WIlderness of the Week

Hutch Axilrod

With a name like Hutch Axilrod, you wouldn’t have to do much to
leave an impression. But for Axilrod’s photography show — currently
on display at Gallery 1434 in the UCSB art complex — he decided to
let his pictures speak for themselves. According to Axilrod, the
exhibited photos attempt to show the interconnectedness of fashion
and culture in the worlds of skate and rock music. But in the
process of melding the two, he also manages to combine evidence of
little-known Santa Barbara subculture with a glimpse into the life
of the desert rockers Brant Bjork and The Bros.

One half of Axilrod’s show features the soon-to-be-extinct
skateboard haven The Wilderness. Its days as a hush-hush,
locals-only hangout are numbered, as The Wilderness will soon be
swallowed by that monster called “eminent domain.” Thus, Axilrod’s
photos of diehard skateboarders rolling around the lot’s drained
pool will give people a first — and possibly only — look at this
place.

The complementary half takes the viewer from Santa Barbara to
Joshua Tree to take in a bit of the life and style of a band with
ties to big names like Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age.

Catch Axilrod’s show before it’s taken down on Saturday,
February 3. Better yet: Be there at 5 p.m. on Friday, February 2
for the closing-night reception.

— Drew Mackie