Surf Culture: The Art History of Surfing
January 31 ö March 30, 2003

Click here for information on the related exhibition, Surf Culture: Surf Photography and Board Design in HawaiÎi, on view February 14 - May 13, 2003 at The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center.

Click here for information on TCM's exciting Surf Culture educational programs offered in conjunction with the exhibitions.

Surf Culture: The Art History of Surfing explores the history of surfing through art, artifacts, and adjunct objects and ephemera that examine surfingâs mystique and widespread cultural influence. This exhibition at The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, includes art and artifacts culled from a traveling show organized by the Laguna Art Museum as well as from HawaiÎi and other national collections.

This exhibition explores the confluence between surfing and avant-garde art practices through works of art by surfers and artists influenced by surfing. Works range from an 1850s painting of surfers on Hilo Bay, HawaiÎi, to works by contemporary artists such as Raymond Pettibon, Ashley Bickerton and Gary Hill. The California "Fetish Finish" movement of the 1960s-70s is represented by artists Billy Al Bengston, DeWain Valentine, Craig Kaufman and John McCracken, who adapted surfboard materials and construction techniques to contemporary sculptural practice.

The Surf Culture exhibition also surveys the modern history of surfboard design from1900 to the present, linking that history to the development of Pacific Rim culture and technology. This portion of the exhibition includes objects that present a timeline of surfing, from its initial development in Polynesia to the early twentieth century, when it was introduced into Western culture. Works related to Duke Kahanamoku, the legendary Hawaiian "father of surfing" and Olympic swimmer, are also on view. A selection of surfboards traces the developments in shaping, fin technology and surface decoration, while adjunct artifacts such as photographs, films, swimwear and music examine surfing as not only a sport but also a cultural phenomenon.

Surf Culture: The Art History of Surfing was organized by the Laguna Art Museum (LAM). As presented at The Contemporary Museum, the exhibition draws in part from the LAM exhibition and is augmented with historical works borrowed from HawaiÎi collections, as well as contemporary works by HawaiÎi and mainland artists. The presenting sponsor for Surf Culture: The Art History of Surfing is Quiksilver. Additional support was generously provided by Clark Foam; The Croul Family Foundation, The Surf Education Committee; Anton and Jennifer Segerstrom; Michael Tomson; Damon Hein; Quiksilver Boardriders Club, Laguna Beach; Bryan and Aileen Cooke; Judy and Stuart Spence; Steve and Liz Kramer; and Roche-Bobois.

The presentation of the Surf Culture: The Art History of Surfing exhibition at The Contemporary Museum is supported in part by Quiksilver; Macyâs; Turtle Bay Resort; CSX Lines, LLC; Sony Hawaii; American Airlines; ASTON Aloha Surf Hotel; the HawaiÎi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts; Glenn and Susan Shea; and 1132 Bishop Street.

The exhibition is accompanied by a 240-page full-color book designed by David Carson and with essays by pop writer Deanne Stillman, University of HawaiÎi anthropologist Ben Finney, LAM curator Tyler Stallings, LAM director Bolton Colburn and guest curator Craig Steyck.