Here’s how it works: Famous skaters who are artists will make art (not love) on plaster casts of famous female skaters. Then you buy these artworks in an auction and the money goes to the Keep A Breast Foundation to raise money and awareness of breast cancer. Regardless of your sexual orientation, you are probably thinking “Sure, I like breasts and I’d like to do my part, but what am I going to do with a life size bust cast?” And somewhere the last work-safe content filter just added Skate and Annoy to their blacklist.

The October 13, 2006 Seattle Post Intelligencer reports in an article titled “Artists bring a fresh expression to skateboarding in ‘Pushin’ 5′ exhibit”:

There was a time when Charles Peterson wasn’t afraid to send himself sailing down the sidewalk, four small wheels and a wooden plank beneath his feet… But these days, at 42, the renowned Seattle photographer no longer slips the skateboard beneath his feet. After all, the body doesn’t bounce like it used to. And when bones break, it means something — especially for a man who relies on unscathed arms and wrists and hands and fingers to go about making his art… “Practicing yoga is more my speed these days,” he said.

The email came to me in German, which I can’t read. We cover stuff from the U.K., so why not? Looks like there is a Claus Grabke retrospective in a traveling skateboarding art show. This one is in Stuttgart Germany, or I don’t know my geography. I like art. I like Claus Grabke. There was a really good interview with him in issue 57 of Juice magazine, including an interesting bit on his short stint with Powell, and how Peralta kept trying to mentor him, with Claus talking about how he already had a father and didn’t need another one.

I don’t know who first said “I don’t know art but I know what I like.“, but I like it when someone manages to get the money to build something skateable and pass it off for art. Apparently Dreamland feels the same way. Matt Sefton (See Newcastle feature) contributes another piece, this time a short bit about an art show at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead England called Spank the Monkey. At this point there are no skate pictures up at either site, so you’re better off checking out Matt’s pics here on SnA.

There’s a french company called Mekanisim that makes art/skateboards designed to appeal to contemporary hipster art collectors as opposed to the usual eBay crowd. I’d never heard of this company before, but then again I’m not French and I don’t buy a lot of raver/tagger inspired art. The new collaboration with Invader is all over the web, so here it is yet again. Invader is responsible for the little stencils of Space Invader symbols around the world. It’s cute, sure, but a bit shallow to base your whole artistic identity. Mekanism has a variety of boards ranging from standard heat transfer decks to the hand crafted one of a kinds. If you can put up with the artsy-fartsy nonsense descriptions of the artists work (I went to art school. It’s all bullshit.) Some of it is kind of cool and has an interesting attention to detail, while others are just a silly waste of money in the context of skateboards, even if it’s supposed to be art. At least Designarium doesn’t pretend to be more than it is. If you’ve got the cash (amount undisclosed) you can buy one of these. Otherwise you can head to Good Will to pick up a few Rubic’s Cubes and make you own. Maybe these type of decks will be eBay fodder for the next generation of collectors after the current one enters the Viagra and Rogaine phase of their lives.

Since it’s not actually finished or open yet, you’ll have to make do with this artist’s rendition of as sight that I’m sure Pier Park locals will get sick of seeing after a few months. Can you tell that I am getting antsy waiting for Pier Park? I mean there’s got to be better things to do with my time besides pushing pixels around.