And in the absolutely essential category- Richard Kenvin has curated a new show for the Mingei Museum in San Diego which is currently open. It features a selection of aquatic planing craft that you just will not find anywhere else. It's far more than just a historic collection, there's a very definite and carefully thought out design thread followed here, and you really owe it to yourself to go see it if you are anywhere within reach. Make a day of it, look at the boards then get in the water all inspired.
Here's the official museum blurb:
On View Through January 11, 2015People
have made surfboards for centuries. Standing alone, these boards are
often striking examples of functional design. Together, they tell a
compelling story about the evolution of an important American art form.
Traditional craft, cutting-edge engineering and minimalist art converge
in the Museum’s new exhibition devoted to surfboards built from the late
1940s to the present day.
SURF CRAFT – Design and the Culture of Board Riding opens on the first day of summer, June 21, 2014. SURF CRAFT will be a unique surfboard exhibition exploring board design from a previously unexamined perspective: in the context of Soetsu Yanagi’s mingei philosophy of the importance of craft. Through this lens, the exhibition will capture the influences behind American design in board riding, from the alaia boards of ancient Hawaii, to obscure surf bathing boards of England, Japan and Africa, to post-war hydrodynamic planing hulls of Southern California. Innovative board-shapers and surfers of the past and present will be highlighted, including legendary surfer Bob Simmons, who died at Windansea in La Jolla in 1954, and renowned San Diegan Carl Ekstrom.
Guest curator and surf historian Richard Kenvin will author the 176-page hardcover book of the same title – which will be co-published by Marquand Books and MIT Press and will include 150 historic and contemporary photographs.
More on the book soon too, and the Mingei is at 1439 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 and open Tuesday through Sunday. As much as I enjoyed my recent jaunt to foreign soil, it meant I missed a few excellent cultural events involving dance, music and art, including the opening of this which was disappointing. Don't miss out yourself....
SURF CRAFT – Design and the Culture of Board Riding opens on the first day of summer, June 21, 2014. SURF CRAFT will be a unique surfboard exhibition exploring board design from a previously unexamined perspective: in the context of Soetsu Yanagi’s mingei philosophy of the importance of craft. Through this lens, the exhibition will capture the influences behind American design in board riding, from the alaia boards of ancient Hawaii, to obscure surf bathing boards of England, Japan and Africa, to post-war hydrodynamic planing hulls of Southern California. Innovative board-shapers and surfers of the past and present will be highlighted, including legendary surfer Bob Simmons, who died at Windansea in La Jolla in 1954, and renowned San Diegan Carl Ekstrom.
Guest curator and surf historian Richard Kenvin will author the 176-page hardcover book of the same title – which will be co-published by Marquand Books and MIT Press and will include 150 historic and contemporary photographs.
More on the book soon too, and the Mingei is at 1439 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 and open Tuesday through Sunday. As much as I enjoyed my recent jaunt to foreign soil, it meant I missed a few excellent cultural events involving dance, music and art, including the opening of this which was disappointing. Don't miss out yourself....
