On the occasion of the release of his latest monograph, ‘Silver. Skate. Seventies’published by Chronicle Chroma Books, skate photographer Hugh Holland unveils some never-before-seen images from his archives. Beginning in 1975, Holland masterfully captured the burgeoning culture of skateboarding against a sometimes harsh, but always sunny Southern California landscape.
These iconic images were first inspired on a late afternoon when Holland drove up Laurel Canyon Boulevard and encountered skateboarders carving up the drainage ditches along the side of the canyon. From suburban backyard haunts to the asphalt streets that connected them, Los Angeles was the birthplace of the legendary Dogtown and Z-Boys skateboarders. With their requisite bleached-blond hair, tanned bodies, tube socks and Vans, these young outsiders evoke the sometimes reckless, but always exhilarating origins of skateboarding culture.
In ‘Silver. Skate. Seventies’,Holland presents a raw, spontaneous understanding to his well-known colour photographs of the 1970’s skating scene. Holland shot these negatives while experimenting with new ideas, and often, for his own enjoyment. These early black and white images were in many ways the genesis for his later color works—providing us with a rare glimpse behind the creative curtain. To see more of Holland’s work, visit www.cranekalmanbrighton.com/ photographers/hughholland
