We've said it before, but you'd probably be lying if you thought that the board graphic didn't matter. It's always been a factor when buying a new deck, and lately it seems like companies are prioritizing artwork more than ever. There's a laundry list of companies that have tapped some of our favorite artists for their new top/bottomsheets, and one in particular is Public Snowboards.
The rider owned board company started 8 years ago, and thanks to Joe Sexton, not much has changed on the graphic design side of things. They've continued to put out some of the more interesting/progressive designs we've seen on hill, which makes us think back to one of their first collections—a time when Chris Bradshaw was still on the team. 7 collections have passed since then, and now Nick Dahlen is behind Joe's new pro model board: the Disorder.
Nick Dahlen is an illustrator, painter, and screen printer out of Minnesota. Born and raised in Minneapolis, he focuses on some pretty abstract observations, many of which recontexualize the mundane in one's day-today life. That may look like watering a garden, drinking a glass of wine, or even just throwing a baseball. Definitely check out his Instagram to get an idea.
His art seems to represent his life—the good, bad, happy, and sad. That level of interpretation is something we really appreciate at Torment, but we're also drawn to the arbitrary aspects too. Something like the above picture of a dog sitting on trash can, drinking out of a green bottle.
As he puts it, "It's easier to draw some crazy shit, you know, and it's almost like the shock factor is in the crazy idea. But that almost bores me sometimes because it's not always relatable to people. Like trying to capture the moment where like you're just happy to be alive, almost, you know? Just finding the beauty in small things."
Such a perspective is refreshing in a world of overly complicated works, and this ability to simplify the complexities of life is something we can get behind. For Sexton's latest pro model, the Public Disorder, Nick offered that same style, drawing a pair of scissors, a hammer, and something green we can put our finger on. Either way, the graphic is sick, so Joe headed to his studio to get a deeper look into his style, influence, and overall background.
