Art on Burton

Snowboard artwork comes off the mountain, into the gallery

Remember when a trip to the slopes wasn’t also a trip to an art gallery?

The snowboarding revolution of the 1980s and ’90s brought new thinking, new style and a new culture to the mountain, but it also gave visual artists a practical, public canvas.

Sprawling explosions of colorful graffiti, muted but elegant shapes, or unforgettable cartoon characters grace the snowboards — and now skis — of today, in what has become a terrific fusion of sports and art.

That relationship is the focus of “The Art on Burton,” a show at the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe that runs until April 15.

“We wanted to do something a little different,” said Rachel Moore, curator for the exhibit. “And snowboarding is all about image. It goes hand in hand.”

The exhibit explores the symbiotic relationship between Burlington-based Burton, credited with bringing snowboarding to the masses, and a whole host of visual artists and designers who have used their boards as a jumping-off point into stunning designs.

Though the exhibit focuses on work from 1998 to the present, Moore worked with the company to pore over Burton designs stretching back to the late 1970s, to understand the different ways the brand has intertwined with artists.

“It’s amazing — aesthetically. it’s all over the place,” she said. “You have the graffiti influence, the illustration influence, and the sort of (Dungeons & Dragons) fantasy influence.”

Jake Burton Carpenter, who lives in Stowe, founded Burton Snowboards in 1977. Not until the late 1980s and early 1990s did the boards start to feature art beyond the standard designs seen on skis at the time. With the rise of freestyle twin-tip and wide powder skis, snowboarding’s design influence has rubbed off on its older cousin.

Visitors to the Helen Day gallery will see several modern approaches to the snowboard medium, from the hushed Pacific graphics of Michael Montaro’s “Malolo” (the word means “flying fish” in Hawaiian) to the violent street graffiti of David Kinsey’s “Joystick.”

The exhibit is divided into three sections. The central gallery features visual artists, mostly painters, whose work was selected to be on Burton boards. 

The west gallery focuses on artists who have worked directly with the company on designing boards.

The third room is a window into the workshop of snowboard designer Lance Viollette — sketches, hand-scrawled notes to a client, and prototype boards.

“He kept everything,” Moore said. “It’s incredible. The whole idea is to give a sense not only of the history, but more importantly the process of going from sketch to board. It’s just like being in a design studio.”

Two lines of Burton boards you won’t see at the exhibit are the controversial “Love” and “Primo” models introduced in 2008, which featured Playboy models and images of mutilated hands, respectively. Those designs set off a passionate debate about free speech, taste and images of women in popular culture. Moore chose not to feature those in the show, but acknowledged snowboard design is often known for pushing the envelope.

The exhibit also features video, including “Too Old to Die Young,” a snowboard film by Finnish artist Jari Salo that focuses on riders over age 30.

“We wanted to have that in there because film has become such a huge part of snowboarding,” Moore said.

Salo’s snowboard designs are also featured in the show.

Moore said snowboarding’s popularity has opened up numerous avenues for designers to take different approaches, from tattoo artists to graffiti virtuosos.

“They really look at their audience,” she said. “My thought going into this project was to have this thesis — that the design, the image, is what’s driving the counterculture of the sport.”

“The Art on Burton” has already proven a hit with younger gallery-goers, many of whom may not have gone to a Helen Day show before, Moore said.

As part of the exhibit, Helen Day is hosting a “design your own snowboard competition” for elementary, middle and high school students. Top prize in each category is a Burton snowboard; second prize is a gift certificate to a Helen Day art class; third prize is a gift certificate to the Helen Day or the Burton store.

Helen Day is also offering snowboard video production and snowboard design classes this winter; see www.helenday.com for more info.