Yesterday Al Gore Spoke in Washington DC to issue a generational challenge to repower America. He wants to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years. Here’s the a simple example of why we have to do it, as the same issue is causing economic, national security, and environmental chaos.
We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that’s got to change.
But if we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we’re holding the answer to all of them right in our hand. The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels.
I got a really nice writeup Wednesday in the SFWeekly…Thanks to Hiya Swanhuyser for the article.
Pete Ippel is a modern exponent of a long-standing tradition: the bro artist. Think of athlete-philosophers like Jack Kerouac, Richie Tenenbaum, both Jack Johnsons, or Muhammad Ali…Ippel surfs, plays basketball, and his video work explores issues such as hands-free noseblowing and how weird it is to have emotions about water.
“The Fantastic Solution to Global Warming and Other Conundrums” An art show by Pete Ippel
May 16-31, 2008
Opening Reception: Friday, May 16, 6-9 p.m. with DJ music and indoor-jumping photo souvenirs for guests. EDITORS: You, your reporters and photographers are welcome to cover the event.
Icthus Gallery
1769 15th Street (between Valencia and Guerrero), San Francisco, CA
Gallery hours, weekdays, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; weekends, by appointment
Admission, Free
For more information, contact, Pete Ippel, artist
Phone, (415) 425-8863
E-mail, pete at hypermodern.net
Web site, http://www.hypermodern.net/archives/fsgw/
“The Fantastic Solution to Global Warming”, 40 x 60 inches (101 x 152 cm), gouache, ink, pencil, and watercolor on paper
SAN FRANCISCO, Monday, April 28, 2008 - The Fantastic Solution to Global Warming and other Conundrums is an exhibition of new artwork by San Francisco based artist and athlete Pete Ippel. In this collection of drawings, photographic prints, and videos he explores themes ranging from nuclear waste processing to the pairing of art and sport.
In Ippel’s brightly rendered, fantastical 2-D world, a box of lightning, some incandescent light bulbs, and a gigantic, biological-organic turbine are coupled with wind, tide, hydroelectric, nuclear, volcanic, solar, and geothermal power sources to sequester carbon dioxide. Under intense heat and pressure, in a star-powered fusion-cooker, diamonds are produced, thus solving the dilemmas of green house gases, vacant mines, and human rights issues associated with diamond mining.
The exhibition also highlights artifacts, photographic prints, and video informed by Ippel’s work as an athlete and a coach. After completing a successful collegiate track and field career as a high jumper in New York, Ippel made the move to San Francisco to pursue a Masters of Fine Art in the New Genres Department of the San Francisco Art institute.
It was here in the Bay Area, inspired by local artists Tony Labat and Tom Marioni, where Ippel began to craft projects that married his passion for jumping to his artistic practice.
“The Jump Series” grows out of the tradition of New Genres where actions are performed for the camera. The body of work is based on the premise that to push of one’s self off any surface and into the air by using the muscles in one’s legs and feet is a glorious and enjoyable act; essentially human flight. The modes of lift-off on display include skateboarding, high jumping, jumping off of architecture, leaping into panoramic scenes, jumping over objects, and choreographed jumps with other individuals. Ippel utilizes a tripod and a remote control or the camera’s self-timer to execute this body of performative photographs.
TSP Athletics, also on display, is a competitive vertical jumps team, social club, and acts as a collaborative vehicle to generate images of athletes in flight. It blurs boundaries between art and sport while acting as a vehicle to temper the shock of moving away from traditional competitive athletics.
“When you have something obscure like the high jump that has been your top priority for so many years, it’s foreign when it’s gone,” says Ippel. “Because I went directly to SFAI from Cornell, it was quite a challenge to no longer have the support of my team, nor be able to celebrate my athletic gifts in competition. I went through a real period of grief.” Ippel satiated his needs by creating a one-person team and traveling alone to meets a few times a year. “I made a uniform, started a website, and I kept in touch with my jumping peers. When I was at the meets after being away for so long, I started to see the beauty of the action and the camaraderie and wanted to capture it, and still keep it active in my life.”
The project has developed as an answer to what collegiate athletes do upon graduation to keep in touch, keep jumping, and make art.
Since its inception in 2004, TSP Athletics has grown to include former NCAA qualifiers and university record holders. Ippel’s plan is to produce limited-edition prints with participation by distinguished jumpers who are invited to be athletes-in-residence for TSP. In the frame of social sculpture these artists/athletes will each, contribute to the TSP Archive to add to its expanding collection of images and memorabilia.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Pete Ippel was born in Oak Park, Illinois, USA and has been surrounded by the arts since birth. He moved to Morris, Illinois in 1989 and started to participate in athletics rather than dance. After high school, Pete attended Cornell University where he earned a BA in psychology and a BFA in photo / digital art making. He continued to follow his sporting dreams in the high jump, which culminated in a school record leap of 7 feet 1/2 inch in 2001. In May 2004 he attained an MFA degree in the New Genres department of the San Francisco Art Institute. Presently Pete is a practicing artist whose work is in numerous private collections. He’s also the residence manager for the San Francisco Ballet, a fitness professional, coaches basketball and track at University High School, and still high jumps from time to time.
Climate change is now an acknowledged scientific fact, caused primarily by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with human activity over time. California is playing a lead role in attacking the problem with its Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Assembly Bill 32) - the first legislation in the country to set a cap on GHG emissions statewide. The Attorney General’s office also has filed several lawsuits raising climate change issues in both federal and state courts, most recently joining a multi-state effort to force regulation of GHG emissions from cars and trucks under the federal Clean Air Act.
Tuesday April 29th, 2008
6:00 PM Reception
7:00 PM Presentation
Cost: $20 per person (includes Hors d’oeuvre Reception). This event is expected to sell-out and requires pre-registration.
Location:Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP, 390 Lytton Ave, Palo Alto.
Pete Ippel utilizes a box of lightening, a gigantic biological-organic turbine, wind, tide, hydroelectric, nuclear, volcanic, solar, and geothermic power to sequester carbon dioxide and produce diamonds, thus solving the dilemma with the green house gas, carbon dioxide, vacant coal mines, and the problems with blood diamonds in Africa.
Materials: gouache, ink, pencil, watercolor
Dimensions: 40 x 60 inches (101 x 152 cm)
So tomorrow I’m getting a new stick from the folks at Flowlab. Stoked. I’ll get a review of it here ASAP.
In other news, the Comet wide board (arctic) is rad, I rode it down south, and want to get it in Free Basin at Yerba Buena as soon as humanly possible.
So is this the end? Hardly. We’ve all moved off that strip of Market, but those experiences have shaped all our lives. Eating tuna and ketchup…apartments with no windows, and skating to stay sane.
Here’s the information I have right now.
Ethan is still in SF as well as Jimmy and Dennis. I haven’t heard from or about Chris forever.
Josh has moved with his GF to greener pastures.
Kev is home skating like a champ, making movies and enjoying the Midwest.
I’m finally hitting my stride, making work, training for track, skating, body boarding…Thank you Market Street All-Stars for all the wonderful support and friendship. I wouldn’t have been able to make it without you.
CALIFORNIA!
H Skate is coming, a new art-board keep the eyes peeled for www.hskate.com
‘S been a while the last few times Kev and I have hung out there has been more work on the art making than the skating though last time we were at Wallenberg, I got a 50-50 grind on a *tiny* rail on the ground…
Still working on the ollie 180, and last Sunday went to Novato with Kev, it’s been a while since I skated there, so I wasn’t that fast, but I did get a sweet front-side grind…
Today I planned to skate at Berkeley with Casey and Brian for an early session…well, the cobalt is back, and it was on lock-down…so we went to Oakland Museum. We had no idea where it actually was, and we stumbled on it quite by accident at 10AM. The slight problem was that it opened at noon. So we had two hours to kill, luckily we were right next to Laney College (I hadn’t heard of it either) and we skated their cement quad with benches etc…we had fun there till the sheriff drove by and we went on a quest through China-town to find an Internet Cafe…no luck, though we stumbled upon the sweetest thing ever, a swap meet…
First stop was the snow cone vendor…and then Brian and I got some cameras, for 10 bucks each!!! I got a medium format Foldex/20 and also a Konica auto S2.
Then we went to the show, and searched out the Almeda park after (in a NAVY base of all places). It’s the first park I’ve ever been to where bikes and boards share…I was told by a biker *who was like 40* that because we’re not in Berkeley or the City, people aren’t mean ’cause no one has to show off…
We had a scare, Casey slammed his head and he was allright *(thank goodness)* and from that point on, kept his lid on.
I had a few nice carves and did a tail-stall, other than that, it was warm and sunny…like *real* California.
(this is the 7th consecutive day of sun…the most I’ve ever witnessed in SF, I’ve worn shorts for a whole week!)
I went to the Daily City ramp with Kev, and it was amazing who I ran into…Jason Salfi…he’s from Comet, and it was great to see him again…
The ramp itself is rad, already, and they’ve cleverly used the fiberglass fun-box and turned it on its side and made a 4′ extension…the thing is wedged up on the platform of the metal ramp with 2×4’s and filled with railroad ties…
…Oh those intrepid skateboarders!
so anyway, Kev was a tech guy, and I concentrated on my first wall ride on vert, and after about 20 tries I go it.
I met with Don and James today, and was stoked to have a little pow-wow in my place. I am really excited about this project, as it’s skateboarding and art. You can’t beat that. Things are finally picking up around here, this year has been ultra hectic as far as school goes, and it’s quite nice to have a respite from all the stress…that’s what skating is about.
Finally got to skate again with Kev, he met me at work *which was awesome* and we walked back to my place, and went down to SOMA. We found this great spot at De Haro, where we would come down a hill, hit a bump, then off a drop, to a ledge. I just went ollie, ollie, ollie….
Kev, was kickflip, ollie 180, nollie nose slide…wow…
or ollie 180, ollie 180, ollie, manual 180 out, nollie flip, ollie 180… hit the 5 trick goal….
IN other news, I’m inspired by one of Kev’s buddies who went pro at 30. There’s still hope for the skater who started at 21… (ie me)
So Sunday we went to Novato, Casey and I did anyway and we hit the bowls for a while, and he was working on a bunch of grab airs out of the pipe…I wish I could do that stuff, but I’m so concerned about slamming my knee again, I’m even wimping on the rock -n- roll to fakie…
I did really pump the bowl fast, and tried to get some footie, but I was zoomed in with the wide angle (don’t ever do that) without knowing…anyway, after a little lunch at Mc Donalds, (and I accidently ordered a Mc Grillrather than a reagular Mc Chicken (for an extra 2 bucks)! I won’t make that mistake again. We stopped at the headlands on the way back and just chilled at the beach for a while, watched the surfers and stuck our feet in…very, very cold.
We checked out the center for the arts there as well, and the studios are gargantuan, and my goodness, they even had industrial toilets, and a kitchen where the resident artists get FREE FOOD!!!
So Casey is applying next year…
For Comet things are coming along, I’ve started doing the preliminary drawings of the Bomb Squad, and the new decks should be out soon, I’m looking forward to rocking on one of the new beefy park decks…Word on the street is 38 inches of twin tail/carbonfibery goodness…
So I haven’t been skating a whole bunch, as Kev has moved out, and he’s the one I skated with mostly. Plus I’ve really been concentrating on getting a job. I have been working with Comet for a few weeks, on just some little things, but that should be picking up soon…
I went to Novato on Sunday again, with just Casey, I rode the new Proflex- it was awesome, but took a while to get used to such a big piece of wood. I also taped up the new park deck, and I really like the way it’s got a more angled nose and tail.
Casey and I were really lethargic, so we got energy back at Mc Donald’s…and then finally got a bit better, he did a really sweet disaster slide and I just had a great time ripping around the bowls…although I’m still a bit shaky in parts.
Yesterday Casey and Brian and I went up to Novato, I brought the new clunker, a 8.5 in piece of maple with 57mm spitfires and a pare of 180 Randall II’s It’s fast as all get out in the bowl, and and we just had an amazing time.
Casey just wore one elbow pad to protect his “second elbow” and dispite Brian’s Knee pads, he couldn’t come unstuck from his 7 dollar griptape, and twisted his knee, which swelled up like crazy.
After a fun day, we went to eat on Van Ness, and just ate like champs.
Today Kev, and one of the guys I met at the pier, who goes to school at the Art Institute, Colin went back to the HS and skated ledges. While we were there we bumped into this guy in my painting class named Donald, so again, the worlds of Art and Skating collide. Coincidence, I think not. On the way back I bombed McAllester, there were hardly any cars, and it’s got lots of stop signs on the side streets, so you can tear down it.
Monday Kev and I went to Haight and skated ledges at a high school whose name slips my mind right now…I had a great day working on flatland stuff, got a nollie for real, worked on skating switch, and almost got a pop shuvit down…Kev massive trey flips and a few crazy switch things that I didn’t know what they were.
I got a front side grind, and Kev had a bunch of nose slides and after all that we hit this one part where it drops pretty steeply to a curb, we ollied into it and it’s super fun, kinda like a natural roller coaster.
It was excellent ’cause we didn’t have to worry about 5-0 at the school yard.
Casey and Brian and I all piled into “God Bless John Wayne” and rode up to Novato, I got so into talking about computers that Casey and I didn’t see the exit and we were in the middle of the sticks before we caught that one…blame Brian…
Anyway once we got there, it was pretty empty, and we just hit the half pipe for a while. Casey really digs his new stick, and it shows he was ripping some pretty pop out rock to fakies and some major grindage, but all of us are still working on pumping the bowl.
*break for Jack in the Box*
After we got back the bowl opened up a bit and C and I were trying to get around at a little higher speed, with minimal success…guess we’ll have to head back this weekend.
We came back pretty wrecked; tired, and busted, hippers on both sides and a new elbow for C, and a slam on the sore right knee for me *from over committing on a 50-50 drop in* and a busted left hip from trying to pump-it a bit too hard.
I was at Novato again with Kev, we filmed a huge kick flip, and I got some front-side, and worked on the backside grinds, I wanted to stay a bit longer, but it didn’t work out…Noodles on Haight as always.
Today I went with Jon Hittner, and Casey Logan to the “new spot” down by the hood on Army and Indiana. It was a lot of fun, so I think we may be gong to Novato on Saturday if we can figure a way to get there.
Went out with Josh and Kevin the other day just over to the library, no worries…but then when Josh and I went yesterday night and yikes…we were kicked out of the library, then went to the opera house steps…then fox plaza ledges, on the way back to Market…we were literally 100 feet from our house and the cop takes our skates, and takes our ID’s and gave us a lot of trouble. Luckily we didn’t get tickets. I can’t believe that at 11:30 skating home *(on the flat)* we got busted….and the cop knows where we live now ’cause I was stupid and opened my mouth.
Yesterday I hit up the streets with Josh, he got new kicks and was working on breaking them in…we went to the McAllaster ledge and then to the library, when we were hopping down the big steps, there was a dude that looked like he was taking a pee…turns out he was doin’ a chick…ewwwwwwwwy.
Never saw that on the street before…it was a short session, cause Josh had a hot date, and I was not landing anything…Session tonight with Kev when he gets back.
Went to a new park today Novato, rollin in the golf…very nice indeed to see the landscape. I had a few nice runs, but I could really tell that I hadn’t been to a park in over a month…Kev pulled some nice stuff out despite being a little under the weather.
The day was pretty gnarly, overcast and cold…so much so that I had to skate with a hoody, built up a sweat then got cold…wierd.
Anywho, there was some Dogtown/151 guys there that were really charging and Bullskating, super annoying when the Groms and I were just trying to skate this one little part of the park, it was like a 6 foot pipe and they kept tearing through there. Kev ate shit once ’cause he was concentrating on another guy’s line not his own.
I came back a little bloodied today, took a skate to the right ankle and got a hipper on the left side, all in all an alright day, but I want to skate that park again, I really like it it’s got nice transition stuff. Then noodles on Haight…sweet.
Bad news today, Renee’s car was broken into in the parking lot on mission, I think it happened in the day, ’cause I was up from 2-5 working on the video. Last night Dennis, Chris, Josh and I went to play pool, at Kennedy’s and on the way back Josh tweaked his ankle but he’s feeling a bit better today.
Went to skate the library on a solo sesh, and there were about 8 skaters there total, one named Colin that I met before at pier 7 who is an undergrad at SFAI. He was in a car accident in Colorado over break, but he’s still out skating with his hand all bandaged up.
So it’s spectacular to be back, major session at the library…Kev and I were the only ones out tonight, but we worked up a good sweat before treating ourselves to some Thai on Haight…
Almost got a nollie today, and hit a big set of 4…
