Or how about… Jeffrey Hull who’s water color paintings of the Oregon Coast are legendary. http://www.hullgallery.com
A surfer at heart …
His gallery is classy, with little hint of his surfing background…
But a surfers eye will discover hints …clearly reflected in the woodworking of his hand made counter top.
That’s “surf art”!
I had been thinking of the question that was posed by someone if he should purchase one of the Yater/abolone boards…for an investment, for his daughters college.
I had a chance to get a Ron Wood Litho of Mick wearing a lips logo for $1,200us +/-3 years ago, I even had the ducats, would have been invited to a party to meet him and decided against it. The Litho is now selling for 5k!
To me the surf art is what is posted above. Whether Photos, paintings or Ambrose’s prose.
Thanks for the links, and (those in the US) hope you had a nice 4 day weekend.
As always, thanks for keeping my stoke flowing.
I had been thinking of the question that was posed by someone if he should purchase one of the Yater/abolone boards…for an investment, for his daughters college.
In my mind that would not be about surf art, but rather commerce…a great destroyer of art. As the U.S. enters a period of tanked economy, that may prove to not have been a good move on the buyers part.
On the other hand, buying an abalone board because it makes you feel so excited you can’t put it in words…that’s surf art!
Trying to kill two birds with one stone in that particular case would be fraught with peril, although the price of college educations would no doubt mitigate the issue.
As to surf art in general, I would have to think that it’s one thing for the artist and another for the beholder. And speaking as a beholder, I have to have some emotional resonance to make me respond. That takes it too personal for much general application, as no matter the common basics we all have our own experiences based on what we bring. The album cover for the old band Rare Earth reminds me of the song “Get Ready”, which reminds me of a dance in Honolulu in 1971, which reminds me of surfing Town 6 days a week…which ties it in to surf art for me…while people wearing black leather jackets and sunglasses at night would scoff into their Starbuck’s cups. They might have slight appreciation for the tortured swallowtail on a William Dennis circa 1973, never ridden leashed at California Street during several poverty-stricken years of service. The art crowd would probably give snide acknowledgement to the black and shades-of-grey toned amatuer painting of Diamond Head at night, done by a soldier stationed at Schofield in the early 1930’s…at least while “outsider art” is hip and “surfing” is on the advertising/cultural radar, but their validation means nothing to me. In that case somebody 70 years ago apparently had the same dreams I can have now…which says to me the drums of life are pounded by a raw energy beyond us. The list goes on and on…
Nels,
Thanks tons man.
It is a personal feeling of what is and what is not.
Just watched a program on PBS last night about some guy in Napa titled “SMITTEN”
It had nothing to do with Surfing, just art and why he buys it. He only purchases NorCal local art. some of it strange, but by my tastes, not his.
His other revelation was (it is open to the public) was that there are no tags saying who the artist was. His problem was that no one looked at the art piece, they only looked at the tags of who did it and what its supposed to mean by some critic. He said that tainted the opinions of the person standing there.
Walking through this exhibit…perhaps The Definitive surf art…seeing the originals of iconic posters and comics…
enhanced by the obvious fragility of work created by hand…one is left to wonder where that level of vision
comes from…altered maybe and influenced sure by time, place, and some man-made filters…but art is rebellion
and tunes whistled in the darkness…essence of bravery, and as we all know, “Fortune Favors The Brave!”
Hi Nels – I invite you to come up and see for yourself what you call commerce ( the destroyer of art). Maybe if you saw first hand how R & K are collaborating you’d get a different perspective. When Kevin’s in town, I could show you if you’d like to.
aloha~ ep
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In my mind that would not be about surf art, but rather commerce…a great destroyer of art.
Hmmm…guess I didn’t communicate clearly on that one…without commerce both inside and out of the art world there would be no sustained artists…and life would be much smaller. Lack of commerce can destroy art as easily as too much.
I am deeply uneasy with the notion of buying “surfing collectables” as investments. As works of art, yes…especially if you enjoy them. The U.S. economy has been superheated for the past few years, leaving a lot of money and credit around, but as that tightens values will change. If one buys something for reasons other than investment, the art will still please and inspire the spirit, rather than turn into a white elephant…
I don’t think anybody on Swaylock’s who still has a pulse wouldn’t love one of those Yater abalone boards. And in fact I personally have been sensitive to the notion of “art boards” since the summer of 1977, when one of my roommates was set up in a Malibu art fair next to a board with the tag “Joel Perrin” (if memory serves). It was a wood board, supposedly found rotting in a Santa Monica lot, refinished and embellished with shells and other items. 30 years down the road and I’m starting to forget some names and days, but not that one.
I guess my position is that feeling/emotion should be the motivator in art, rather than commerce. That doesn’t preclude money or making money for art or with it. I don’t really know how to pin that down with words, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this. Maybe that’s one of the things that keeps recharging the shaped vs. molded board controversy? One is basically art/craft hard-dollars and the other is manufacturing bottom-line. I hesitate to use the “S” word (SOUL)… ;-)…
Onward.
Walking through this exhibit…perhaps The Definitive surf art…seeing the originals of iconic posters and comics…
enhanced by the obvious fragility of work created by hand…one is left to wonder where that level of vision comes from…
In his case, it came from sheer brilliance.
Let me tell you…
I flew 3,000 miles, and spent over $2000, just to see that exhibit. It was well worth it.
I attended the show three days in a row. The last days it was up.
When I bought this poster in 1970, I had no idea of the significance it would hold for me
throughout my life:
http://i12.tinypic.com/85k2yvk.jpg
This is the only photo I was able to get, before museum staff told me to stop:
http://i13.tinypic.com/6o3glro.jpg
#%@&^()&&%^% !!!
Tinypic images won’t work. I’ll try to fix this, later.
check out www.kevinashort.com, for a book of Trestles paintings. I like his glare paintings.
Easy On The Eyes
and for the riders of the mat, thank you John Severson…
MatKids
MatMan
The RightMatStuff
okay, no more pics. surf for world peace…acIII
I agree that buying art as an investment is a bit odd. Buying and collecting art for enjoyment is where it’s at for sure. Fine art with appreciable value is one aspect that makes some people feel good about their motives.
In a very low key way, the offer is still good.
Metal cutouts of Griffo characters scampering to the water mounted on a piece of driftwood borrowed from his resting place.
Haut Shop. Last of the old style shops where you can hear the planer and smell the resin, talk to the owner, actually see surfboards when you walk in without having to squeeze past acres of sandals and t-shirts. Three color wood block.
Kelp is a big part of surfing around here, so I guess this qualifies as surf art. Cyanotype by Ondine Vierra.
pcinsc-
Two questions.
Who did the Griffin character silhouettes, you?
Do I spy Griffin’s “Puff of Kief” in the kelp photo?
Yes to both. The surf characters were my first project in a metalsmithing class. They are from the background image of a Griffin website - http://www.myraltis.co.uk/rickgriffin/ . The poster was a garage sale find. Remarkable powers of observation you have!
A french art student amazed me with this : http://bulle-d-etoiles.blogspot.com/…rt-new-drawings.html and http://bulle-d-etoiles.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_archive.html
Yes to both. The surf characters were my first project in a metalsmithing class. They are from the background image of a Griffin website - http://www.myraltis.co.uk/rickgriffin/ . The poster was a garage sale find. Remarkable powers of observation you have!
I knows a bit about RG’s work. I contributed images to that website, and I’m mentioned on the main page, under a pseudonym.
I’ve been collecting his stuff since about 1964.
For instance, I have three copies of this mag, and a T shirt with the same image.
My wife had some of her friends over for a Bunco evening and a new participant was remarking at some of the art we had. My wife pointed out a Griffin and the lady said “hmmm, I usd to date a guy named Rick Griffin when I was in high scholl - he was always drawing cartoons.” My wife showed her the page in the Heart and Torch book of Rick in his bedroom and lo and behold same guy! “Yea, he gave me some drawings - maybe I should see if I still have them.”
