Readings and such – Week 8&9

Readings and such – Week 8&9

The Drew Brophy art was pretty amazing, very interesting to see the styles influence on many of the styles and artworks today, especially in the colour palettes and the attention to detail.

The Warshaw article was a very in depth esoteric look at the history of surf publications, he made plenty of declarations for the importance of these publications and he does make the whole thing seem quite interesting and meaningful, albeit completely alienating. As someone looking in I wonder who this niche article is really for, as he glorifies the whole history of surf publication as a sort of sacred text. He even pokes fun of people comparing surf magazines to religious texts, well Warshaw manages to write for about 30 pages on the same subject, so I don’t think he can distance himself too much. What really came across was how arbitrary the articles are, that the real power seems to mostly be in the photography of the act rather than written articulations.

Scott Hulet’s article on artist Thomas Campbell was a well written and insightful look at how someone can actually make a living off following their creative passions. I couldn’t say that I really cared for his work but I am impressed with the almost industrious volume of work that he has produced.

The huffington post write up on the surf industry made me laugh because in all that we’ve been learning about all semester it seemed as apt as the term “industry” may be, it also seems to go against the deep rooted, spiritual ethos that many surfers try to promote. The same with competitions and the idea of having it entered as an Olympic sport. I just feel like if this activity is so meaningful to the masses why are they all so eager to sully it with corporate sponsorships and gold medals. The state of surfing seems to have given away to capitalization anyway but I really think the surfing community needs to pick a lane. I’m sure the only way most people make any money with surfing is teaching or corporate sponsorships but maybe that says something to what this pastime has become? If it is truly about connecting with the ocean and riding waves why do you need your face on a cereal box?

The article and video on the wavegarden technology seemed like it actually worked very well and that this could be a perfect environment for people to learn to surf without pissing of the angry locals of many spots. On the otherhand the simplicity that many of the people were taking to makes me wonder whether the feeling of accomplishment would lessen. I’ve only been surfing a few times and being able to finally stand up and ride a wave was a very proud moment, and this was in the tame waters of south England. Knowing that a machine, rather than the planet created my wave would eliminate much of the excitement.