I watched it again last night with my 13 yr old son, we thoroughly enjoyed it but the problem is we both wanna shape something fun and alternative for each other now, so thanks very much Andrew, now I am even more inspired…
.....flexy tail winterstick , Mark !
DO IT !!
[ you know you WANT to ! heheh]
ben
then put up a thread here ....
well just did a double bat tail, twinzer, dimple bottom semi-fish with hip and fabric inlay patches…dunno if I need any more inspiration right now haha…
i really like it. here’s my 2 cents worth:
http://adventuresintrim.blogspot.com/2011/10/you-know-he-means-it.html
" It's a beautiful film and book project and like all of kidman's work is something of a gem.
It's probably best described as a love letter to the art of surfboard building, particularly to the backyard tinkerer's and surfer/shaper/wanderers, often at odds with the machine of the "surf industry" following their own trip and enriching our collective cultural experience as a result....
.... Something that does come across strongly in all of Kidman's output, this being no exception, is how much he really means it, from the minute questioning of rail and bottom theory to the handwritten thank you for ordering note in the envelope. Much like the shapers he features, Kidman himself is something of a wanderer, a deep thinker, often railing at the percieved status quo. His work often questions more than it answers and through it all is a feeling that he cares passionately about surfing as an entity, and not in the business or conventional sport sense but as a way of being. He's someone who has frequently put his own money where his mouth is and as our "sport" becomes more and more integrated into the mainstream, people like Andrew become more and more important to help us hold onto what makes surfing so special for so many people. I'm sure he feels like he has a responsibility to almost "curate" and preserve and celebrate that which the industry machine ignores as not commercial and more power to him for that. I'm sure he will never read this, but thank you Andrew! "
[italics and highlights mine]
..... yep ! .... WELL SAID , Jory !
i'm so glad that lots of people are enjoying this !
it's certainly long overdue , I reckon , a good surfboard design , riding , sharing experiences movie , and as I said before , a really good thing for pros and also us tinkerers of boards and fins and things surfing !
And, yep, you nailed it about skip frye , something to aspire to , for sure , in our 'dotage' ! ... A guy with oodles of style , wisdom , class , agility , balanced with a very healthy humility ....as long as we keep learning , and open to new ideas and ways of doing things , and surfing , we can slow the advance of old age , and keep joyful ...skip frye and woody brown both made that abundantly clear to me , watching them , reading about them , speaking to people !! Very inspiring . [THEY ARE definately sharing the[ir] stoke , THOSE guys ...and that's always GREAT stuff !... contrasted with : [ the expression that comes to mind ] "you didn't stop surfing because you 'grew old' ...you 'grew old' , because you STOPPED SURFING ! " ]
cheers !
ben
First off , apologies to those with a hint of ADD ( like me ) for the long post
I had my copy in my hands about 3 days after ordering it and I’ve been enjoying it since.
Really absorbing material for people like you and I , with the Kidman trademarks evident - the chill vibe, musically and visually, the snippets of slo mo and ’ speed blur ’ production. There’s some great surfing in it , in waves guys like me can relate to .( It’s funny , the surfing I find most enjoyable to watch is Garth Dickenson riding a standard thruster!)
If one wants to quibble it’s got it’s faults, probably, but in general I’d give it a big thumbs up - I don’t think there’s anything else on the market quite like it is there ?
So , plus one to the jory quote above .He says it better than I could .
One of his blogger mates also puts it well although he’s a bit gushy
<div class="date-posts">
"This book and DVD could be said to be expensive. But it's not. I'd leave
all my other surfing books and DVDs to the flames and save this one.
"Lost in the Ether" by Andrew Kidman
is the richest, most beautiful conglomeration of writing, photographs,
film, information, surf-love, passion and craft that I've had the
wonderful pleasure to absorb.
If you have the wherewithal I’d get one before he’s sold out. This edition is limited to 1000 copies.
The book is black hardback with nicely embossed cover. The inside is
uncoated paper smartly typeset with lots of photographs, many stunning,
all with an atmosphere and taste that pervades (the book was designed by
Jim Newitt). In fact, uncoated, might well reflect the whole project. Earthy coloured sea. Poetic. Not bombastic.
The text is largely interviews and discussions with people like Michael
Mackie, Dave Parmenter and Wayne Lynch and the DVD extends that with
footage of the same people. And the boards. And what boards! Running
through history with templates, understanding, passion and finesse these
‘backyard’ shapers are cooking up delicious new recipes for new shapes.
Bastard shapes. Wonky shapes. Accidental shapes. There’s no commercial
agenda here. No persuasion that the vertical cutback (or other ‘ASP
move’) be possible with the latest thing - just that with understanding,
patience and persistence you might just find yourself a few ‘magic
boards’ in your lifetime. I love the section in the DVD where Garth
Dickenson is shown repeatedly falling off one of Mackie’s shapes. He
said it was really hard to surf but eventually when he shaped his style
to meet it he discovered a wonderful board.
Dave Parmenter reminisces on when he used to fart in Rusty
Preisendorfer’s shaping bay. (Apparently air purification into a
shaper’s mask makes this a potent horror.) There’s an awful lot to love
here. The way the boards discussed are shown and rotated in front of the
camera with names and measurements. There is a real sharing of rich
information. Andrew Kidman tells all about his “Dreamboard” (you may
have seen a bit in The Surfer’s Journal).
Andrew says about the project: "I was trying to make it like a car manual for surfers, to try and help them
understand their boards, if that makes any sense."
I absolutely love it - thankyou so much Mr Kidman for putting this together and sharing your world. It’s proper tasty."…
I'll take the liberty of forwarding a general email I got from AK here
Just wanted touch base and fill you on the progress of my work and future
projects. Lost in the Ether has been selling steadily (having sold
800/1000) this has been a fantastic result and testament to my belief that there
are still folk out there that are interested in a non-commercial and beautiful
product. Your support has really given me some financial breathing space to work
on the next instalment, which will feature Simon Anderson and some of his period
Thruster designs from 1981.
I’m hoping to sell the last 200 copies of
Lost in the Ether to raise the money needed to edit the next film and
print the next book. As Christmas approaches, it would be great to let people
you know who may be interested in Lost in the Ether that these final
copies are still available. I understand it’s an expensive package, but
considering you get a film and a 100 page sustainably printed book which
features extensive information and photographs on some of surfing’s most
interesting characters it makes for a genuine gift.
Also for those of you
that haven’t taken advantage of the $50 discount on Ether – The Collected
Works by Andrew Kidman that you received when you bought Lost in
the Ether this is still available to you as well. I’ve had a few enquiries
about Ether as a Christmas gift and we are capable of getting it to you
before Christmas day.
http://www.andrewkidman.com/books/ether-collected-works1/
The Windy Hills are chipping away at some new recordings for a
new album. Friend from Another Star has been well received and is
available on CD as well as iTunes here:
http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/friend-from-another-star/id413828617
This
is one of the filmclips from the record She Was a Girl featuring the artwork of
Jim Denevan and the girls from Tallow.
http://vimeo.com/32126983
Thanks
to all those that came out to our shows: Songs from the Ether this year
on the East Coast, we had a great time.
Also as the internet becomes
more and more a source of our daily information, I’ll be updating the news on my
website each week with a small snippet of design history. See here for an
example:
http://www.andrewkidman.com/news/
Thanks
again for all your continued support. It is greatly appreciated and without it,
I wouldn’t be able to continue my pursuit of producing independent projects that
lie outside the corporate mainstream. Please feel free to forward this on or
re-post.
disclaimer - to any dear old curmudgeons who might want to flame me ... I have never met AK and have no association with him.
p.s i remember reading someone saying re the MP board " just don't call it a hull !" - I find AK's surfing on the board in the dvd very reminiscent of Jimmy Gamboa - riding a hull !
I was so blessed to obtain my copy of: http://www.andrewkidman.com/news/
I have a small book collection and hope to expand it related to surfing plus many films gathered through out the house in various locations.
Tonight I plan to watch the DVD and read the book again.
Andrew Kidman is a modern day Artist with a gift of expressing surfing in a very pure and clean form that is so refreshing in todays chaotic world.
If you don’t have a copy of the book which comes with a DVD?
I suggest that you order it today before they are all gone.
Thanks Andrew for such an inspirational work!
I look forward to your future projects.
Kind regards,
Michael aka surfding
and a new project in the works too, its got alot of good stuff on Simon and early thrusters…it’ll be good as usual no doubt…
This is playing tonight in NYC at Anthology Film Archives (32 2nd Ave). I am looking forward to seeing it…