Pop Surf Culture: Music, Design, Film, and Fashion from the Bohemian Surf Boom
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
From original beachcomber personalities like the Waikiki Beachboys to the rise of Venice Beach as a creative center for music, art, and film, Pop Surf Culture traces the roots of the surf boom and explores its connection to the Beat Generation and 1960s pop culture. Through accounts of key figures both obscure and popular, the book illustrates why surf culture is a vital art movement of the 20th century. Pop Surf Culture includes essays about the popular "beach" movies of the 1950s and '60s, which featured such stars as Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon and the music of Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, Brian Wilson, the Pyramids, Gary Usher, James Brown, and Little Stevie Wonder. Sixties art figures Michael Dormer and Rick Griffin--as well as the surf magazines which promoted their art--are featured alongside the progenitors of "surf music," from the little known (the Centurians) to the wildly popular (the Beach Boys). Duke Kahanamoku, the Gas House, Gidget, surfing on television, the bohemian surf aesthetic, surf music hot spots, Mickey "Da Cat" Dora . . . the entire spectrum of pop surf culture is covered within these colorfully illustrated pages.
Product Details
Price
$39.95
$37.15
Publisher
Santa Monica Press
Publish Date
November 15, 2008
Pages
272
Dimensions
8.84 X 11.2 X 0.96 inches | 2.97 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781595800350
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About the Author
Brian Chidester is a staff editor for Yahoo.com and the co-editor of Dumb Angel #4: All Summer Long. He has been a segment producer for documentaries by the BBC, PBS, Showtime, and the Carl Wilson Foundation. Domenic Priore is the author of Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock 'n' Roll's Last Stand in Hollywood, Beatsville (with Martin McIntosh), and Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece. He has written documentaries for Paramount Pictures Inc. and American Movie Classics (AMC). Kathy Zuckerman is the real life inspiration for the fictional character of Franzie "Gidget" Lawrence from the 1957 novel, Gidget, written by her father Frederick Kohner. She was named No. 7 in Surfer Magazine's 25 Most Influential People in Surfing. She lives in Pacific Palisades, California. Billy Al Bengston is an American artist and sculptor who lives and works in Venice, California. His work is found in many public and private collections, including the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), LACMA, MOCA (Los Angeles), MOMA (New York), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), The Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), and the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York). Less famously, he is/was the original "Moondoggie."
Reviews
"A seductive reminder of how cool surf culture was, the kind of book one could spend hours with, poring over the words and images." --"Orange County Register"
"The visuals are superb. Record sleeves, vintage paperbacks and kooky ephemera like printed instructions for the Surfer's Stomp dance liven up the pages . . . a nostalgic treasure-trove." "--Variety"
"Even if you've never hung ten, you'll practically feel the surf and sand while leafing through the colorful pages of surf-inspired graphics, record covers, fashion, film posters and more." --"New York Post"
"An ambitious survey of the surf aesthetic's influence on American culture, from Moondoggie, the Gidge, and Pet Sounds to burlesque and the Mollusk crew's new wave return to surf's boho design roots." --"Austin Chronicle"
"It's all here: Dick Dale, Mickey Dora, Michael Dormer, Bruce Brown and, of course, surf movies/music/art/clothing and on and on. The essays are well-done and informative, but the real joy is the endless summer of art, photos and illustrations." --"San Diego Union Tribune"
"Both coffee table book and textbook, with a stunning collection of rare relics and photographs. Sixties pop obsessives will be rewarded with more than enough connections and recommendations to make the book pay for itself . . . With plenty of history and eye candy, "Pop Surf Culture" wins." --"Boston's Weekly Dig"
"The visuals are superb. Record sleeves, vintage paperbacks and kooky ephemera like printed instructions for the Surfer's Stomp dance liven up the pages . . . a nostalgic treasure-trove." "--Variety"
"Even if you've never hung ten, you'll practically feel the surf and sand while leafing through the colorful pages of surf-inspired graphics, record covers, fashion, film posters and more." --"New York Post"
"An ambitious survey of the surf aesthetic's influence on American culture, from Moondoggie, the Gidge, and Pet Sounds to burlesque and the Mollusk crew's new wave return to surf's boho design roots." --"Austin Chronicle"
"It's all here: Dick Dale, Mickey Dora, Michael Dormer, Bruce Brown and, of course, surf movies/music/art/clothing and on and on. The essays are well-done and informative, but the real joy is the endless summer of art, photos and illustrations." --"San Diego Union Tribune"
"Both coffee table book and textbook, with a stunning collection of rare relics and photographs. Sixties pop obsessives will be rewarded with more than enough connections and recommendations to make the book pay for itself . . . With plenty of history and eye candy, "Pop Surf Culture" wins." --"Boston's Weekly Dig"
"The visuals are superb. Record sleeves, vintage paperbacks and kooky ephemera like printed instructions for the Surfer's Stomp dance liven up the pages . . . a nostalgic treasure-trove." "--Variety"
