This week, a fresh new documentary called Beautiful Losers dropped on DVD after years as a touring art show. Featuring luminaries like Shepard Fairey, Stephen Powers, pro skateboarder Ed Templeton, Kids writer Harmony Korine, and directed by Aaron Rose, the film tells the stories of a group of do-it-yourself artists who joined together to create an anti-establishment movement based on the subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip-hop, and graffiti. The artists featured—including Geoff McFetridge, famed graphic designer and ex-art director for the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal magazine—made history almost by accident, and Beautiful Losers is a testament to that truth.
McFetridge is no stranger to creating art on both big and small scales. He has designed for such corporate giants as Pepsi and Burton, as well as exhibited his own gallery shows for a number of years. He can count Sofia Coppola and Spike Jonze as friends and collaborators, having creating the graphics for The Virgin Suicides and Where The Wild Things Are, while also making his own short films. Geoff's latest project is a return to his skateboarding roots: his very own skate company, Solitary Arts, which doubles as an undercover art experiment. Complex chatted with Geoff recently about his definition of a Beautiful Loser and what skate shoe receives his loyalty for life. Read on for the interview, samples of Geoff's work, and a clip from the documentary...
WATCH THE BEAUTIFUL LOSERS TRAILER BELOW:
