Transitions and Exits

Wild man Ari Marcopoulos crossed time zones incessantly while documenting the non-linear lives of one of the first 21st-century tribes: snowboarders. Rell Sun once called surfers the Gypsies of the Earth because they travel more and consume less. Snowboarders are the evolutionary offshoots of these nomads, who follow the seasons in search of what is embedded in their DNA.

Transitions and Exits documents much of the time these young nomads spend travelling to the Nirvana of fresh powder and perfect jumps. And the waiting in Purgatory: riders kindle their boredom with hours, even days of contemplation. It's the time when helicopters are grounded, low pressures are laying new carpets of snow, and the weather channel is only hinting at what's to come. In snowboarding there are many prodigies. They are young, come from California and Scandinavia, earn serious dough for play, and speak a unified language around boarding and the latest electronic gadgets. But after hearing the crack of a compound fracture sounding off the walls of a perfectly shaped halfpipe—the price paid for mastering a new trick—it's hard to label this life glamorous.

With photos and digital video grabs of the world's top snowboarders—all of whom are under the age of 25—Transitions and Exits showcases, in a hardcore artist's book and DVD, a brilliant take on a surreal world, much like Larry Clark's Tulsa.

Photographer Ari Marcopoulos has made a career of capturing life on the cultural edge. From his beginnings as an artist working for Andy Warhol, Marcopoulos has been drawn to those who work and live outside of their contemporary society. Some of his more famous subjects include William Burroughs, the Beastie Boys, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. In Transitions and Exits, Marcopoulos covers the life and times of the world's top young snowboarders with contemplative portraits, mountainous landscapes, and daredevil action shots.

The faces of these athletes lie somewhere between wholesome and ragamuffin, and they deliver us into a fascinating world of modern Peter Pans, filled with video games, black eyes, cheap beer, and cigarettes. But beyond the mere stuff of adolescents lies boyishness with a cause. Marcopoulos explains: "They are political in the way they shape their existence. Their lifestyle is financed by corporations and yet they live by their own rules outside of social norms.... In snowboarding there is nothing better than breaking the rules." The photographs illustrate a commitment to natural beauty, adventure, and athletic perfection, as well as capturing the family-like clan that develops in the many off-hours. Included is an enlightening interview between the photographer and curator-writer Louise Neri. --J.P. Cohen