Weeks 8 & 9: Warshaw & Campbell

First off, the Cyrus Sutton film, Compassing, was very captivating in the way it portrayed the life of a dedicated, young surfer. It is amazing how he was willing to create his own home by utilizing his minimum resources, such as his van and other scratch objects. It was also interesting how he would photograph his journeys. Other than the film, Matt Warshaw's article on the upbringing of surf magazines titled, Articles of
Faith, was very informative in describing the specific components that gave the surf magazines the most popularity and attention. This included photography. As mentioned by our class discussions, without the involvement of photography, surfing would probably not be as publicized and popular as it is today. In surfing magazines, "the pretty pictures" as Warshaw describes, were what captured most of the customers' attention. The photographs were incredibly interesting and artistic because, at the time (1950s), it took an experienced photographer in order to capture at least one good wave or surf. Taking photographs of this sport was much more difficult, and it continues to be. Surfers loved the surf photographs so much that they would steal advertising posts from telephone poles and other places around the area. Still, it was not ALL about the photographs. The 26-year-old magazine designer that Warshaw also mentions did not take the best photos but it was so communicative, friendly, and creative, that the public did not pay much attention to the lack of photographic quality at all. Surf magazines consisted of not only surfing, but psychedelia and poetry.

Another subject that Warshaw passively mentions is about the way some surfers interpret surfing as a "Godly" thing. Warshaw did not like how some people referred to surfing magazines as "life changing" or their personal "bibles". So as we discussed this in class as well, we questioned the possibility of surfing having to do with a "spiritual" side rather than an actual "religious" side. But whether it is interpreted as a spiritual or religious act, it is definitely a way of living for almost all surfers.

In the Campbell article titled, Pretty Much, it describes the amount of work it takes to get a magazine "out there", as I can simply say. Campbell needs it to be commercially stable, high quality photography, film making, and art direction. This ties back with the importance of photography. If it weren't for photographic images on magazines, the magazines would be incredibly boring. People who read them won't be as motivated to see people surf or even surf themselves.