WORDS: Stebs
PHOTOS: Keena & Stebs

If we go through life without the things that make us the happiest we will very quickly become very bitter people. For Fringe photographer Justin Keena true happiness lies in a few sheets of plywood, some metal pipes and a whole bunch of 2×4s.

Throughout his life, Mr. Keena has always found joy in creation. From taking millions of photos to making stencil art to building bikes Justin has always had a knack for getting things done – and done well. I met Justin while we both attended Fitchburg State College. He was that guy who built a mini ramp in his backyard just off campus.

Justin soon invited me over to his place to film some skating in his… well… his living room. The video speaks for itself:

As the years went on Justin began specializing in building ramps wherever he moved. His motto soon became “A home isn’t a home without a ramp!” He started going bigger and bigger at each house he moved into.

In mid 2009 we got word that Jenna Rivers of Future Craft Studio and a few friends were getting a massive warehouse space above Somerville bike shop boutique Open Bicycle and were looking to fill it with super creative types. I jumped on the idea and told Keena that we needed to make sure that a ramp was built next to our desks in our office. This was my first time building a ramp but Keena taught me right. This man is a master of his craft. It happened:

Shortly after the idea of building a cyc wall (a curved photo wall used to eliminate a horizon line) sprouted Keena immediately made sure to draw up the plans so that the last 2 feet of the wall was skateable. The tough part for us was that we had very little money to get this thing built, but like everything else we do, we needed to make sure it was done right. So though endless hours of searching and quite a few road trips to western MA we finally came up with most of the materials to bring it to life – all stuff found just either lying around or scrap pieces from retired ramps. This was no easy task – but once it was nearing its competition we reveled in its glory.

We gave it a name – New Black Studio – and it stuck. Today the wall is standing large at 10 feet tall and 16 feet across. Eggshell white. Nearly blinding. It almost give you a headache looking at it for too long – walls aren’t supposed to look like that (or so I am told).

The studio is now open to rent for anyone looking for a seamless background for photo, video, or any kind of art. Renters also have the option of having the wall painted whatever color(s) if they so desire. There is also a portrait wall to the right which gives a few “American Apparel” feel – stark white. Check out some examples of shots from the studio:

Video I shot in the studio of local artist Chris Piascik doing his thing.

Cheers!

- Stebs