As much as Supreme have positioned themselves as a “street-style” brand over the years, publications like this one point to a more artistic leanings and purposefully curated aesthetic that surpasses the more organic or accidental stylings of true streetwear. Then again, what isn’t heavily curated during our ubiquitous “Instagram age” - it’s almost impossible to escape being purposeful with any brand (afterall, they’re selling an image/lifestyle as well as a product), so maybe Supreme is just leaning into it in a more admitted way than the other brands that share their particular platform. From the opening essay author Byron Hawes seems to agree, taking a slightly sardonic but self-aware tone as he describes the place that the Supreme has in the world of skateboarding, fashion, and more specifically art. This is, afterall, an oversized art book published in collaboration with uber-collector Ryan Fuller, which is in its essential form a celebration of the many stylings of Supreme skateboards over the space of 20 years. As far as knowing whether Fuller’s collection (and by default the book) is truly comprehensive, I’m unclear, but packed between its covers is none-the-less a veritable smorgasbord of skateboard decks. Ranging from in-house reworkings of the Supreme logo to collaborative decks from known fine artists, skateboarders, and major label brands, this is definitely a fun collection to delve into. Hawes’ text is sparse throughout, likely propping signals to the minimalism-with-maximal-impact of Supreme itself, but it leaves me wanting a little bit more context for some (if not all) of the decks. The fine artist boards seem to be more discussed, and he takes time to explore in slightly more depth the rarities, but I’m equally interested in the reasoning behind the development of the more common boards, as these in-house products speak to the (ever-shifting, I’m sure) internal ethos of the brand. Positioned to argue the case that Supreme is an art house unto itself, the book fails without the required context, but that doesn’t make the collection any less fun to delve into as a visual exploration. Maybe we’re meant to make up our own assumptions about the artwork (that is the whole point of much “fine art” curation and criticism), but a few more nods to the background design metrics wouldn’t have detracted from the visual statement that Supreme was trying to make here. ( )