Weeks 8 & 9: Analysis of Surf Aesthetics

I found Sandow Birk's portfolio fascinating and atypical of surf art. In his work, surfing is tangled up or smothered entirely by other hectic elements of life, past and present. Unlike many artists, Birk doesn't glorify the sun's position in his work, a trope almost inseparable from any artistic representation of surfing. This trend can be seen in the endless photos starring a surfer silhouetted against a sunset or sunrise on the horizon, songs juxtaposing the hot sun with the cool surf, surf brand insignia, and endless other outlets. In this way, I read Birk's work as attempting to define surfing beyond its key natural elements (land, sea and sky) and more, in many cases, as a social struggle and movement. He almost denaturalizes or despiritualizes the sport. Many of his paintings don't even show a surfer in action, just the occasional presence of a surfboard. However, all of them feature the ocean on a large majority of the canvas, because as Angie's film today mentioned, the ocean is the only true necessity for surfing.

On to another unexpected aesthetic surf hybrid, I was surprised and fascinated by Trey's comparison of surfing to pornography. While I doubted the concept at first, I was almost immediately convinced before I finished reading the sentence. Surfing and sex have always been intertwined, as emphasized in a few of our course readings as well as almost every surf film. One could easily argue that both surfing and sex are pleasure sports. The breakdown of the physical act of being 'barreled' took that concept even further by linking the pure heart and nature of both activities, rather than their similar concepts (fantasy, beauty/perfection ideals, objectification/penetration). I would also argue that surfing and porn share similar fetishization habits, as both adhere to the concept that "bigger is better" when it comes to waves or body parts. The porn industry and the surfing industry also both rely on manufacturing a false paradise, promising to offer the keys to a) the perfect wave or b) the perfect orgasm (and how different are they really?) As Trey pointed out, both activities have been co-opted by young men specifically. As a film major, the issue of the "target audience" is especially fascinating to me, especially in ideas like this, where a seemingly disarmed topic like surfing can be discussed alongside the mildly controversial (in our sexually repressed society, at least) topic of pornography, and then loaded with greater implications for larger social issues, like sexism in the sports world.

I would describe my learning this quarter as 10 weeks of surprises. I never considered surfing's deeply rooted social battles, nor its meaning to lifelong surfers, nor the complexity of the evolution of surf music, nor the meaning of various board shapes, a detail I considered to be minute. Once I learned these things, they all made sense; none of it was illogical or nonsensical. It felt more like remembering than learning anew. I think a common mistake made when considering surf culture is to write it off as simple because it's recreational. If political identities are defined as likeminded people rallying around a cause, then surfing can easily be considered as deeply as other major issues. This class serves to remind me that all knowledge is important and influential in some way or another, which helps justify my massive and building debt :)

Surf Charities

So while watching the RAW video it reminded me of how my surf camp also does charity work to help kids and people who suffer with cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a disease that causes thick sticky mucus to build up in a persons lungs, but in the ocean people who suffer from cystic fibrosis are able to breath clearly. I wanted to look up more organizations that shows that surfers can help people get used to the ocean and I found a nice article from Surfer Magazine! They have a top 10 list from that list my favorite are: Operation Amped, Surf Aid, and Waves for Water. These organizations stuck out to me mainly because it involves surfers being activists to people in need. Operation Amped helps war vets learn how to surf and ultimately spread the love for the ocean. As a whole surfing and charity isn't something that is always seen side-by-side. Besides these charities there are many more that help people disabled in anyway learn to surf and spread the love for the ocean.

Weeks 8&9 thoughts

From Trey's's article I got a different sense of what it means to be a surfer, namely the quote “On whether or not you make it your whole life.” While i understand that an activity like surfing comes with its own lifestyle I never thought to my self about the concept of making something your entire life. I do eventually want to give professional gaming a shot in the near future but now I find myself wondering if it is something that I can make as my whole life? Also the quote "How far are you willing to go?... How good do you really want to be?” is a thought that rings in my mind. I makes me wonder if i have the dedication to take everything that far and it makes me realize that everyone that makes surfing a huge part of their life goes through this and it makes me give them so much more respect in my eyes. I also liked getting another look at Drew Brophy's gallery because to me his artwork screams surfception meaning he can display his love of surfing and surf culture in his artwork that can also be used to surf. If i owned one of his boards i dont think it could ever think about actually using it in the water because of how much i would value it. Its almost oxymoronic that his work could be considered too good to surf on. Finally i really enjoyed the video on German river surfing, it was interesting to see how surfing culture pops up in the most unexpected of places, where there's a will there's a way!

Wipeout

Here's my final project, presented with my write-up.

            My earliest experience with surf music was with the seminal song “Wipeout” by the Surfaris. It is a classic surf instrumental, on par with works such as “Misirlou,” “Walk Don’t Run,” and “Bustin’ Surfboards” in terms of mainstream recognition and familiarity. When I think of surf guitar, I think of Wipeout, so I knew it would have to be included in any media project about this topic.

            This quarter I came to understand surfing’s roots and origins, beyond the Beach Boys’ Technicolor vignettes of surf, sun, sand and girls.  A once omni- accessible and noble sport that became unfortunately tangled in colonialism, racism and sexism before being simplified and mass-produced for wealthy white Americans, surfing escapes a singular classification. This is exemplified in the vast selection of films shown this quarter – from the film I used as source material, Muscle Beach Party (1964), a totally consumerist, almost wholesome depiction of an originally lascivious and at times violent sport, to documentaries like The Endless Summer (1964/66), depicting serious racial and national tensions between 60s surfers, to more modern contest-obsessed Hollywood surf flicks like Blue Crush (2001) – it is clear that surfing is a multifaceted topic not easily pigeonholed to a single group, meaning or relevance.

            Still, I wanted my project to act as a reflection on and satire of how surfing is largely viewed outside of our idealist Santa Cruz bubble. This film is a quick and dirty mashup of the mainstream vintage surf aesthetic for the kids in Kansas who glued surfboards to their Woodys, despite being entirely landlocked. Candy Johnson’s hectic, twist-based dancing style, featured in all seven Beach­-themed films spanning the mid-60s is a far cry from the punk-rooted Surfer Stomp, practiced in dimly lit, sweatily packed clubs, as described in Kent Crowley’s Surf Beat.

Emphasized by her trademark pastel fringe get-ups, Candy’s dancing was designed as a source of mild humor in the original films, a symbol for the overwhelming power of the female allure, as sung about by the Beach Boys and numerous other 60s groups. Throughout the film, she causes the men around her to “wipe out” despite being on land, and she seems to be in the background of every group shot, always dancing. In this light, Candy herself can be crafted into a metaphor for the ocean, in constant motion and always affecting a surfer’s every move and thought. Wipeouts in the sport itself serve to humble the inevitably inflating egos, to reestablish surfing as a tribute to the power of nature exemplified by the ocean, once viewed by the ancient Hawaiians as the work of numerous gods.

Much as Candy’s persistent movement reflects the ocean, surf music was designed to echo the auditory symphony offered by even a few moments of surfing – the percussive crash of the waves, the rolling riffs and even the “wet” sound offered by later amp technology, all of which are reflected in “Wipeout” by the Surfaris (one of many bands to cover the song). When it comes down to it, the aesthetics of surfing, no matter how far surf culture has been flung from its origins, are reflected in even the most contrived and overplayed products that have stolen the spotlight. While considering the origins of the sport is important, surf culture has fallen prey to the habit of claiming ownership or originality for oneself or one’s peers, when, as a sport reliant on powers so much greater than manmade technology can ever hope to fully conquer, surfing can’t solely belong to any single person. Neither Candy’s frantic, cheesy dancing nor the sheer number of times “Wipeout” has been used in surf references cannot erase surfing’s inclusive intent and nature.

Final Project: The Growlers - Someday

For our final project Jonathan and I recorded a cover of The Growlers' song Someday which appears on their most recent album Hung At Heart. Although we had to used a complete digital equipment, we tried to recreate the oldschool lo-fi sound of the original recording. Enjoy :)

https://soundcloud.com/dennis_crisis/someday

Final Thoughts: Week 8 and 9

The theme of yearning for surf, and everything that surrounds it, is evident in both Warshaw's article and in art and music.  The reason art and music became associated with surfing is because surfers needed an outlet to express their creativity which is usually filled out in the ocean.  Similar to the invention of the surfboard, the constant need to surf in apparent in all surfers. The skateboard was a way to surf on land while art and music is a way to express how they feel about the water.  The energy built up from not surfing is then expressed though other artistic outlets, such as art and music. In week 8 we read an article from Warshaw.  In Warshaw's article he remembers a day where he surfed with a man named Vince. This experience opened his eyes to a whole new level of the desire for surf. He explains how Vince is obsessed with surfing and does so every single day.  He says you need a "pleasure principle" in order to keep going and maintain that passion.  He then compares surfing to that of sex or art.  Surfers take great pleasure in surfing and are constantly looking for more. This desire is what thrives surf culture and all the artistic aspects of it.  I talk a lot about this in my final write up but Warshaw does touch on some good points regarding the desire for surf.

In week 9 we looked at a lot of surf music and the invention of tarp surfing. With the help of skateboards and an extra person surfers can learn how to surf on land, in a parking lot.  Tarp surfing could be part of the future of surfing.  Water parks were also just built to allow people to surf in a pool as opposed to the ocean. This desire for surf has escalated and now people are figuring out a way to profit off of it.  The ocean is free therefore no one can financially benefit from the act of surfing. But the action of moving surfing on land is a profitable plan.

Another aspect of surf culture we looked at this week is music. I have been fortunate enough to meet some of these musicians and people like Jack Johnson told me they love surfing as well as making music. They do not stick to their surf music genre for profit but do so because they are fans of surf music as well.  This week's music embodied surf culture by providing us with many different musicians and different sounds.  This love of music and surf has transferred over to every entertainment platform and allowed surfers to experience surf outside of the ocean.  The future of surfing lies in the surfers ability to replicate their experiences from the waves onto a larger crowd. They do so mainly in the form of art and music.

Week 9 and Final Presentations

Last week we read articles about artificial surfing by means of the wave pools and what their popularity may or may not do to the traditional form of surfing. I think that it might be a cool idea because we would be including whole countries and states as opposed to just the ones that have a coastline. However, I do agree that artificial wave pools sorta creates artificial surfing. The surfers who are acclimated to artificial waves wont be able to fend for themselves in a real ocean. The paddle out alone would most likely exhaust them, not to mention the currents, localism and sea animals underneath the water's surface. I also think that if the surf industry decides to go ahead with the wave pools, they need to take more responsibility of cleaning up the oceans. Something along the lines of three hundred million dollars has been donated in efforts to clean up water pollution and trash on the beaches, but thats not enough, especially when you get to thinking about the billions of dollars they generate a year. A little more effort to clean up the traditional way of surfing and I think the wave pools would be a good idea (just to be inclusive).

For my final project I decided to make miniature boards out of balsa wood. The boards belong to the line of evolution of the surfboard. There are only seven of them, but I think they portray seven distinct boards that impacted surfing and the way people surfed. I started with the ancient Hawaiian boards, the Alaia and the Olo. Then created Tom Blake's Hollow board, followed by the Hot Curl board, next the sparrow tail board and fiberglasss shortboard, and last, but not least, the epoxy longboard. I went to the craft store in Santa Barbara and grabbed my supplies, brought them back here and carved them last night. It takes a great deal of focus and precision, even on balsa wood. Once the boards were cut out I shaped them (to the best of my ability) with an exacto knife, and continued to smooth out the surfaces with a nile file. All the dust in the air of my room made me realize that the people who shape their boards really NEED to wear a mask (even I wanted one :) ). I had a lot of fun researching and learning about the different aspects of the boards, what made them different and special and how it impacted surfing as a whole, and I definitely have a newfound appreciation for board designs and the men and women who shape them (it takes a lot more patience than I would have thought).