Jim Phillips is an American graphic artist known for his contributions to
surf and
skateboard
A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. It is usually made of a specially designed 7–8-ply maple plywood deck and has polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks.
The skateboard ...
culture. He is best known for creating the iconic Screaming Hand logo for
Santa Cruz Cruz Skateboards, a design widely regarded as one of the most recognizable in skateboarding history.
His work has become emblematic of youth rebellion and skate culture, remaining influential over three decades.
Early and personal life
Born in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
, Phillips has spent the majority of his life in
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz (Spanish language, Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the largest city and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population ...
.
Career
Phillips began his career in the arts in the early 1960s, initially gaining recognition through surf and skateboard magazines.
His professional journey took off with his first published work in the 1962 spring issue of ''Surfer Quarterly'', featuring his "Woody" illustration, which had won a surf car cartoon contest the previous year. His art started to gain traction in the 1960s, appearing in major surf magazines and local surf shops where he designed art for surfboards.
In the mid-1960s, Phillips furthered his education in fine art at the
California College of Arts and Crafts
The California College of the Arts (CCA) is a Private university, private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996, it opened ...
in Oakland, California, under a scholarship. His pivotal career breakthrough came when he became the sole artist and art director for
NHS Inc. in the 1970s and 1980s, where he created an extensive array of skateboard-related artworks, including decks, t-shirts, and stickers.
Phillips' Screaming Hand logo, designed in 1985, has become a global skateboarding and
youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community.
An emphasis ...
symbol. It is the main graphic associated with the
Santa Cruz brand.
In 1988, Phillips founded Phillips Studios, mentoring the next generation of skateboarding artists and producing designs for NHS.
Legacy
Phillips' impact on skateboarding's visual culture was highlighted in the global "The Screaming Hand" art exhibit, which toured 25 art venues worldwide from 2016 to 2017, including the
Santa Cruz Art and History Museum.
A documentary about Phillips, titled ''Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips'', premiered February 10, 2024, at the
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California in February annually, since 1986. The festival screens over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. ...
.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Jim
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
20th-century American illustrators
20th-century American male artists
American graphic designers
Artists from California
California College of the Arts alumni
People from Santa Cruz, California