Make Dead City More Nice

Hard-edged realism determines Sergej Vutuc’s black and white photographs, but at the same time, it is possible to see the influence of hazardous acrobatics. All of this is for a reason: Sergej Vutuc's involvement of the skater scene is visceral. He has followed it for years in his photographic work. Thus an imposing body of photographs has arisen, which, for the first time in this book, enables a particular dynamic to develop which has been instigated by the photographer himself though his selection and over all design. In this way, the truly sensational aspect of this predominantly youth/underground phenomenon is given proper emphasis. At the same time however, in an wonderful and yet simple manner, the early positions in conceptual art represented by Ed Ruscha and Dan Graham are naturally assumed once more, whereby public space, its structuring, its socially conditioned presence, as well as the non-sites or a particular form of optical devastation, are granted particular attention. And because they are characteristic of the experience of everyday life of this subculture, not only perception but also aesthetic appreciation is honed to such an extent that we feel we are dealing with a completely new form of artistic expression. Sergej Vutuc takes photographs, runs a gallery, as well as he is the editor of a variety of Fan- and Art-zines that veer at times more towards the artistic and then more towards the skaterly. He was directing and acting in the Skateboarding theatre performance Skateboard series 1–3. Jocko Weyland, author of the introducing text to this book, is born in Helsinki, Finland, in 1967. He is the author of The Answer is Never – A Skateboarder’s History of the World (Grove Press, 2002) and has written for Thrasher, The New York Times, Cabinet, Vice, Apartamento and other publications. He is the creator of Elk magazine, books and gallery, an editor-at-large for Open City magazine.

Exhibition:
Pavillon Populaire, Montpellier, 25/2–24/4/2011
»Public Domaine–Skateboard Culture«, National Museum La Gaité Lyrique, Paris, 18/6–7/8/2011
Leopold-Hoesch-Museum Düren, 4/12/2011–19/02/2012