Christina Blandon
Part I: Introduction
Venice
Beach is one of the most well known beaches around Los Angeles. It is known for
its unique culture which consists of street vendors, skaters, artist,
musicians, street performers, locals, tourist, and residents. Its unique group
of people attracts many tourists because it is a beach publicized in the media.
Venice Beach has been a host for many films, TV shows, interviews and news
report for a good amount of time now.
Venice Beach has also been my home beach for many years. Ever since I
was a child I can recollect great memories from this beach, from summer fun in
the sun with friends and families, or simply attending the many different
events Venice Beach has to offer, such as the Hemp Festival or the AND 1
basketball tournament. This beach offers an array of different attractions,
that once you start to explore it you’ll find a piece of home within it. As for
me I have always been interested in the skate culture at Venice Beach and the
liveliness happening within that space. I was please to have learned so much
about the skate culture in Venice Beach.
My
research question states as follows: What attachments, if any, do spectators and skaters have to the
park? And how do these attachments influence the unity or division of
the Venice Beach community? In order to find the answer to this question
I utilized 3 important methods. These 3 methods included 3 pages of field notes,
4 interviews, 2 movement maps and 2 behavioral inventories. With the help of
these methods I was able to make remarkable discoveries about the skate culture
in Venice Beach.
Part II: Description of the Skate Park
In order to capture a
sense of where the skate park is located within the Venice Beach boardwalk I
have provided a map to help give you a visual aid as I begin to describe the
skate park.
The
Venice Beach skate park is located in the heart of the Venice boardwalk off to
the side closest to the beach. The skate park seems rather clean, free from vandilization
and typical tagging one may see along the boardwalk. As you approach the
boardwalk you can’t help but stare at the beautiful scenery behind the skate
park. The view of big palm trees captivate your eyes at first glance, and the
scenery of the ocean waves thrusting against the ocean floor is quite
refreshing. No wonder people like to skate here I thought to myself. As I stationed
myself along the outskirts of the skate park I notice the structure of the
park. The park is complete with smooth banks allowing skaters to pick up fast
momentum to perform cool tricks. There is also a large pool (empty of course)
that allows experienced skaters to enjoy a more challenging course instead of
the rails. Another cool feature about the skate park is there large street
section which includes sections with stair sets, ledges, rails, and boxes.
Whether you are a professional skater or a beginner, the Venice Beach Skate
Park provides a comfort for all types of skaters.
While
I was there I could not help but notice all the action going on inside the
skate park. People zipping through the park in their skateboards as if they
were cars in the freeway. Like cars, the skaters have created a system in which
they avoid crashing into one another. As I watched intently from a distant I
could only see fast movements happening. I needed to go inside the actual skate
park in order to capture all of the action. So after standing against the rail
(which I call the spectator zone) I weaved my way into the area of the skaters.
I want to take a second and describe that moment. I have been many times to the
skate park but not once stepped in the actual skating area, it was intimidating
at first, I felt like I didn’t belong because I was not affiliated with this
culture. I as I walked into the area now dominated by male skaters, several
heads turn to look at me; they looked at me with curious eyes. This is when I discovered
that the skaters were very aware of who enters their particular space. However,
I sat on a concrete bench and began to observe all of the activity going on
inside the skate park. I could tell that there was a simple system going on
between the skaters as they traveled in the skate park. I came to conclusion
that in order to avoid traffic in the skate park, the skaters each took turns
using the pool, rails, and or stairs. By forming this system skaters would be
able to prevent possible injury from occurring. Like a car in a busy city
filled with traffic, you hear lots of sounds coming from every direction. Since
I was inside the skate park not outside against the rails, I was able to hear
the activity amongst the skaters. I heard sounds of boards crashing on the
cement floor, I heard several people conversation happening simultaneously, I heard
children crying and people yelling. I was able to witness first handle the
environment skaters typically are surrounded by.
The
Skaters
As
I sat inside the concrete borders of the skate park I began to observe the
skaters in an intimate manner. I began to see the strong attachment
the skaters had with the skate park and surprisingly amongst other skaters in
the park. This was my second time visiting the Venice Beach Skate Park while conducting
my research. It was a Friday afternoon, the day was overcast. I looked down at
my phone and it was exactly 1 o clock in the afternoon. I made my way inside
the skate park as I did the previous time. Again curious heads looked my way, I
am guessing because I was one of 4 girls inside the concrete boundaries of the
skate park. I began taking notes and movement maps. As I carefully observed my
surrounding I noticed that the skaters where not all alike. The skaters were
very diverse and dressed differently. I also noticed different cliques within
that lied within the skate park. I identified different types of skaters that
make the skate park very unique. I identified the skater by how they dressed or
by their physical appearance. I saw hippy skaters, snap
back hats with skinny jeans and Vans shoes skaters, cholo looking skater, old
skaters ( 30-60 years old) and hipster skaters. I found it interesting that every skater was
different. You could tell just by observing that although they were different
by the clothes they wore, it did not matter because skating was what united
them together. The longer I observed the skaters the better I understood their
unity to the skate park. I interviewed Oscar Limas an 18 year old
born and raised in Venice, California. Oscar provided me with an example of how
his attachment to the skate park has made him protective of this space. When I asked
him if there was some sort of separation between the skaters and other people
around the skate park he replied:
OL: Oh yeahhh! For sure.
(emphases on the for sure part).
Me: Can you tell me where you
see the separation most?
OL: Well mostly where we skate
and hang out… Like on the side (points at spot where he hangs out, kind of a
circled spot that has a concrete bench). Not a lot of people come to our area,
I mean they can but they don’t… I think they feel scared or something I don’t
know ( shurgs, emotion as if he doesn’t care). But its weird people just watch
us skate and to us its just a normal thing we do… shit… we love it. At least
most of us love it. But ya sometimes people come over to our spot, but unless
there not acting a fool we don’t say nuthin
Oscar
Limas who dressed with the snap back hats, and Van’s and who talks with this swagger tone gives me
the impression that most skaters who have been skating at the Venice Beach for
many years before the creation of the new renovated skate park, now hold a
strong sense of attachment to the Venice Beach Skate Park. This attachment
means having a protective attitude towards what most local skaters would
consider their second home.
The spectators are people who assign
themselves to the edge of the skate park and stay within the outside boundaries
of the skate park. The spectators consist of a diverse group of people from all
walks of life. During my visits to the skate park I saw old men and women,
children, teenagers, middle age people as well as people from different races
and ethnicities. I found through my observation and through interviews that
spectators do not obtain the same attachment that the skaters have with the
skate park. Miriam Black a mother of two young children told me through a
conduct interview that the skate park provides her a sense of happiness and joy
because her children love watching the skaters do their cool tricks, “every time
we come to Venice Beach and I’m with my children I must stop by the skate park…
those munchkins make me, but it makes me happy when they are happy, so it’s
worth it”. I have came to the conclusions that spectators hold temporary attachment
to the skate park because of the feelings and visual aid the skaters and park
provide them with. The spectators are
either gazing at the skaters following the skater as they travel from one side
of the skate park to the other. Or some spectators are taking picture of the
action. I discovered that the spectators are important factor in what makes the
skate park what it is today.
Behavioral Inventory:
Skaters
socializing
|
12
|
Actually
skating
|
20
|
Spectators
|
25
|
I initially used
movement mapping as a way to show that spectators and skaters were divided and
that spectators had less of an attachment to the park. site. Through the
movement maps I created, I discovered that my question was right; the maps
indicated that skaters and spectators held different attachments within the
skate park. While many of the skaters where isolated inside the skate park, spectators
would stay along the edges of the skate park. The movement map clearly distinguishes
the spectators from the skaters and shows that the spectators hold a temporary attachment
to skate park. We can see that the skaters are attached to the inner part of
the skate park, meanwhile the spectators stay outside of the park. The movement
map I have provided above indicates that people watching (spectators, green)
simply remain in the same common area, if you notice there are no greens
actually entering the domain of the skateboarders. Why is that? I asked myself.
I found this compelling because it seems that people stay in a place where they
feel like they belong. If you are not there to skate you stand outside the skate
park around the rails and simply observe as a spectator, if you skate you are
inside the boarders of the skate park. This clearly indicates a separation between
the spectators and the skaters not only physically, but culturally.
I found that the
book On the Plaza written by Setha Low truly highlights a piece of my
ethnography. In chapter 2 The Public
Space and Culture, Low describes plazas as a public space representing
culture by it architecture and from its artistic form of expressing. An example
she provides us that demonstrates public space and culture and how it is
changing is on page 35. She goes to explain that plazas are also centers of
cultural expression and artistic display reflecting their changing designs and furnishing.
And finally, plazas are settings for everyday urban life where daily interactions,
economic exchange, and informal conversations occur, creating a socially
meaningful place in the center of the city. Like the Venice Beach Skate Park
this area of space creates a setting for everyday urban life. The skate park
allows skaters and spectators alike to engages in informal conversations and
cultural expression and with that it create the unique atmosphere that the
Venice Beach Skate Park prides itself on.
Reflections
of the Skate Park
Through
this project I have learned many things about my home beach and the skate
culture that I never knew before. I realized through my data and analyzes that
there are certain attachments that skaters and spectators have within the park.
The people watching the skaters simply felt that they just wanted to witness
the beauty of the beach and the skate park at the same time. The rails around
the skate park were there for a purpose so people who want to watch the art of
the skaters can watch from a distance without interfering with the skateboarders.
The skater themselves used this public space as reflection of their culture and
to some a reflection of their home. Remember, Venice Beach is a melting pot and
if there is one thing that I could leave you with today, is embrace the many
different cultures within this unique beach, you never know you might just fall
in love with it.
In
conclusion, I have learned that ethnography provides a sense of culture and
importance in understanding public space, culture and people. The discoveries I
found through this project where rewarding. Now I can walk with a better
understanding of the skate culture in Venice Beach and hopefully you have to.
Images
(Online sources)
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