Canvas
Your name is Peter Turner,
why do you go by the
name Piston?
It's a skateboard nick-
name from back at the
Cambridge pool. I think it
was Nate Bowditch who
coined the phrase Piston
Pete as I was pushing as
fast as I could to get the
speed up for a big 12' wall.
Do you make your liv-
ing as an artist?
Basically, from screen-
printing, although it's not
the most creative form of
art that I undertake.
What mediums do you
enjoy working with
the most?
Airbrushing, bold black
and white line art, and
painting with brushes.
What sort of stuff
inspires you to paint?
Are you as prolific as
22 THRASHER
PATON
you'd like to be?
Oh, I've always liked to
be doing more with art
than I am at any given
time, but basically I'm
inspired by other peo-
ple's art. And when at
good concept comes to
mind, that's a good
inspiration, a good moti-
vating force.
Do you see any rela-
tionship between your
art and skateboarding
and do you find cer-
tain types of things
that make you think
about art or skate-
boarding in any way?
Well, I could say
they have a great deal
in common in that
they both offer unlim-
ited potential for chal-
lenge, and they're.
also satisfying.
When you finally finish something or you
would learn a trick.
Yeah, exactly.
Who are some of the artists you admire?
As far as airbrushing goes, I was initially
inspired greatly by HR Geiger and his incredible
realistic yet fantastic-looking airbrush creations.
But I also like any degree of abstracts to realism.
I have favorites in all realms.
You had some early drawings in Thrasher
Mail Drop in the early '80s, is this correct?
Yeah, right around 1981, I believe, when the
magazine was still in its larger-page format.
What inspired you to send them to the mag?
Well, I don't know. Being that at that time I was
in my late teens, I suppose I was very impres-
sionable and interested in all types of coverage
in magazines. Anyone who was pro at that time
had much more influence on me than nowadays
when there's so many pros. Back then the maga-
zine was the pinnacle of the ideal California
skateboard life.
And where were you living?
Madison, Wisconsin.
And there was quite a healthy
skate scene there at that time?
Yes. Of course at the time I thought it
would be so much greater to be in
California, but looking back we had a
lot going for us.
Who were some of the skaters
back then?
Gluey, Rog-Air. Ken Schiffman, any
of the Mad Town Bad Boys.
You're also a musician. Does that corre-
late to your art or skating in any way?
Oh, yes. My interest in the punk rock
scene in the early '80s definitely had a
lot in common with the skateboard
scene. They went hand-in-hand as I
weaved my way across the country
with the Tar Babies. And following
other punk rock bands brought me to a
lot more skate terrain to meet a lot
more skaters.
Do you find
that the do-it-
yourself thing
is pretty
prevalent in
the music and
the art and
the skating in
the way you
live your life?
Yes, I do.
Skateboarding
always had sort
of an aggressive
and progressive
type of attitude
that has gone
along with
music. Even if
you just look at
the basic form
of what music
you listen to
while you skate-
board, they go
hand-in-hand.
When you're
surrounded in
Clockwise from top left: CHROME
PLATED PROC CAT. GOLDEN. CHEAP
SUNGLASSES BY THE BEATLES.
SCORPIO. Piston floats one in
frontside at Jake's.
the city context, do you see art everywhere
you look, or are you more interested in differ-
ent types of stuff?
I enjoy graffiti. It's related to my primary form of
airbrushing. Both are spray, which allows for cut-
ting cut-away masks for making sharp lines and
fades and similar dynamics. Living in the city and
being a skateboarder causes you to interact with
a lot of things that people in middle America don't
see, which does give inspiration and promotes
concepts for painting.
Have you done any work for other bands in
your silk-screening business?
Just about any kind of small to medium-sized
bands that's playing small to medium-sized venues
in San Francisco, we print their shirts.
I've also done a large airbrush back-
drop for RKL, that was the biggest
sized painting I've ever done with an
airbrush, which they took on tour. I
did a backdrop for Alternative
Tentacles for a tour that they were
doing with some of their bands that
unfortunately got stolen on the first
show, which is a good compliment to
my artwork, I guess.
What other bands have you done
shirts for?
The Melvins, Steel Pole Bathtub, Mr
Bungle, Dieselhed.
If you were to try and put it all
into a few words what it is you're
trying to encapsulate by art and
skateboarding, how would you
portray that to other people?
Basically, to try and stay happy in
life. Having a medium in which you
can express yourself is all important.
Whether it's
skateboarding
or art.
Preferably
both. It's good
to have a phys-
ical outlet and
an intellectual
or expressive
outlet. Not that
skateboard-
ing's
not
expressive, but
it has its own
boundaries in
that realm
because of
your
physical limita-
tions, whereas
own
you don't have
physical limita-
tions so much
in painting.
-Robin Davies
23.