DIYthing

We love highlighting artists that we meet. Sometimes we meet people through the Web as well. Last weekend I visited BKLYN Designs and got a chance to see Daniel Moyer’s booth. I had blogged about his interview with BKLYN Designs 2007 last week. He e-mailed me this week and thanked me for the public appreciation of his work. That was nice. It is always great to hear from artists that we highlight. I mentioned to Daniel that I would love to know more about his work, especially his use of whimsy, as I find it really interesting. He took a moment and shared some of his thoughts with me and I thought I would share them with you as well here at aDIYthing.

“The whimsy is really interesting to me as well. Without it, I don’t think I could produce at all. I rely almost entirely upon it to inform me as I work; it answers all of the small questions about scale and placement and combination, usually before they are even asked. More profoundly, the whimsy offers outlandish answers to standard questions of form: what holds this up? What keeps this together? The whimsy provides balance and interest and inspiration. It is a functional whimsy. My whimsy works in collage in the back of my mind in a kind of catalogue of visual memory. It’s more like a bucket; only whimsy knows how or if it’s organized. I’ve been feeding the whimsy observation all of my life [I think]; she’s been returning dreams and vision for as long [I know]. I hope you can see the whimsy in my work [she can see you].
Sorry about that.” — Daniel

The visual memory that Daniel talks about is very interesting to me. I have research interests along these lines. The whole concept of his collage in the back of his mind suggests that artists work out problems in their minds by manipulating images, rotating them, breaking pieces apart and putting them together again.

We also talked some of my son’’s interest in skateboards. My 18 year old son is skater boy. I was telling him about Daniel’s skateboards this past weekend, and he was wondering if they are heavy since they are hardwoods. My son is very artistic and is starting to paint boards for sale.

Daniel said that he’s correct: “ounce for ounce, hardwood boards are heavier than either fiberglass or plywood. The natural structure of whole hardwood is slightly less strong than the glues and resins that support the other two; therefore extra thickness is required leading to more weight. HOWEVER, that same natural structure provides a far superior natural springiness that plywood and fiberglass can only poorly imitate. Also, the natural structure of whole wood is designed to support a tree’s lifetime of flexibility as the breeze blows through its’ leaves; everybody who rides the other two knows how soggy the flex gets after the binders get tired. Now if you’re doing tricks or riding bowls, lightness might be more important than flex. Carving the hilly streets of Brooklyn on a longboard is all about flex. And anyway, if your board is under your feet, who cares how much it weighs? Just don’t ever get off [I carry mine into and out of the subway and so far it’s OK].”

Hope you get a chance to see his designs at his sites or catch him at one of the design shows.
www.danielmoyerdesign.com or www.funkinfunction.com

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