SUBSCRIBE TO BUZZBIN MAGAZINE, IT'S FREE!




Loading

Skate + Art + Beer?

17
Jun
2011

Sixty bucks can usually get you a pretty decent skateboard deck. You could probably even get a Coke with the change. The decks at the Thrash! Skateboard Deck Art Show will go for upwards of $500. But these aren’t ridin’ decks — these are lookin’ decks. Billy Ludwig, owner and operator of Thirteenth Floor in Massillon, said he has been tossing around the idea of having a skateboard deck art show, but he was pushed to put it together when the coordinator of the Massillon Car Show asked him if he was going to do anything for the day of the car show, June 18. Ludwig counted 35 decks total, designed by people he knows, artists who have already been in his gallery and people who heard about the show and wanted to design their own board. The decks will be for sale, priced between $80 and $550, but will average at about $100-150. The price has to do with time involved and amount spent in supplies. Ludwig said he covers his decks in a vinyl wrap, so his are functional, but some are just meant to be art. “A lot (of decks) are hand-painted. Those I wouldn’t want to skate on,” Ludwig said. Ludwig described one of the decks as having a human jawbone and another he turned into a Viking ship. There will be live music starting at 7:30 p.m. with sets from Phase, Escher, Filmstrip, Steve Trent and The Taste of Irony. After the fireworks from the car show, a fire-blowing group called Discordia will perform. Ludwig said Thirteenth Floor will have the only beer garden downtown, and he has created signature drinks for the event, including one he  has coined the Acapulco Zombie. All the different elements involved in making this art show make it all work together, Ludwig said. All the little things make the it what it is: a cool show. “I wanted to hit a different generation (with this show),” Ludwig said. “Everyone has been into it, so I want to do it again next year.”