That's why this exhibit is hard for me to take seriously. Visitors can easily understand the appeal of the snow and the adrenaline-inducing excitement that comes from pulling off a complicated maneuver. But the artists don't make any kind of statement on what's good or bad about the snowboard industry that plays such a large role in their sponsored culture. Is there anything more to this culture than zooming down a beautiful mountain? Maybe I'm just being a snob. After all, the images look really phat! But is that all there is to snowboard culture?

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So after wandering through this exhibit for almost two hours, have I learned anything about snowboard culture? Well, I learned that snow is beautiful, snowboarding is popular throughout the world, boarders are really active, and like all youth subcultures, snowboarders like to buy commodities with rebellious imagery. Still, I'd much rather see works created by people in the culture than works sold to people in the culture.

The BAM should be credited with having the courage to run an exhibit on a non-traditional culture like snowboarding. But I could have found just as much meaning and larger truths about snowboard culture by visiting a sports equipment store. At least at the sports store there is no pretense of artistic experience. Far from answering any questions I had about snowboard culture, this exhibit makes me ask more. At the top of the list is a simple one: Is that all there is?

"First Descent" runs through April 22 |HAVE YOUR SAY!|
Bellevue Art Museum
Bellevue, WA
Tel: 425/ 454-3322 x.100

Related Link: www.bellevueart.org

Dominic Ali is a Contributing Editor to Everything Art.