In light of the latest posts from my partners in crime (literally) over at www.svrfandestroy.com regarding the Southern Californian phenomenon of “surf art”, I took it upon myself to formulate my two-and-a-half cents for those who would think it odd to find the following in such a small response-venue as the “comment” section.
For starters, I’d like to state that I truly believe people should be able to create whatever they want, and if they happen to make some money or achieve some other end in the process, so be it. Having said that, I’m also going to state that we needn’t worry about anything becoming of “surf art”, because the reality is that the only people with any taste for this art belong to an extremely small and esoteric demographic (e.g. surfers, industry cling-ons and employees, groms, etc.).
In the case of pro-surfers creating art, it’s important to keep in mind that the only reason this art has any value to begin with is because of who created it, not because of what it looks like. A classic example is Ed Templeton with Toy Machine. His cartoon world of stoned animals and monsters, while clearly not the most revolutionary figurative forms, were nevertheless fun and cool within skateboard culture precisely because an important skateboarding personality was at the center of them. However Ed’s art (at least not to my knowledge) as well as that of others like Ozzie Wright, never really broke through any true artistic barriers. Besides being characterized more often than not by kitsch elements, surf art can be viewed as the direct descendent of what characterized the quotidian mass-production of pop-art in the 1960’s; to wit, anyone can be an artist. Moreover, I don’t think I am entirely missing the mark when I say I don’t think surfers really take their art nearly as seriously as they do their surfing; and in the realm of actual art that has global, historical, political or social relevance, I don’t think anyone else should either.
In closing, it is safe to say that we shouldn’t be expecting current conceptions of “surf art” to be seen in the MOMA anytime soon. Instead we should take it for what it actually is: what results when people who have achieved so much in one aspect of their lives that they can afford the leisure to pursue another.
