DIY America

Last updated
DIY America
Genre Documentary
Created by Aaron Rose
Directed byAaron Rose
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producersfor BlackLake Productions:
Jon Barlow, Arlo Rosner
for Sidetrack Films:
Jared Moshe, Ravi Anne
for WKE: Bill Davenport, Janice Grube, Aaron Rose
Running time2 – 5 minutes
Production companiesBlackLake Productions
Sidetrack Films
Release
Original network Wieden+Kennedy Entertainment
Original releaseDecember 2009 (2009-12) 
May 2010 (2010-05)

D.I.Y. America is a 2009 web video documentary series by director Aaron Rose which premiered on December 1, 2009, on Wieden+Kennedy Entertainment's website. [1]

Contents

Subject Matter

The series is a documentary based exploration into the American subcultures of skateboarding, [2] graffiti, street art, punk and hip hop, focusing on topics like creativity and perseverance. [3]

D.I.Y. America was assembled using additional footage shot, but never included, in Beautiful Losers . [4]

Episode list

#TitleOriginal air date
01"Skate and Create: Part One: Being an Outsider"December 1, 2009 (2009-12-01)
Skate and Create explores the strange hybrid of skateboarding and creativity. The first episode of part one explores the fundamental basics of this connection, speaking to skate/music/film icons such as Tony Hawk, Thurston Moore, Jason Lee, Shepard Fairey, and others. The second half gets into the subject of "Outsiderness" and how both skateboarders and artists find a surrogate family based on their mutual alienation. Featuring Andy Jenkins, Harmony Korine, Chris Johanson, Larry Clark and Chris Pastras
02"Swoon"December 8, 2009 (2009-12-08)
The camera follows Swoon around her native Brooklyn one afternoon as she puts up pieces in the street and talks about her work.
03"Skate and Create: Part Two: Perseverance"December 22, 2009 (2009-12-22)
Part 2 of the Skate and Create series focuses on the steep learning curve in skateboarding and how it affects creativity. Skateboarders and creatives such as Tommy Guerrero, Ray Barbee, Geoff McFetridge, Thomas Campbell and others talk about the idea that "falling down" is okay.
04"Skate and Create: Part Three: Terrain"January 12, 2010 (2010-01-12)
Part 3 of the Skate and Create series explores "the skaters' gaze"—the way a skateboarder looks at the urban environment in a completely different way from others: to be experienced rather than just be used. Includes interviews with musicians Ian MacKaye and Thurston Moore, pro skater Tommy Guerrero and Fausto Vitello (founder of Thrasher magazine).
05"Os Gêmeos"January 26, 2010 (2010-01-26)
This episode meets with Os Gêmeos, identical twin brothers from São Paulo, Brazil. Stylistically, Os Gêmeos are heavily influenced by the cryptic art of the São Paulo–based pichação (graffiti) movement as well as American hip-hop, which the twins grew up with in Brazil. The brothers have gained international fame, displaying their work in exhibitions in major cities in the U.S. and Europe, including Deitch Projects in New York and Tate Modern in London.
06"Skate and Create: Part Four: Artists"February 9, 2010 (2010-02-09)
The fourth installment of Skate and Create talks to and about the wide range of visual artists who have spawned from skate culture. We talk about the artistic temperament and how it applies to being a skateboarder, as well as different applications of creativity in graphics, painting, and other forms of fine art.
07"Skate and Create: Part Five: The Photographers"February 23, 2010 (2010-02-23)
This episode features three generations of skateboard photographers in the trio of Craig Stecyk (1970s), Glen E. Friedman (1980s) and Tobin Yelland (1990s)—the latter also happens to be the show's cinematographer.
08"Skate and Create: Part Six: Selling Out"March 9, 2010 (2010-03-09)
Craig Stecyk, Damon Way, Harmony Korine, Tony Hawk, Fausto Vitello, Ray Barbee, Tommy Guerrero and Chris Pastras give their opinions about selling out in the skateboarding community and how skateboarding has gone from an underground scene to a mainstream affair.
09"Graffiti: Part One: Roots and Drive"March 23, 2010 (2010-03-23)
Craig Stecyk, KR, Todd James, Sleezer, ESPO and Earsnot talk about the history and spread of graffiti, as well as what motivates them to create graffiti.
10"Graffiti: Part Two: Legal vs. Illegal"April 6, 2010 (2010-04-06)
Artists Sace, Abhor, Amaze, Deadcat, Sleezer and Earsnot talk about legal versus illegal graffiti.
11"Graffiti: Part Three: Broom and Brush Brigade"April 20, 2010 (2010-04-20)
Part 3 of the Graffiti series highlights the graffiti removal crew from San Francisco's Department of Public Works.
12"Graffiti: Part Four: Public Spaces vs. Private Space"May 4, 2010 (2010-05-04)
Graffiti artists ESPO, KR, Craig R. Stecyk, Barry McGee, Amaze, Earsnot, Sace and Shepard Fairey discuss public spaces versus private space.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skateboarding</span> Action sport on skateboards

Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United States, skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2009 report found that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $4.8 billion in annual revenue, with 11.08 million active skateboarders in the world. In 2016, it was announced that skateboarding would be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, for both male and female teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Templeton</span>

Ed Templeton is an American professional skateboarder, contemporary artist, and photographer. He is the founder of the skateboard company, Toy Machine, a company that he continues to own and manage. He is based in Huntington Beach, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duane Peters</span> American singer-songwriter

Duane Thomas Peters is a punk rock singer/songwriter and professional skateboarder. Active since 1975, he is probably best known as the singer in the California punk rock band U.S. Bombs, which formed in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stacy Peralta</span> American skateboarder, screenwriter, film director

Stacy Douglas Peralta is an American film director and entrepreneur. He was previously a professional skateboarder and surfer with the Zephyr Competition Team, also known as the Z-Boys, from Venice, California.

Terry Kennedy, sometimes referred to by his nicknames "TK" or "Compton-Ass Terry", is an African American former professional skateboarder. He was sponsored by Baker Skateboards and Pharrell's Billionaire Boys Club. He is the co-founder of Fly Society, a clothing and music brand.

<i>Thrasher</i> (magazine) American skateboarding magazine

Thrasher is a skateboarding magazine founded in January 1981 by Eric Swenson and Fausto Vitello. The publication consists primarily of skateboard- and music-related articles, photography, interviews and skatepark reviews.

Baker Skateboards is an American skateboarding company founded in 2000 by professional skateboarder Andrew Reynolds. The company's main products are skateboard decks, soft goods, accessories, and wheels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wieden+Kennedy</span> Independent American advertising agency

Wieden+Kennedy is an American independent global advertising agency best known for its work for Nike. Founded by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy, and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, it is one of the largest independently owned advertising agencies in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Rose</span> American film director, artist, exhibition curator, and writer

Aaron Rose is an American film director, artist, exhibition curator and writer. Rose is known as the co-director of Beautiful Losers, a film that focuses on an art movement which includes artists such as Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, Steven "Espo" Powers, Chris Johanson, Harmony Korine and Shepard Fairey.

<i>Beautiful Losers</i> (film) 2008 American film

Beautiful Losers is a 2008 documentary filmed by director Aaron Rose and co-directed by Joshua Leonard. It was produced by Sidetrack Films in association with BlackLake Productions, and stars several artists including Harmony Korine and former graffiti artist Steve "ESPO" Powers.

WKE is an independently owned American production company and arts and culture delivery channel, a subsidiary of the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy. The site contains material from a number of contributors, as well as original materials created by W+K under the creative direction of filmmaker Aaron Rose.

Don't Move Here: Inside Portland's Music Scene is an American documentary series about Portland, Oregon's music scene, that relatively recently has become a hot spot for indie bands. The series was created by director and curator Aaron Rose and produced by Wieden+Kennedy Entertainment.

Jim Greco is an American professional skateboarder.

Roll Up Your Sleeves is an Irish documentary about do-it-yourself counterculture directed by Dylan Haskins. It also examines the relationship between DIY culture and the need for autonomous social spaces, looking at various projects across Europe and how these compare with the situation in Ireland.

Kirk Iverson is an American inventor, writer, producer, media executive, investor and financier who invented the Veterans Media Center Free Enterprise Zone (VMC2) and VMC2 Banking Consortium architecture, the world’s first integrated, media-specific free enterprise zone and media-specific free enterprise zone financing model.

Matt Patrick Hill is the chief executive officer of Globe International and the producer and director of several feature films and documentaries, including Love the Beast (2009) and Down and Out with the Dolls (2001) as producer and Almost: Round Three (2004) and Opinion (2001) as director.

JFA is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1981, with roots in Arizona and in Southern California skateboard culture. The original members include Brian Brannon (vocals), Don "Redondo" Pendleton (guitar), Michael Cornelius (bass), and Mike "Bam-Bam" Sversvold (drums). Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls also played bass for a time. The band was pivotal in the development of the skate punk and Skate Rock scenes. Over the years, the lineup has included many bass players and drummers but the core of Brannon and Redondo has remained constant.

Hudson Riley Hawk is an American professional skateboarder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skate spot</span>

A skate spot is a location used for skateboarding.

David T. Schubert was an American graffiti artist and professional photographer recognized for his photographs of skateboarding and graffiti.

References

  1. "BlackLake and Therapy Deliver 'DIY America'". Videography. December 21, 2009. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-07. Wieden+Kennedy Entertainment (WKE) is a broadband channel (Web distribution platform) that goes live Dec. 1 […] DIY America is made up of Webisodes from three to five minutes in length about art, inspiration and creation from BlackLake Productions, which tapped Therapy to handle editorial and finishing duties.
  2. "Individuality, Creativity, Aggression". Flux Action Sports. Retrieved 2010-01-07. The piece is evidently a start of a series focusing on how skateboarders and skateboarding culture has always had a creative mission, focus on self-expression and drive for individuality. They speak to many influential people whose perspectives were changed by skateboarding and ended up making a life and career out of creativity.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. Drew Stewart (December 30, 2009). "D.I.Y. America Ep 2". Hometown Heroes Am Skateboard Tour. Retrieved 2010-01-07. The familiar faces from Beautiful Losers speak to one of the great benefits of skateboarding: perseverance. Like mama always says, 'if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again.'
  4. Shelley Lee Jones (December 8, 2009). "DIY America 'Skate and Create': Series exploring the American skate punk ethos". HUCK Magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-02-05. Retrieved 2009-01-07. The episodes feature interviews and excerpts from the Beautiful Losers documentary that never made it to the final edit.