Chairmen of the Board

For a certain subset of people, skateboarding is more than a hobby; it’s a way of life. When photographer Matt Alberts was looking for a worthy subject for an art project using an archaic, labor-intensive photographic technique known as the wet collodion process, he found that these “lifers” made a...

By Cory Casciato

February 6, 2014

Audio By Carbonatix

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For a certain subset of people, skateboarding is more than a hobby; it’s a way of life. When photographer Matt Alberts was looking for a worthy subject for an art project using an archaic, labor-intensive photographic technique known as the wet collodion process, he found that these “lifers” made a perfect match, and The Lifers Project was born. “The idea with the collodion for me was that it has this sensitivity to UV light,” Alberts explains. “It has the ability to see beneath the skin and see the truer person inside — not this crazy mark on society, but this amazing person who’s dedicated their whole life to this one thing that they love.”

With his bulky gear in tow, Alberts set off on a two week road-trip along the legendary Route 66, capturing portraits of the skaters he met along the way. The images that emerged from the trip are a perfect collision of medium and subject, documenting the larger-than-life personalities that populate the subculture in a vivid, almost otherworldly fashion.

A free opening reception for The Lifers Project runs from 6 to 10 p.m. tonight at Super Ordinary at the Source, 3350 Brighton Boulevard. For more information, visit thelifersproject.tumblr.com.
Sat., Feb. 8, 6-10 p.m., 2014

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