"Matthew Jay Landon is a great artist when he actually feels like doing it." — Ray Cross
“Get some paint, put on some music, make a mess, rip that shit up, put it on a wall, and get that shit.” - Matt Landon
Photographs By PJ Cambe
Matthew Jay Landon was creative in the purest sense—the realest sense.
He constantly made things because he had to. Sure, he founded and operated brands including 3d Innovations and Brains on Fire but they were outlets, not businesses. Whether he was working on those projects or not, he was constantly sketching—pouring his thoughts and ideas through his paintings, multi-media pieces, or with a Sharpie onto bar napkins or whatever other surface was handy when inspiration hit.
When you spoke to Matt it was a direct look into where his head was firing off and while there were touchstones, you always learned or heard something new. We’d have long phone conversations that darted between discussing scenes from Curb Your Enthusiasm and our favorite Mountain Goats, Dinosaur Jr, and Lemonheads tracks to skateboarding, life, and why New York City is beautiful and stressful. He’d text me a link to a song or a documentary with the comment “You better like this shit.” There was always a thread no matter what we were riffing on—great art is a mix of beauty, pain, and sometimes, a dose of uncomfortable.
Our calls always ended with him saying “Thanks for getting on the phone. Get that shit.”
Matthew Jay Landon would never refer to himself as “a creative” or even “creative.”
That’s marketing jargon—LinkedIn-ass language. Matt was here to make things that were funny, interesting, cool, and irreverent. Often those paintings, sketches, or pieces of clothing were visual tributes to his friends and the folks he admired.
He didn’t always do it in a straight line but everything came from his heart.
That’s creativity.
For example…
In 1992 3d Innovations–the company he founded in Connecticut in 1990 with friend Matt Pesci–released their first full-length video, Fat Juicy Video filmed mostly by Jeremy Traub. Then based in Boston, MA, 3d was not only one of the most recognizable clothing brands on the East Coast, it was a company that defined an era in Boston skateboarding.
For context, a few small brands outside of California were making cut-and-sew pieces and Zoo York and Supreme wouldn’t officially launch until 1993 and 1994 respectively. Having a full-on brand that sponsored recognizable names, made interesting pieces, and released a legitimate video was a big deal. A legit brand in Boston in the early-90s?
Mindblowing shit, especially to a late teen such as myself back then who thought you needed a million dollars and some connection to California to do anything in skateboarding.
Did you need money? Yeah. Did you need ideas? Definitely. But how do you turn bread and dreams into something real? A business plan? Listening to some entrepreneurial podcast filled with jargon and weird Ponzi schemes?
Nah, get that shit.
3d Innovations Fat Juicy Video (1992)
Fat Juicy Video starts with a hand striking a match before “Velvet Roof” by Buffalo Tom kicks in and some grainy filmed-off-a-TV footage of a Mike Kepper ollie sets things off, followed by Jahmal Williams’ first video part. Filmed in black-and-white and color, Williams’ section begins with a shaky slo-mo clip of a pigeon at Needle Park in Boston. There’s a noticeable tooth and grain to the footage coupled with a double shot of Marvin Gaye (“What’s Going On” and “Right On”) along with images of boxy vehicles. Williams' part feels like the ‘70s despite his technical skating and modern clothing.
Following his part there’s a lengthy clip from Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira (1988) before Matt Reason’s footage begins, followed by more excerpts from the Japenese anime film (real cult shit at the time), specifically the trippy-ass teddy bear scene that still makes me uncomfortable. Landon appears in the video with a few clips and a short on-camera interview where he proclaims running 3d “Kinda sucks… it’s a lot of work.”
There are more parts, contest footage, montages, friends, Akira clips, and great songs.
Then it’s over.
Screengrab from Fat Juicy Video
In 20 minutes 3d Innovations’ first video says a lot about East Coast skateboarding, the era, and the brand without forcing it. It shows a group of individuals having fun and expressing themselves with touches of Matt’s personality and artwork intertwined along with homages to the art that informed his work.
Most importantly, Matthew Jay Landon made the brand—at a time when making things wasn’t a turnkey endeavor—for his friends. I know this because that’s what he told me and that’s what showed through in 3d Innovations. You can read an old piece that ran on Jenkem that I wrote with Matt here.
3d Innovations Messin’ Around 1998
With 3d and his shop Hanger 18, Matt was almost an anti-salesperson and I really liked that. Yes, he hustled and was quick to mention that a little “fake it, till you make it” ethos and attitude helped, but everything was what it was without spice.
You need a board? OK, pull some boards out, stand on them, buy the one you want–rarely at full price–and shoot the shit about whatever in the process. Matt didn’t lack ideas or confidence but he also wasn’t trying to sell snake oil or “self-promote.”
The things Matt made were the thing.
You like it, you get it? Get that shit… or don’t. Simple.
No one who knew Matt will ever forget him and conversely, you couldn’t speak to Matt without him praising his friends.
If you aren’t familiar with Matt or 3d, please dig into the 3d Innovations video archive here
“Art is a lie but it makes me happy every day” - Matthew Landon 1970-2024