Paul McCarthy + The Skateroom at MoMA Design Store
Limited edition skateboards bring the artist’s PROPO series to a new medium, with sales benefiting charity
Los Angeles-based artist Paul McCarthy, known for paintings, performance, photography and mixed media works that tackle our perception of everyday activities and the darker side of Western culture, has partnered with arts organization The Skateroom for a new charitable product. Applying his harsh, humorous PROPO series of images—photos taken in 1991 of objects he used in performances between 1972 and 1983—to a line of skateboards, the result is 10 limited edition decks (with an 11th board available when purchasing the entire collection) that touch upon the fetishization of skateboards as art pieces. The Skateroom initiative, based out of Brussels, encourages artists to enrich skate art history by producing bold, exciting works that lend their profits to empowerment organizations; this is one of their largest collaboration to date.
All proceeds go to the international NGO Skateistan, with a view in mind to fund the first skate school on the African continent, located in central Johannesburg. While skateboarding will be at the institution’s core, its goals include connecting children with both educational and leadership opportunities. According to McCarthy, “If our boards pay for the park, well, that’s a good reason to make a skateboard.” He also hopes that people who purchase the boards ultimately use them, and don’t just stash them away or hang them on walls.
The skateboards are available for purchase online through the MoMA store, where each sells for $350. All boards are limited to a run of 250, with the first 35 editions of each reserved for a Signed Collector’s Set in a custom flight case.
Images by Jean-Yves Leblon courtesy of The Skateroom
