Known first and foremost as a professional skateboarder as well as master-brain behind Toy Machine (Bloodsucking) Skateboard Company, Ed Templeton is making his rise as a taker of pictures and painter of paintings. My friend warned me before he visited our studio “he’s kind of weird,” and indeed his photographs of teenagers making out, a bleeding penis, people having sex and taking their clothes off – caused a healthy dose of conversation among the 1026 gallery-goers.

After a lengthy interview as well as casual conversation over the course of the week that he set up for his show, it became clear to me that Ed doesn’t create “shock art.” Whether or not you’re shocked by some of his subject matter is irrelevant, and if you view it as a problem then it’s your own to keep.

The real problem is if you’re so distracted by some of the subject matter that you can’t focus on the truly beautiful and inspiring elements of his work. As a self-taught artist, his work carries an element of enthusiasm and honesty that’s refreshing and inspiring.

DN: Are you nervous at all-about tonight?

Ed: I’m just really tired. I’m stressed, not really stressed, more like I want to get everything done. I only have five hours and I’m freaking out. Yeah, I’m really excited.

DN: So one thing that struck me was that you guys were down to drive all the way from California to Philly. I was just wondering what it was about Space1026 that made you want to go do all that.

Ed: It was kind of like, I would put that effort into anything, you know? And I knew that you guys had a good space and it was a legitimate thing. I wouldn’t have done it for a coffee shop. Last year I almost did the same thing. I drove out to a contest in the Midwest and then drove out here cause Aron [Rose] was doing a show. And then this year at the [ASR] trade show I think you guys wanted a show and it just worked cause I was already going to Memphis to see Deanna (his wife). We were planning on driving out here. So we put everything in the car. I would do that anyway. I’m pretty anal about protecting the art. I feel better about just packing it all up.

DN: What’s your schedule these days as far as the time you have available to put into your artwork? Is this an exception that you have this time to come all the way out here and set up for a show and hang out for a week?

Ed: Yeah, I called them (Tum Yeto) and I was like, “I just gotta do this.” I got a lot of work done. Normally I wouldn’t do this. I would make it a part of a trip for a contest.

DN: How long ago did you start getting serious about developing as a painter?

Ed: I just started it as a hobby, I started reading art books, looking at different artists, getting into that. I went to a lot of museums in Europe.

DN: This was in 1990?

Ed: I think 1990. When I got back from Europe I started looking at books. I started painting. I went to an art store and got some pre-made canvases and started to try painting. As far as development goes, I just kept doing that to a point when I was still doing skateboarding stuff - I was encouraged by friends. People like Thomas Campbell and other guys were like, “Hey you should do more stuff.” So I started setting art up or giving it away.

DN: Did it inspire you more to know that your work would be seen?

Ed: Yeah, that’s when it transferred for me to mess around and try to make some paintings. And then it turned into…people are actually going to look at these at some point somewhere. I get fired up now, I think about what I want to say or what I want to do. What aesthetic images do I want to put forth as my own?

DN: How would you say your intention, focus divides between painting and photography? Are they both equal?

Ed: No, photography for me just started about two or three years ago. Right now I’m really fired up about it. I’m buying some photography books. I don’t see it really as the same because I think the painting are more about stuff in my head. I’m doing portraits and I’m painting ideas-it’s more psychological. Whereas photography is more documenting my life. I go out, I have my camera and I see stuff going on.

DN: So when you’re taking photographs you’re not so much worried about tech-nique, composition and that whole thing, you’re just a recorder, a silent observer.

Ed: That’s how it happened, that was the natural progression. I always took snapshots and stuff. I started in Europe, I took that as a treasure. You know, a trip to Europe, when would I get to go again? I started to get some good shots. I hung out with skateboard photographers and we talked a lot. I was always around photography.
This is my first show that has a real selection of photography. In the technical aspect, I’m still trying to figure out what the camera does. I really like natural light photography. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve been reading books. I teach myself everything. I just got a darkroom at my house. I got a color enlarger. I taught myself from books how to make a color print.

DN: Do you see yourself as being at a disadvantage to someone who went to four or more years of art school. How do you compare yourself?

Ed: Not really. I’ve gone through points where I’m really anti-art school. Sometimes I think you have to immerse yourself in the world you’d learn everything so much quicker and better through experience rather than being told through instruction. But then some people from my high school art class went on to art school and they tell me the things they’re doing. It sounds fun and interesting. The challenge of an assignment can also be a good thing. In art school you get criticism-that’s part of the process and that’s something I haven’t gone through. I’ve had some friends who will tell me when something sucks. And it hurts. For me, I never went and I don’t have time. I just take it as an experiment-photography. I’m going to keep studying art and paint and be self-taught.

DN: I think a big issue when looking at the work you produce, the majority of it is sexually charged. I’m curious to see the reaction tonight at the show. What would you say you are trying to accomplish with your imagery? What are the goals for you about what a person walks away with?

Ed: I don’t know. I’m starting to think of things like, a lot of the work deals with sexuality. There are paintings of a sexual nature and there are ones that are just portraits. I came from studying and admiring people like Egon Schiele. I feel more expressive with the nude portrait. Clothes just cover. Other ones are more about my relationship with Deanna. I think people are warped by sex a lot of the time. Even Deanna and me-I wouldn’t say we have any weird backgrounds. Everyone’s first experience is weird. You kind of shape your life by that. All that stuff’s really interesting. I lost my virginity when I was 14 to a 24 year old woman. And now I have this obsession with young girls almost.

DN: Cause you missed out on that shit?

Ed: I don’t know, sometimes I think that’s what it’s about. Some people have this block toward people who are under 18, like, “Oh, this person is under 18, gross.” I find myself saying, “Man that girl’s really hot.” Not to the point where I’m like, “I wanna fuck that little girl,” but it’s weird. I’m like, “Why aren’t I freakin out like this guy? Why aren’t I so weird about it?” Maybe I’m just more open with my sexuality where I can admit, “That girl’s really beautiful.” I like the aesthetic of Jock Sturge’s book-it’s beautiful and weird at the same time. It explores that weird area that people have a lot of trouble with.

DN: Are these issues that you have resolved, or are you using the photography and painting as…

Ed: I don’t know. I don’t even think it’s a total issue. It might be, you know? I don’t know. Photography is more like documentary and I do document my sex life. I’m not going to shut anything out. I’m going to shoot pictures of anything that I see that appeals to me. So sometimes I just shoot stuff-if it’s cool. You know, if Deanna and I are having some weird, passionate sex, wherever you find yourself doing something crazy, everyone does it. I try to talk with her, she loves photography. She’s like, “I like this.” It seems crazy, I’m this guy who’s actually married.

DN: How does she respond? What’s her take on being a part of this-that the photographs are going to be shown in exhibits?

Ed: She’s pretty comfortable with it. She always says, “It’s going to be funny when we’re 80 and we look back on all these photos you have of us-of all the crazy shit we did.” That’s her take on it and she understands. I try to explain it to her. I think I’m a real aesthetic kind of person. Just seeing something sometimes will bring tears to my eyes, it’s real powerful. So she knows that when I get a photograph that I like she knows that I’m sincere and I’m not just showing people her ass. It’s about something that’s higher than both of us. I tell her if there’s anything that makes her uncomfortable I’ll take it out of the show. She’s never even said anything. I try to edit things to make more tasteful. When you shoot stuff like that you can come up with some gross shots. Like a photo of shit in a toilet-when you take it you think it’s going to be cool, but it’s not, it’s disgusting. Sometimes it’s nasty-it doesn’t show what I’m trying to get across. It’s like, straight up a guy taking a photo of sex. You know, like anyone does. Some of them I think look better than others. And I like them as art.

DN: Do you think that most of America, society, is too uptight about these images?

Ed: Oh, definitely. People are really uptight. No one wants to do these subjects. I’m not saying that I’m going to be the guy who breaks through. I’m an artist and my shows are about me commu-nicating – putting my stuff out there and people coming. Some people are going to be like, “Fuck this, I’m outta here.” Some people are going to be like, “This guy is funny” and they’ll understand it. They’ll think it’s really strong and get what I’m trying to say. Then there’s my friend who’s a practicing Catholic and he goes to church every Sunday – he’s pretty wholesome. The photos kind of damaged him. He was kind of bummed out. He had been hanging out with me and Deanna, thought that we were nice people and that might have changed his mind or something to think I’m evil. According to his beliefs I’m either going to hell now, or I don’t know. I feel like, that’s it – I put it out on the table and whatever comes – you know?

DN: Yeah, you feel strongly enough about it that…

Ed: I feel strongly, yeah. It hurts that someone made me feel like that.

DN: It’s just how you honestly feel, you’re making yourself vulnerable.

Ed: Yeah, I’ve totally put myself up on the block. I’m doing it and I want to follow through with it. I want to be the one who does it. I’ll do it. Manufacturing something gnarly and gross and shocking, like diarrhea on Deanna’s face and then shooting it- I don’t do that. I don’t try to create an image. It’s just shooting the stuff that I’m doing.

DN: People who tend to be honest say, “I’m going to document my life” and pretend to be honest, but they’re only showing you a certain view of their lives. They’re not really being honest, they’re pretending to be honest. But they’re not showing you the dirty stuff, you know, the not-so-nice stuff.

Ed: Yeah, I try to show, shoot everything. But, this is just a selection of my stuff. Maybe some day I’ll have a massive photography exhibition. But I’ve shot stuff that not always appealed to me. But it’s weird, you know you set up a plan like, “Okay, I’m going to document my life.” Not just going on trips, but everything. So I’ve shot photos of me and Deanna totally fighting and crying. During the fight we’re all pissed and we’re fucking yelling at each other and then I go and just look at how beautiful this is. Sometimes, I don’t know if I’m tweaked that way or something. I just go, “This is rad looking,” you know.

DN: Then what happens?

Ed: I step out and see it as a film or something, like look at these two people fighting. I’ve shot photos of it before. We’ve both shot photos of us crying. It’s weird, it’s fun though. Just try to do it. I draw a line though, I’d say. I was just recently in Chicago for a wedding and there was an accident. I was with my grandparents and my grandma was sitting in the back seat with me. My grandfather thought everyone was in the car, she was still getting in, and he took off while her leg wasn’t in. And she’s like 78 or something. And she like, you know, got tripped over and fell right on her face, the car hit her and kind of dragged her. She got hit by the seat as she was getting in, then hit the door, then fell on her face. Then I had the camera right there. All at once all these thoughts came into my head, like shoot the photo and then run around and help her. But I couldn’t because my first reaction was, “Oh my god,” and I jumped out. And I helped her up. Afterwards I shot some pictures of her getting stitches in the hospital. All that happened was like, she scraped her knee.

DN: Still, it’s hard.

Ed: Yeah, you know I’m sitting there holding her blood going, “Oh man, this could have been a rad photo.” And I start thinking, “Am I perverted or something?” But I just keep thinking it wouldn’t have hurt anything. It wouldn’t have done anything if I had just snapped it and then got out.
Richard Billingham has this book called Ray’s A Laugh. I guess Ray is his father and he documents his mother and father and brother in their house in England. I was amazed at the photographs – they just blew me away. Just the fact that he caught the images that he caught. He must have been living with them for months and months and had his camera ready, in his hand during everything, just sitting there like this. That’s how he would shoot a photo like that, so good. It’s weird, cause there’s a photos of his dad with the cat in mid-air, coming towards the camera. His dad’s going like this all tweaked and the photo’s of the cat jumping on him. It’s dope. There’s no, “Hey, check this out,” like a normal “cat-throwing” photo looks. How would he catch that? Just sitting there, the cat jumps on his dad and he shoots the photo that quickly. Then there’s a photo of his mom punching his father and he caught it.

DN: So, it’s almost like you’re a marksman. Like, with your gun.

Ed: It becomes a challenge, it’s fun. To be around, get yourself in a crazy situation and actually shoot the photo of what’s going on. That book amazes me, it’s the real stuff, the real happenings.

DN: When I used to work as a messenger I kept this crappy camera in my bag all the time. Just riding around the city all day you see crazy things like car accidents. You see them happen and you think, “I should be taking pictures of this.”

Ed: Yeah, no one has any reason for not capturing the things they see, the images they have in their head. I kill myself when I go places and see something and don’t have a camera. I think, “I feel stupid right now.”

DN: How intertwined do you see your art career and your skateboarding career?

Ed: Pretty intertwined. At this point I think everything I’ve ever gotten done in the art world has been because of skateboarding. It’s a little bit of both right now. Everything we do at Alleged [Gallery, NYC] has a skateboarding edge to it. I feel fortunate. That’s what I want skateboarding to be for kids. That’s what happened for me. I’ve was looking at skateboarding magazines when I was a little kid and got inspired by [skateboard] graphics. That’s the stuff that got me into it. I hope I can bring some of this kind of creativity into skateboarding. There’s a lot of junk going into skateboarding now.
It’s really intertwined now, I try to keep it separate. Some of the graphic design stuff I’ve been doing, which I tried to keep separate-I’ve been doing some painting. I’m trying not to let graphic design bring my paintings down to an illustrative level.

DN: Where did the snorkel guys come from? I bet you get a lot of questions about that.

Ed: I don’t know. I was just sketching little characters, I was just making little pictures in my sketchbook with the aim of making a comic. Those guys are comic characters. I just made them up. They’re easy to draw and I can do a lot of different things with them. I can make them have funny expressions. It’s like jumping into this different world just to make a comic. I sort of like it for skateboard graphics.

DN: It’s interesting, you were saying about graphic design and the paintings and how they go together. Did they start out appearing in ads first and now you’re doing paintings of them?

Ed: Yeah, it was all sketchbook stuff and then I put out skateboards and now there’s a whole world of them the kids can see. I always wanted to have a graphic series. So I started doing boards of them and showing them in ads. I still draw them in my sketchbook once in a while. I haven’t really devoted a canvas to them yet. All the ones in the show are ones I drew on some napkin from a restaurant.

DN: I’m really into where some of your paintings are going. The mood of it is so-it really pulls you in. It’s like a slow mood.

Ed: I’ve been trying to do that. Teaching yourself painting is weird-there’s a lot involved. At first it was really bright colors and raw. I’m trying to make moodier paintings. Scary almost. Soft.

DN: It must be difficult to go from the style you use for ads, which is very bold and in-your-face fast. I think your ads are very successful and very unique compared to the other ads. Then you go to your paintings which require more looking and aren’t as in-your-face.

Ed: Yeah, that’s what I mean. I pretty much keep them separate. If you looked at my sketchbook you’d see more. The whole ad thing is just colors and skateboarding, weird shit, and lots of line drawn things. Somehow I have to get a guy in there skateboarding-they don’t give a fuck about anything else.

DN: What would your idea of a success for tonight be, feeling like everything went exactly as it should?

Ed: Just getting a lot of people in here. I hope they come and say, “Your work is good, your advertising is sound.” I want it to look nice. I’d like to sell some stuff. You guys have a good history of selling work at shows. People have come to me to buy work, but I never really thought of that as a success. It would help as far as the costs, but for me the investment is worth it – whether it sells or not. I know at one point I’ll sell it. Success to me would be just to be happy, to have a good night.