Surfing. Skating. Drawing. Free spirit.
The perfect embodiment of California’s coastal culture.
A liberating bliss that almost everyone’s secretly envious of and very few get to experience.
Stacy Peralta embodies these things, and he’s giving us a taste of this sought-after lifestyle in his show Against the Current, which opened at Cruise Control Contemporary in Cambria in mid-October.
The show’s name pays homage to Peralta’s late-in-life realization that it takes strength to keep your mind open enough to not be too brittle or closed-minded to try something new.
“When you do creative endeavors and you learn new skills, it allows you to go against the current and remain young, remain a beginner again, and truly to remain a kook,” he said.
A skateboarding legend, surfer, and co-founder of the Zephyr Competition Team, Peralta has accomplished a lot in his life. From mentoring a young Tony Hawk to creating movies and documentaries such as Lords of Dogtown, Peralta now resides in SLO County, where he surfs, skates, and is beginning new endeavors like art.
Abstract drawings have been a constant part of Peralta’s life, evidence of them can be seen on skateboards from his childhood. He always knew he wanted to take his art to the next level but didn’t know if he had it in him.
“When I discovered it, it was just like a lightbulb went off and I went, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that I had this,'” he said. “I’m so glad I found it because I love doing it.”
Hitting a creative block on what to draw, Peralta’s girlfriend suggested he showcase his iconic skateboard collection, which he started accumulating when he was 12. That’s when Charles Smith, owner of Cruise Control Contemporary in Cambria, entered the picture.
Getting introduced to his work through a mutual friend, Ned Evans, Smith came to Peralta with an offer to have his own show, but said he would need to create at least 15 original art pieces to complete the collection.
“I ended up doing 90, and I wasn’t doing them for the show; I was doing them because I just love doing it,” he said.
Drawing the boards, wheels, and trucks could have brought Peralta a bit of nostalgia for his time skating on the Zephyr Competition Team in the 1970s, but instead, he could only focus on how dangerous those old wheels were.
“I’m not looking back fondly, in a sense, but I’m looking back on that equipment. They’re so inferior,” he said laughing. “The wheels that we rode were built for some roller skates, and they were constructed to roll across polished floors. They were cement wheels. Now that I’m re-examining them, they were incredibly dangerous.”
Running alongside the show is a short documentary on YouTube.
Directed by local filmmaker and skater Dana Shaw and produced by Smith, it tells the story of Peralta’s inspirations from childhood through today and the challenges and lessons he learned while working to further develop his love of art.
The documentary dives deep into Peralta’s love and fascination with how prized possessions corrode over time, memories, and how we degrade within ourselves.
“They’re rusted, they’re dilapidated, but there’s something so beautiful about all these old bolts and ball bearings,” he said. “There’s so much character. You can see that this piece of equipment has lived a phenomenal life. One of my boards is so old it’s actually rotting, but there’s kind of a beauty that it’s going back to where it came from.”
In a world where everything moves at such a fast pace, Smith said, Peralta’s story of creativity and skateboarding across his 60-something-year life strikes a chord with people.
“For him to keep doing it, to be a shining light of someone who just stays curious later in life; it’s something I want to be like,” Smith said. “I’m inspired by him.”
He said the art in the show is designed to be affordable, and people can purchase posters, books, and whatever else without having to bankrupt themselves in the process.
Peralta wants people to get inspired by his art, try new things, and have fun. It’s never too late to try something new, he said. You just have to float against the current.
“It gives us a sense that there’s a reason for being here, it gives us a feeling of feeling beautiful, of feeling connected to ourselves and to others and to the world,” he said. “You have to be proactive and find things that you love doing. It’s so important in life to find things you love doing and then do them.” Ī
Reach Staff Writer Samantha Herrera at sherrera@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Nov 7-17, 2024.