A plateau, four wheels, tirelessly surveyed macadam and figures that defy the laws of gravity, against a backdrop of counter-culture and street art… Born during the 1950s in California, popularized in the streets from the 1980s in the United States and Europe, skateboarding has since brought together multiple artistic expressions, such as photography, video and graffiti. The multi-sports site of Grammont, inaugurated on May 27, in Montpellier, bears witness to this once again with the installation, right in the middle of the place, of a monumental fresco twenty meters long and four meters high, orchestrated by the painter, draftsman and decorator José Escudero. The culmination of an artistic project with an emotional impact that the mayor of Montpellier and president of the metropolis Michaël Delafosse has, over a few enlightening relays, validated without hesitation, hence this mural which is displayed here in capital letters.
Because at the source of this colorful and full of life work is however a tragic event: the brutal death of two young people from Montpellier: Emilio Escudero – the artist’s only son – and Raphaël James, aged 18 and 19 respectively, following a road accident on December 11. Because the two friends were skateboarders as passionate as they were skilled, students at the Fise Academy in Montpellier – the first campus in France devoted to urban sports professions -, but also amateur graffiti artists known under the pseudonyms of “Pepito”. and “Skav”, their disappearance sent shockwaves through the local urban culture community, which sparked tributes on the bowls and other city ramps. From now on, the memory of the two boys is part of a lasting way in the brand new skate-park of Grammont, revamped after four years of work. With its 9,000 square meters of sliding surface and its modules to Olympic standards – which, for some, will serve as a training track for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris -, it is today the largest European space dedicated to practice.
Original photos of Emilio, alias “Pepito” (left), and Raphaël, “Skav” (right), served as the basis for the elaboration of the fresco.
/ © José Escudero © All rights reserved
The fresco was made on a metal sliding structure in two distinct parts: the first, the most visible, on a curve of ten meters, on which José Escudero reproduced four scenes – two per boy -, made from original photographs , including Raphaël levitating above his skateboard and Emilio wearing his board, all smiles, as an invitation to as many people as possible to practice the discipline in complete freedom. After covering the surface with an undercoat of white – guaranteeing the durability of the paint – the artist opted for a mixed technique: graffiti and acrylic with a brush. An interesting combination because “it allows you to give effects that the bomb alone cannot produce”. The color codes evoke Montpellier’s situation between land and sea: blue – dark or sky -, green, yellow, and a hint of purple, a symbolic chromatic element of the metropolis. The faces of Emilio and Raphaël were, for their part, painted with a brush, with a deliberate chromatic purification by José Escudero: “to give a graffiti and pop art style, I had to synthesize the figures in three or four colors , even if, at the start, I had many other nuances in mind”.
The artist opted for a mixed technique: graffiti and acrylic with a brush.
/ © Emma Veron
A collective work
On the remaining ten meters on the turn, it is a collective work that has been done. Artistic director of the project, José Escudero called on Emilio and Raphaël’s skater and graffiti artist friends. About twenty young people took part, including Emile, twin brother of Raphaël, also a fan of the board, and Emma, girlfriend of Emilio and photographer in the making. On this adjoining surface, predominantly ocher and grey, the architectural elements of emblematic places for board sports in Montpellier, and more generally meeting spots for Generation Z, are restored: Place Albert Ier, Place de la Prefecture, the Peyrou…
An adjoining surface 10 meters long reproduces architectural elements of emblematic places in the city.
/ © Emma Veron
All contributed to the development of the fresco in the heart of the spectacular Grammont skate-park, not far from the D62, where the dramatic accident occurred of December 11: two young people on scooters hit by a car. A complicated exercise for José Escudero, under emotional tension throughout the development of this collective work which “offers a lasting memory to the two boys overflowing with life and creativity, who died too soon”.