In 1996 Joe Stevens undertook the task of shooting customized and converted Vans that he came across in California and other areas of the west. He now has hundreds of images collected and has just launched a new site, Vans and the places where they were.  The result is a cool look into the world of old school vans which necessarily captures a piece of that California sub-culture. For Stevens the idea was to “examine the dialogue which exists between a van’s design aesthetic and that of its surrounding environment.” Also interesting is Steven’s choice to use 120 mm film for the project — a fading visual medium in its own right — which draws a parallel between the death of the customized van and film photography.

Check the gallery here.

And while I’m on the topic of Joe Stevens, I gotta make mention of the documentary “Made in Queens” that he co-directed with Nicolas Randall about a crew of Trinidad kids now living in Queens, who built stereo systems on their BMX bikes. Really cool shit. Check the trailer.

I promise I’ll close the book on Die Antwoord after this, but here’s one last follow up on the crew. As they have been “taking over the interweb” as their tag line states, the truth about the authenticity of the group has also been surfacing in bits and pieces.

The trio, Ninja with his Pink Floyd shorts, Yo-Landi with her Batista t-shirt, along with their slickly designed website, was of course suspect from the beginning, but nevertheless entertaining and quite original — and there was a part of me that hoped deep down inside that they were really from the hood, and that DJ Hi-Tek just magically made “next level beats” on his PC, instinctive and inspired by the craze of Cape Town South Africa. I wanted to believe that zef rap-rave came from something. But they are indeed fake. Fake as the kid who lives in Brooklyn and gets checks from his parents while calling himself a “freelance designer.”  Or, apparently it’s along these lines. As reported by Videogum, the companion site to the long standing music blog Stereogum:

“Just got word, after circulating the link around my music publicity office, that Die Antwoord is basically Da Ali G of South Africa. All fake, skewering the movement of middle class kids with apartheid supporting parents becoming Afrikaner posers, basically.”

Here’s a couple videos before the Ninja became the Ninja, before the haircut and the gold caps:

So yeah, they’re like South African art students or something and this is just their latest incarnation. Also word is Yo-Landi and Ninja are married and have a kid together. There goes the Yo-Landi fantasy. But whatever — I’m still backing what they’re doing. They may not be anything close to what they claim to be, but watch that Taxi Jam again: there is definitely talent. And plenty of flavor. Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see what comes of them.

http://www.vimeo.com/9184909

My friend Cecile filmed this 16 mm short a couple weeks ago at a Save The Banks gathering — officially the “last day” before the historic skate area closed. It’s a quick but poignant clip with a rough and tough feel fitting of the Banks. No music, no audio.

Cameos from all the homies — Michael Cohen, Shawn Powers, Heron Preston, Dick’s Nuts the French Chihuahua, Emilie Kareh, and crew.

As for the latest update on closure of the banks the Downtown Express, “The Newspaper of Lower Manhattan,” reported the closure was initially slated for Jan. 15 but it didn’t happen. Steve Rodriguez, owner of 5boro Skateboards isn’t sure what the final date will be when there will no longer be access.

But it’s coming. Any day now. Though the Banks are anticipated to reopen in 2014, it’s a tough hit for New York skateboarding.

To those who do know, and are currently in San Diego for the ASR, Crossroads and Class trade shows this week. Well. Here’s a reminder about what awaits in the Tijuana underworld.

One more Die Antwoord clip for you to check. I know I just plugged them (below) but then I came across this — what appears to be a much more “real” look at the crew, and well, I couldn’t resist. Maybe it’s Yo-Landi that’s doing it for me — so hot, so cute, and so fucking raw — either way this clip of them cruising Green Point in Cape Town (where the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup of soccer will be played this year), certainly sheds some light on their skill and gives us a better sense of what they’re coming with: Zef rap-rave on the map.