The young, urban and skate-inspired photographer - let's face it, it's been done before. It hasn't, however been done the way Shaun Oppedisano rolls (pun intended). Skating culture is more than just the skate park. It's about the sound of wheels on pavement, it's about the girlfriends watching from park benches, it's about knowing where the security cameras are, it's often about braving the cold just to skate and it's always about going through the drive-through on the way home. Shaun Oppedisano captures just that.
I was taught in Journalism 101 that a good writer is able to tell the story without an apparent bias and that sticking to the fly-on-the-wall mindset and not getting too involved is usually in your best interest to document something accurately. I feel that the same, to some extent, goes for photo journalism. Somehow, Oppedisano is able to maintain an outsider's perspective feeling throughout his series while still creating a unique intimacy in his candid portraits.
Clearly born in the wrong era, there is a dominant sense of timelessness through Oppedisano's entire collection. All of his photographs look as if they could be stills from a documentary about skate culture. It's hard to make pavement look elegant, but Shaun Oppedisano does. He does it with powerful images full of detail, grace and personality.
Brynn Bear: I know you're a pretty busy person, what were you doing before this interview?
Shaun Oppedisano: I just got finished eating after my long commute home from work. It was a pretty nice train ride though, and I'm glad to be sitting down now.
BB: Does being an artist work into your lifestyle or do have to set aside time for it?
SO: That's a funny question, actually. I don't really consider myself an "artist," in the sense of actively creating works of art at any regular intervals. Sometimes I get this jolt of energy and am motivated to do something creative, whether it be shoot a roll of film or put together a video. I bet a lot of people I consider actual "artists" would give a response like this though. But to answer your question, it definitely has to work into my lifestyle. I'm not very good at setting aside specific time to plan out anything art-related.
BB: What kind of projects are you working on currently?
SO: I've currently got a few music videos in the works. The one I'm actively working on is a song called "And Nothing Happened" by the Philadelphia-based musician Cough Cool. My friend Tayla (who did the music for my most recent audio/visual collaboration) showed me his music and I almost immediately knew I wanted to do a video for one of his songs. I got in touch with him and he was pretty psyched on the idea, so I'm hoping I'm able to create something that he likes. It's going to be more abstract, with a lot of layers and visual effects going on. I'm planning a video for the spring for my friend Brock's band that would be a lot more literal--using actors and a storyline. It's important to me to constantly be doing drastically different things, so as to not get bored easily.
BB: Video vs. photo. Go.
SO: Video for sure. I started really getting into video when I was about 12, if you don't count all of the cheesy home movies starting when I was about 6. I wasn't as good at skateboarding as my friends, so I got into filming them and making videos of it. Music is a really important part of my life, so I really like being able to interact with songs in the editing process. Post-production is what I'm most comfortable with, and is what makes creating videos the most fun to me. Honestly, it's the only work I'm actually proud of. I guess if I look at it, I've had more than half my life's worth of experience setting images to music. I like taking photos too, but sometimes I have such a hard time dealing with the idea of how static a single image is. I don't think much when I piece snippets of video to music, and that's the most fun part to me.
BB: Where do you call home?
SO: Malden, MA.
BB: How is the weather there right now?
SO: This winter we got hit hard with a LOT of snow, but the past week or so has been beautiful. It was about 55 degrees today and sunny. It's amazing how great weather like this feels after a long, cold winter. The big piles of snow are starting to melt and the vibes in the city are a lot friendlier.
BB: You travel a lot, is your town somewhere you're always happy to come back to?
SO: Yes and no. In the past it's always been a really great feeling to come back home and see friends and family. But not a whole lot ever changes, except for the fact that the big group of friends I used to hang out with have all started to drift as everyone's gotten older. People are just really busy too, myself included. I'm going back to school in September, so I'll be moving away from here for a second time. I'm pretty over Boston as a city--I only ever really go there to work anymore--but I'm sure it'll always be nice to come back to Malden and see familiar faces.
BB: Do you feel like your surroundings or hometown have influenced you as an artist?
SO: Yeah, of course. I almost exclusively use people as a subject matter, and I strongly feel that people are influenced by their environments on a daily basis. Of course, the subject's physical surroundings play a key role in any photographs or videos. I tend to prefer working with nature, or in more rural settings. But you might not see that in my photos or videos, which is a direct result of the amount of time I spend in or around major cities.
BB: Are you a photographer because of the skating scene or are you in the skate scene because you're a photographer?
SO: Definitely the first, but maybe not for the reason you'd expect. I only tried shooting skate photos for a very short period of time. I realized it just wasn't for me--it was a nightmare, really. But the more important thing is that over the years skateboarding has introduced me to all sorts of new things and creative outlets that I may have never come across otherwise. If it wasn't for The Coliseum (a skate shop) and the countless hours spent watching skateboarding videos, I might not like the same music or even have a similar personality. The culture surrounding it is still a big part of my life. I remember Cass McCombs saying to me, "Skateboarders are the most brilliant people in the world." Maybe he's right.
BB: How do you feel skate scene/cultures differ from city to city, or coast to coast?
SO: They're like night and day, right down to the way people even do tricks. I think it has a lot to do with the terrain. The East Coast is a lot more raw, with all kinds of shitty imperfections that get in your way. I think people out here are a lot more creative with their skating overall. Out in places like LA, the weather is almost always perfect and the ground is so smooth. There are kids out there that haven't even hit puberty yet and are pro-level... it's so crazy.
BB: What every day things inspire you?
SO: I hope this response isn't too creepy. I like watching people and finding the little moments or expressions that most others wouldn't even notice. I probably look really strange on the train, just taking mental notes of the people all around me. It's almost as if I'm shopping around for characters to use in a story. The more and more I think about it, I probably wouldn't sit next to me on the train.
BB: You're drunk at a gas station with $10, how do you spend it?
SO: What can you buy with $10 anymore? I'd probably buy 10 Arizona iced teas. No, I guess I'd need to leave enough to get gummy frogs...
Leave us with a good mix! What were the ten last played songs on your iTunes?
1. Okay - Hungry
2. Panda Bear - Alsatian Darn
3. Spacemen 3 - Rollercoaster
4. Lightning Seeds - Pure
5. Neutral Milk Hotel - Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone
6. Pulp - Sunrise
7. Small Black - Kings of Animals
8. Sonic Boom - Help Me Please
9. Suicide - Keep Your Dreams
10. Lightning Bolt - Funny Farm
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