art// Jeff Decker
Published in Issue 6
From Dust, Rust and Flatheads into the Bronze Age
Sometimes I listen to people’s stories and wonder, “how does someone get to be so lucky?” To be born into such a cool family of early Southern California hot rodders, bikers, bohemians and art collectors.
Jeff Decker was born in 1966; he grew up in Southern California - Torrance, in Los Angeles's south bay. Jeff's father, Allen Decker is a car guy’s hero. A serious collector and restorer of early Flathead Ford V8's and all the period correct speed parts. He has a great reputation among the old guard. Jeff's mother, Lana, had a discriminating eye for art, despite having only a shoestring budget.
"Jeff Decker is the master sculptor of the two-wheel world!" - Robert Williams, artist and Juxtapoz Magazine publisher
As a young man, Jeff’s motorcycle influence began with his mother’s family. They regularly attended Hell's Angels runs and reunions around Southern California. Jeff learned to wrench on cars to please his father. Jeff’s family travelled far and wide going to early car swap meets – Long Beach, the Bay area, and Reno. The family has been to sprint car, midget, and flat track motorcycle races at the old Ascot Park in Gardena, California and because of his fathers connections, he was a terror in the pits at Lions Drag Strip (Wilmington, CA). They also had a ¼ midget racer and a soapbox derby car. When Jeff built his own soapbox derby car, as a kid, he had big plans for it! He wanted everything rounded - his father told him that it would be a lot of work, but he knew he could do it. Jeff took the time to cut into the backside of the plywood so he could shape it and round it to match his design. Jeff’s father said, “I remember after that, I was thinking, the kid could do anything!”
In 1984 Jeff started Brigham Young University. He decided that he was going to be a lawyer, but after one class, that was a no go. Jeff took a 2 year hiatus from University to live in Argentina on a church mission. Upon returning to the U.S., Jeff met his wife Kelly, and knew he had some big choices to make for their future. With a trained eye for antiques and automotive collectables, Jeff went on a 2-year run of removing vintage gas pumps throughout rural Utah. Farmers had to comply with the government request to remove the old pumps, and when they found out that Jeff would do this for them at no cost, word spread like wildfire. For several years to follow Jeff would bring all of these vintage gas pumps to the L.A. Roadster Show at the Pomona Fairgrounds. He got big bucks for them, until the farmers caught on and held out for money.
Jeff went in a new direction and started working for artist Stanley Wanlass at his studio in Sandy, Utah. He learned the foundry trade while being mentored by Wanlass himself. Jeff decided to focus his art on motorcycles - nobody else was doing sculptures of motorcycle racers! In 1993 he earnestly started perfecting his craft. His first bronze sculpture came in 1996.
The Reverend Stuart Munger (R.I.P.) and I first met Jeff in 1998 at the antique motorcycle auction in Las Vegas. I was there selling my 1940 Civilian Chief and the Rev was working for Otis Chandler’s collection. We initially noticed Jeff’s early teens Indian that still had original paint (which was very desirable), then we noticed that he was close to our age and not some old fat guy in white tennis shoes. He knew all the right names to drop in the antique motorcycle game – Bud Ekins, Mike “the Penguin” Parti, and Steve Huntsinger. We all laughed out loud when he said he knew Chopper Dave! Both Jeff and Chopper Dave are in the Sinners Motorcycle Club.
That same year, Willie G. Davidson, grandson to one of the founding members of Harley Davidson, invited Jeff to get onboard the ‘Harley gravy train’. Jeff remembers, a large 1-inch thick contract showed up from the Harley licensing and legal department - he called Willie to intercede on his own behalf - the contract was then cut down to five pages. In 2008, the Harley Davidson Museum opened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Willie G. Davidson and his wife commissioned a 16’ high sculpture of a Harley hill climber to be given as a gift to the museum.
“I was attracted to Jeff (the sculptor) because I recognized that he had brilliant perspective.” – Willie G. Davidson
Jeff’s timing was great, when it came to working with the Harley Davidson dynasty – the company was international and Jeff was turning into an international artist. The Japanese picked up on him immediately and now own a lot of his artwork. Interviewed by the Italian magazine, Freeway, they had a fresh outlook and were out to convert the car market to a motorcycle one.
"Jeff is intellectually arrogant, a charming savant and why he hangs with a caveman like myself is a mystery. With Decker’s IQ, he could do anything." - Cole Foster
Jeff now owns an interest in the Springville, Utah foundry and runs his own Hippodrome Studio (Hippodrome translates to ‘a Greek stadium for horse racing’ - at the turn of the century the first motorcycle races were run on horse tracks.), which doubles as a personal museum. To this day, ‘accepted’ art communities have not recognized Jeff Decker.
I caught up with Jeff, in April, at Cole Foster's show in Salinas, California…
What artists do you like? "I like the spirit of Dutch, Roth, Williams and Stanley." he says. He calls them, "a balance in the madness".
Favorite Music: Brant Bjork
Favorite Food: Salame and cheese
Favorite Motorcycle: Cyclone & Crocker
Favorite Car: Lincoln Zepher
Favorite Place: Sermoneta - a hamlet north of Rome
Last words: "Damn it, I should have done that! I had plenty of time! I should have done that!"
