March 9, 2016

The Pearlstein Gallery will be off the wall this spring during Philly Radness, a pop-up, motion- responsive skate park installation. From April 5 to May 22, gallery visitors are invited to explore and sometimes skate (after signing a waver) this video projection-mapped oasis. An opening event will take place on Thursday, April 7 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm in the Gallery (3401 Filbert Street). Created by multimedia artist Eric Cade Schoenborn and professional skateboarder Ed Selego, this is the second iteration of the Phenomenal Radness project after its 2013 debut in Miami. “We turned life into an animated GIF and skated it,” the collaborators said. The interactive sculpture will feature media exploring Philadelphia’s role in the history of skateboarding culture, curated by skate videographer Chris Mulhern.

Eric Cade Schoenborn is a Miami-based artist who blends technology with art and collaboration for fun and social change. His collaborations have generated millions of page views and engaged a wide spectrum of audiences, online and offline. He has applied his unique design, development and business experience to numerous NGOs, startups, journalism ventures, artists, cultural tastemakers, entrepreneurs and innovators worldwide.

Ed Selego owns MIA Skateshop in South Beach, Miami, and has been skating professionally since the 1990s and has affiliations with Habitat, Adio, Planet Earth and more. Thrasher Magazine called his part in video “One Step Beyond” a “classic." Click here to learn more about Phenomenal Radness.

Philadelphia’s LOVE Park has been a legendary, if illegal, skate spot for decades, contributing to the City’s development as a major international hub of skateboarding culture. The City now boasts Franklin’s Payne Skate Park, designed by Westphal architecture alum Tony Bracali, as well as Gray’s Ferry Crescent Skate Park and other parks throughout the region.

“Eric and Ed’s wonderfully rich and whimsical installation will pay homage to Philadelphia’s place in skateboarding history and let the city’s skateboarders create art while they do what they love,” said Karen Curry, the executive director of the Rudman Institute for Entertainment Industry Studies who was instrumental in bringing the show to Drexel.

For more information about the show, please contact the Pearlstein Gallery at gallery@drexel.edu.