Week 10 Blog Post 6--I think. Surfing Industry Hopes to Ride Artificial Wave to Profits

I suppose it is an intriguing idea. Even I am interested to try out a wave pool or perhaps even see what comes out of more wave pools being built. However, I cannot get over the sheer lack of integrity involved with creating artificial waves. An Olympic sport? Why? Who cares? The reasons surfers should be surfing is not for the fame or the glory of winning an Olympic medal. The ocean separates the men from the boys without fail. To become a true waterman should be the ultimate goal, and inherent in that is an appreciation for the environment and the small things in life, like the feeling of a warm shower followed by a cold beer after sitting in cold saltwater for three hours. There is an unpredictability and a certain amount of danger that comes with surfing in Mother Earth's great placenta. Chasing our curiosity and commodifying our every move simply for profit and fame is not going to get us very far down the road. Furthermore, it negates everything that surfing is about. Surfing is not about the predictability of a perfect-every-time wave pool. It's about just the opposite.

Weeks 8 and 9

Week 8: Drew Brophy's art

Brophy's piece called "Death Tube" (found under the category called "Surf Art" features a surfer in the barrel of the wave. However, there is an angry orange monster facing the wave in which the surfer is in. Perhaps this could represent the sun beating down on the surfers. In the water, there are odd looking monsters. They have faces and tails. 


Two possible ways of seeing this piece:
1. The monsters/demons in the piece can represent the problems and struggles in the surfer's life. The surfer is shown surfing in an environment in which there are monsters; this can represent that surfing helps one overcome or cope with his or her problems. 


2. This art can be a portrayal of bravery exhibited by surfers. The ocean is dangerous because it is unforgiving and uncontrollable. The monsters in the ocean represent the danger. The person surfing in monster infested waters represents him or her facing danger, which is a very brave action. 


Week 9: Tarp Surfing

This is the video I am discussing: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6-vb20srZI


Tarp surfing is an alternative to surfing. To me it is a very intriguing concept. One person rides a long board while other people unfurl  a tarp to resemble the motion of a wave. This is something that I would like to try. It looks fun and interesting. However, it appears to me that riding the fake wave would be easier than actually creating it. I further researched tarp surfing and found that its purpose was to simulate the motion of going in and  through a wave. Skating was invented by surfers. Tarp surfing connects skating back to its original roots.

Final Thoughts

Here is my painting :)

I really enjoyed everyone's projects today and learned so much from this class throughout the entire quarter.  Thanks Trey for all the effort you put into this class and for making it a great quarter!  I really appreciate the learning opportunity and the music and films I was exposed to throughout the class! 

Week 9 Blog : The Wave

So basically for my final project me and Pepper  did a paper mache  wave to represent the significance of surfing. Here is some of my essay on the project. Hope you enjoy! :)

When first entering the class, I didn’t know much about surfing. I can honestly say I knew nothing but the basics. After being in the class, I learned so much more than expected.  It started with the Polynesian roots, to the evolution of music and finally to surfing being one of the biggest industries in the world.  Surfing is a sport that captivated the world.  It left many in awe and yearning to be out in the waves.  For many, surfing is their paradise lost. They get to caught up in the fame and ego that they disregard the bigger picture.  Out of all the articles I have read this quarter, there is one that always stayed with me and helped inspire the final project. The article is called “Bustin’ Down the Door” by Wayne Rabbit Bartholomew.  His take on the ocean really made me think about what surfing is all about.

Surfing has become a massive culture as time went on.  It contains it’s own sound, movies, music, clothing, people, ect.  It has taken over the world and surfers can be found everywhere.  When looking at how much it has evolved, it makes me wonder how much people appreciate where it came from. A lot of surfers are caught up in the competition and the industry is hung up on the financial gain.  If one really thinks about it, what is surfing all about?  In my opinion, if you get back to the core of it, you will surely find it.  If a person takes away the music, the clothes, competition, ego, and anything else from the modern age, they will see what is left; the board and the ocean.  The ancestors of surfing were not thinking about how big surfing will come or how much money the corporations will make. They were out there just enjoying the waves the ocean provides.  Surfing, to me, is one of the sports were you can have a connection with nature unlike any other. Surfing gives you this connection to the ocean that you can hardly get from any other sports. It is the one time where the ocean and the surfer can become one while the surfer is riding the waves. After reading Rabbit’s article, it did help put that into perspective.  He discusses how people perceive surfing and a wave differently.  

Rabbit states, “ Varying levels of consciousness are displayed whilst surfing; for example, some people don’t care to make any explanations in relation to what a wave represents, but rather just take it all for granted, while others see waves as the end result of all significant elements of energy… another person to a wave as being a direct link to his or her concept of God” (“Bustin’ Down the Door”).   Everyone sees surfing differently and has their concept of what a wave represents.  Whether a surfer sees a wave as their connection with the divine or just water passing them by, they can all agree that the feeling of being in the ocean is unlike any other.  I would think for all surfers, it is to some extent their euphoria.  When they’re out on a wave, I bet the last thing on their minds is the industry, music or clothing. They are just thinking about being out there, and doing what they love.  I would also agree with Rabbit and say most non-surfers will only see surfing as a physical expression rather than a mental one.  Non-surfers just won’t fully grasp the feeling of being out in the ocean until they try it.  Me being a spiritual person, I can understand (to an extent) the feeling they must feel out there. Connection with nature is unlike any other. It takes you back to your roots and reminds you of what many have been neglecting.  I would say that this appreciation for the ocean is the main root of the “Aesthetics of Surfing”.

For the project, my partner and I decided to do paper mache waves. We chose this to represent the main essence of surfing.  We wanted to show the importance of the ocean and the main focus that the surfers should not forget. Appreciate the ocean and the nature around you. Also to show that surfing is more than just what the industry perceives it as. It is a connection with nature many surfers choose to make and also just to enjoy the time you have with Mother Ocean.

The past generations cared more about being out amongst the waves more than anything else.  

I’m not saying that the music and the rest of the culture is irrelevant to what surfing is today because that is untrue. Everything that has lead up to now shaped what surfing has become. I enjoy the rest of the surf culture as well. I loved learning about all the music and background of surfing because it showed me that the surfing culture was more complex than I had ever imagined. I enjoyed taking this class and learning so much more about surfing!!  Thanks Trey for teaching us so much and opening my eyes to the bigger picture of surfing! Also on a side note, I loved everyone elses projects!! Good job guys! :)

Final Blog - The Symbol of Waves

                                             The Symbol of Waves

            As I began this course in Seminar in Arts, I would have never guessed I would be so in depth about what actually does happen in the surfing scene. In my whole life, I always thought that surfing was just a hobby and a sport that people had liked to do. I never would have thought that it had so much more going on behind the scenes and that it held such a strong significance to people. Who would have thought surfing and being on the beach would be a huge part of history. I have learned so much in these quick ten weeks of this quarter.
            For the final project, I did a collaboration with one of the classmates, Marisol. We had the idea of making a paper mache surf wave to emphasize the meaning that it holds out in the deep blue ocean of the unknown. We made more than one paper mache wave in different sizes to represent that each wave is always something different. We painted the waves with a dark blue color coat. Then we painted on top with a greenish sea color, light blue, and white to make the swirls on the waves. I felt like as we move on to generation to another, we sometimes tend to be not as appreciative as we should be about the nature surrounding us. We tend to forget about the beauty and peace the ocean holds. The waves held historical events and played a huge important part in shaping surfing as it is today.
            Culturally, the waves held the peace and calmness the Hawaiians had first. The Hawaiians showed people of the traditional life. Racism actually occurred among the oceans because the haoles tried to overpower the Hawaiians of their land, presence, and culture. The white population tried to ban Hawaiians out of their own property and traditions. Within those waters, a division started. Swaying back and forth, the struggle of obtaining property began. Eventually, surfing became a product for competitors across the earth. However, Hawaiians did not care much about the production because the waves were their peaceful area and a beautiful place for them to fully appreciate what nature has to offer.
            Overall, surfing was more than the transition of music, the rivals, and the production that surfing had created. It was the connection a person had with the ocean. It was just you and the ocean out in the open beauty that is naturally offered to our world. The spiritual connection that you can feel, no one else can feel. It is really amazing to see how much surfing the waves can have so much of an affect. One thing that came to my mind was about the discussion from week nine. The class discussed about the artificial waves. The artificial wave pool idea had really struck me because it was just so strange to think of having in the first place. Imagine just surfing the same repetitive wave constructed by the machines over and over again. I remember in the past articles that I read in class that the majority of the surfers loved surfing in the waves out in the ocean because they loved the rush of adrenaline and excitement of a wave. They never surfed the same wave. It was unexpected and they loved it for that reason. 

The Spirit of Surfing: What I Learned In Porter 33A

Ride a Wave Organization - Johnny Promo


As the quarter comes to a close, it is a good time to reflect on what I've learned from each of my courses. With my major being film and digital media, I took special interest in the media aspect of this highly informative Porter Surf Aesthetics course. Though I was only able to make one of the Tuesday screenings in person, I made time to watch one film from each week on my own as listed on the syllabus. My conclusion after seeing each of these movies, discussing them in class, and reading the papers on media representation is that the shore represents the portal to another place. Coming into this class, my perception of the beach and surf scene was the just the physical understanding of the elements as they existed prima facie. As I learned about the historical roots of surfing through movies, articles, photos, and the well presented Salt of the Earth Conference, I became more aware of the spiritual connection surfers have with the waves.

In my mind, I draw a strong line between the documentary surf films with their serious athletes and the surf narratives with their typecast characters. Though both types of surf film have their differences, one thing remains the same; to enter the shore is to leave the world behind. This was exhibited best in a physical sense by the 1966 film The Endless Summer in the scene where the surfers travel on foot to reach an untouched shore. Their journey had taken them all around the world and to fully escape all civilization they walked across seven miles of sand dunes barefoot to reach the ocean. When they arrived at the shore, they played in the waves with the spirit of astronauts playing on the moon - elated to freely explore their own untouched world. The spiritual sense of leaving the world was best exhibited by the Rio theatre screening of Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau (2013) during the Salt of the Earth Conference. This film showed the joy Aikau gained through his spiritual connection with the waves, and how he used that energy to positively affect the people around him. Though I am not an experienced surfer of any sorts, I can relate to his feelings with the joy I experience skiing on a fresh powder day. I've been skiing nearly all my life and finding an untouched powder run through the trees is one of the most satisfying feelings in all the world. Surfers, I imagine, experience similar elation when they catch their best wave of the day.

One of the reasons I chose to work with the Ride a Wave Organization for my final project was due to my fascination with the concept of localism. Before taking this class, I had a vague idea that native Santa Cruz surfers might not like hundreds of people clogging up their breaks, but I was intrigued to learn that it was a legitimate problem across the globe. Ever since the first two surf clubs were formed on the shores of Hawaii, localism has caused constant rifts between travelers and natives. Working with the Ride a Wave Organization gave me the chance to support an organization that welcomes people from around the world to celebrate surfing, not the self. The video Meagan Freeman and I made shows the joy that surfing can bring to someone considered to be an outsider.

All in all, I've learned a lot in this class. Trey, keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing that beautiful redwood plank board hanging in the Porter dining hall very soon.

Week 8 and Week 9 Responses

Week 8:  I didn't go to class this week because I left early for Thanksgiving break, but I guess that the discussion focused on surf art.  It was interesting to compare the artistic interpretations of Drew Brophy and Aaron Chang.  After looking at Chang's photos online, I came to the conclusion that he was pretty interested in capturing the barrels of waves.  I've actually seen photos similar to his on Tumblr.  As for Drew Brophy, I actually came across his name when I was looking up art for the final project proposition, a few weeks before the readings/links were sent out for Week 8.  His art super intense and colorful, in a good way.  I really like how he paints on skateboards and surfboards, among other things.

Week 9:

As you all know, I did my final project on researching ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs and painting imitations of them.  The pictures I attached were also in my PowerPoint presentation...they're my favorite out of all of them.  It was really cool to see everyone's creativity and talent through their projects.  Overall I'm glad that I took this class because it gave me a lot of valuable insight into the culture of surfing, most of which I was not previously aware of.  I have a higher regard for surfers/surf culture in general because of all the things I learned this past quarter.