human nature: the fundamental creative and destructive force that underlies all artistic expression.Mais Gladwell fait exprès de laisser ouvert à interprétation le vainqueur de ce conflit. En mettant en confrontation directe la culture du musée avec la culture des sports extrêmes, il nous invite à déclarer un gagnant incontesté,ou même de tomber dans le piège de rejeter la comparaison comme étant absurde ou irrespectueuse. Mais pour Gladwell, il n’y a pas de différence inhérente entre le geste et la sculpture : ils font tous deux partie de la même force créative. « La création ne vient pas sans destruction. Les sculpteurs créent, et peut-être détruisent les normes et les traditions de ceux qui les précédaient, pendant que les skateboarders créent, et en ce faisant doivent détruire la sculpture, leur skateboard, leur propre corps. » Le conflit superficiel dans Skateboarders v’s Minimalism révèle quelque chose de plus profond, de plus essentiel dans la nature humaine : la force créative et destructrice fondamentale qui est à la base de toute expression artistique.