Ted Barrow | |
---|---|
Born | Theodore Ward Barrow United States |
Education | Ph.D. The Graduate Center, City University of New York |
Website | Berate the Birds |
Theodore Barrow is an American art historian, writer, doctor, professor, skateboarding critic, social media persona, lecturer, and skateboarder. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
This Old Ledge
Barrow hosts, researches, and produces a series of videos on Thrasher Magazine's Youtube Channel, titled This Old Ledge, that explore the built and cultural history of past and present skate spots. Unlike other videos, that list tricks chronologically, This Old Ledge considers architectural and urban history as factors that impact the history of skateboarding, illustrated by archival photos and video clips.
Barrow ran a satirical Instagram account about skateboarding and culture, @feedback_ts. [7] [2] Barrow built his following critiquing submitted video clips from skaters skating in skate parks. [8] Feedback TS was no longer accepting clips but has returned to his critiques, also posting on his stories about works of art. [3] @feedback_ts was terminated by Instagram in late 2020.[ citation needed ]
In addition to posting his writing and thoughts on instagram via the Feedback TS account, Barrow writes about a range of topics including skateboarding history, art history, and the relationship between the two. [2] Barrow often uses the stories feature in Instagram to reach his audience. [2] Barrow has contributed writing to a variety of publications including The New York Times, Jenkem, Skateism, Transworld Skateboarding, Smithsonian Associates, Bucknell University Press, and the Boscobel House. [9] [10]
In 2019, Barrow release a zine, tilted "Man Proposes God Disposes," and a guest deck both with StrangeLove skateboards. [11]
One avenue of Barrow's critical discourse analyzes the changing use of skateparks, highlighting a generational shift between skateboarders raised on the pre-built terrain of skateparks and those raised before the proliferation of skateparks. [12] [3] Barrow explains that "skateparks have always been designed to contain an activity that is about roaming, and often dangerous, or at least unlawful trespassing... As skateparks themselves have proliferated, they have become more central to that idea of performance, both fashionable and athletic” [12] [13]
In 2019, the Brooklyn Patch reached out to Barrow for his opinions on the Tompkins Square Park turfing controversy. [14] Also in 2019, Barrow spoke at the Pushing Boarder conference in Malmö during the Tech Will Save Us panel. [15] Additionally, Barrow moderated a panel titled: What We Do is Secret: The Challenge of Writing about Skateboarding, at the 2018 Pushing Boarders conference held in London. [16]
Barrow has taught at Baruch, City College, the College of Staten Island, Brooklyn College, Cooper Union, and Barnard Pre-College. [7]
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.
Tompkins Square Park is a 10.5-acre (4.2 ha) public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on the west by Avenue A, is abutted by St. Marks Place to the west. The park opened in 1834 and is named for Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice President of the United States.
Transworld Skateboarding (TWS) is an international magazine on skateboarding that was based in Carlsbad, California, United States. The publication also ran an accompanying website and video production company. In February 2019, the publishers of Transworld magazine, The Enthusiast Network, were purchased by American Media, Inc. In March 2019, the print edition of Transworld magazine was discontinued. It continues as a digital brand.
Rick McCrank is a Canadian professional skateboarder and skate shop owner.
Getting Nowhere Faster is a 2004 American skate video featuring female skateboarders. The video features skateboarding footage of the world's most prominent female skateboarders, as well as a fiction film called The Skatepark Hauntings of Debbie Escalante. The skateboarding footage is interwoven with scenes from the video. The DVD features an option to watch only the skateboarding footage, or the storyline sections of the feature. The video is considered to be a major influence on the progression of women in skateboarding.
Andrew Kessler was a Greek-born American skateboarder, skatepark builder, and prominent member of a loose-knit collective of skateboarders and graffiti artists called the Soul Artists of Zoo York. Kessler is featured in the documentary Deathbowl to Downtown.
Skateboarding arrived in China in April 1986 when an American skateboarder arrived in China to study Chinese at the Beijing Language Institute. He says, "When I arrived in China, there wasn't even a word in Chinese for skateboard. People were really interested in learning to ride, and in a few years Chinese skaters started appearing in almost every city I travelled to". Domestic skate companies and retailers began to appear at around the turn of the century, bringing the average price for a skateboard of ordinary quality down from an expensive 1000 yuan to around 280 yuan as of 2009. Skateboarding has been slow to develop in China because of the lack of a strong preexisting street culture and of skating infrastructure; nevertheless, it's estimated that as of 2009 there are 40,000 to 50,000 skateboarders in China.
Brooklyn Banks is the unofficial name for the area under the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge. The banks are a New York City skate spot, popular among skateboarders and BMXers for the unique brick banked surfaces that give the spot its name, and other skateable features such as benches, pillars, ledges, stairs, and handrails.
Coleman Playground is a public park on the border between the Chinatown and Lower East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City.
Steve Rodriguez is a goofy-footed American skateboarder, skate company owner, skatepark designer, community organizer, and creative services director, who lives and skates in NYC. Rodriguez is a leader in the effort to restore the iconic New York City skate spot: the Brooklyn Banks, a place where Rodriguez spent much time skateboarding. Until it closed for construction in 2010, Rodriguez hosted skate contests at the Banks.
A skate magazine, or skateboard magazine, is a magazine dedicated to skateboarding.
Golconda Skate Park, known as Fat Kid, is a public skate park in the Downtown Brooklyn/Fort Greene neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York City, that originated as a DIY skate spot. Built under the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, the 18,000 square foot professionally built skate park was completed in 2016 and sits within Golconda Playground.
Jahmal Williams is a regular-footed professional skateboarder, skate company owner, and artist from Boston, Massachusetts.
NYC Skateboard Coalition, established in 2017, is a community organization that advocates for New York City's skateparks and hosts NYC-based skateboard events. The NYC Skateboard Coalition supports the skateboarding community of New York City through hosting skate jams and skatepark clean-ups throughout the city.
A skate spot is a location used for skateboarding.
Skate photography or skateboarding photography is the act of photographing skateboarding. Skate photography has been an integral part of skateboarding since its inception, used as a way to document and share the skateboarding tricks performed by skateboarders. Influential skate photographers include Skin Phillips, Glen E. Friedman, Dobie Campbell, Spike Jonze, Tobin Yelland, and Mike O'Meally.
J. Grant Brittain is a photographer internationally recognized for his work documenting skateboarding. Brittain has been shooting skateboarding for over 30 years.
The Skatepark Project, formerly the Tony Hawk Foundation, is a skateboarding organization that helps communities build public skate parks for youth in underserved communities.
Citi Bike Boyz is an instagram account run by American skateboarder Jerome Peel. It is known for daredevil stunts performed on Citi Bikes, rented bicycles provided by the Citi Bike bikeshare program. The account posts tricks at skate parks and notable skate spots in New York City. The bikes are notoriously heavy, weighing around 45 pounds.