Author: Richard Kenvin Publisher: MIT Press ISBN: 0262027607 Category : Design Languages : en Pages : 193
Book Description
The evolution of the surfboard, from traditional Hawaiian folk designs to masterpieces of mathematical engineering to mass-produced fiberglass. Surfboards were once made of wood and shaped by hand, objects of both cultural and recreational significance. Today most surfboards are mass-produced with fiberglass and a stew of petrochemicals, moving (or floating) billboards for athletes and their brands, emphasizing the commercial rather than the cultural. Surf Craft maps this evolution, examining surfboard design and craft with 150 color images and an insightful text. From the ancient Hawaiian alaia, the traditional board of the common people, to the unadorned boards designed with mathematical precision (but built by hand) by Bob Simmons, to the store-bought longboards popularized by the 1959 surf-exploitation movie Gidget, board design reflects both aesthetics and history. The decline of traditional alaia board riding is not only an example of a lost art but also a metaphor for the disintegration of traditional culture after the Republic of Hawaii was overthrown and annexed in the 1890s. In his text, Richard Kenvin looks at the craft and design of surfboards from a historical and cultural perspective. He views board design as an exemplary model of mingei, or art of the people, and the craft philosophy of Soetsu Yanagi. Yanagi believed that a design's true beauty and purpose are revealed when it is put to its intended use. In its purest form, the craft of board building, along with the act of surfing itself, exemplifies mingei. Surf Craft pays particular attention to Bob Simmons's boards, which are striking examples of this kind of functional design, mirroring the work of postwar modern California designers. Surf Craft is published in conjunction with an exhibition at San Diego's Mingei International Museum.
Author: Jon Anderson Publisher: Taylor & Francis ISBN: 1317534697 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 350
Book Description
The act of surfing involves highly-skilled humans gliding, sliding, or otherwise riding waves of energy as they pass through water. As this book argues, however, this act of surfing does not exist in isolation. It is defined by the cultures and geographies that synergize with it – by the places, ideas, images, and other representations which at once reflect, create, and commodify this spatial practice. This book innovatively explores the spaces of surf and surf-riding, informed specifically by the perspective of human geography. Based on a range of critical turns within the social sciences, the book explores the locations, relational sensibilities, and transformative nature of surfing spaces, and examines how the spatial practice has been scripted by dominant surfing cultures. The book details how prescriptive (b)orders of access, entitlement, and marginalization have been created, and how, with the advent of new craft, media, and ideals, they are being actively challenged to redefine surfing spaces in the twenty-first century.
Author: Matt Warshaw Publisher: Chronicle Books ISBN: 0811856003 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 498
Book Description
Matt Warshaw knows more about surfing than any other person on the planet. After five years of research and writing, Warshaw has crafted an unprecedented history of the sport and the culture it has spawned. At nearly 500 pages, with 250,000 words and more than 250 rare photographs, The History of Surfing reveals and defines this sport with a voice that is authoritative, funny, and wholly original. The obsessive nature of this endeavor is matched only by the obsessive nature of surfers, who will pore through these pages with passion and opinion. A true category killer, here is the definitive history of surfing.
Author: Louise Southerden Publisher: Ballantine Books ISBN: 0307491498 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 273
Book Description
CATCH THE WAVE Have you always thought surfing looks like so much fun but lacked the confidence to try it? Do you dream of having sun-bleached hair and surf-toned arms? Maybe you’d like to join those surfers you watch from the comfort of your beach towel? With women’s surfing booming as never before, now is the perfect time to grab a board and get out there! If you’re a girl who longs to mix it up with the boys in the surf, carve graceful lines across the face of a wave, and feel the exhilaration of surfing, this book is for you. Surf’s Up has it all, including • what to look for when buying a surfboard • how to find the right waves • how to paddle out, catch waves, stand up, and turn your board • a colorful history of women’s surfing, from Gidget to Beachley • where to find North America’s dream surfing spots Writing with the passion that comes from living the surfing life for more than fifteen years, Louise Southerden brings her love of surfing to every page, offering a glimpse of surfing subculture, surf lingo, the rules of the waves, and helpful tips from other surfer girls who have survived the learning-to-surf journey. Surf’s Up is encouraging and empowering: a book no surfer girl should be without!
Author: Ben R. Finney Publisher: Pomegranate ISBN: 0876545940 Category : Authors, American Languages : en Pages : 126
Book Description
Surfing traces the history of the sport from its beginnings in ancient Hawaii through the mid 1960s. This revised edition of the 1966 classic features extensive illustrations, a new introduction, and articles by Mark Twain and Jack London recounting their observations on surfing. The book also explores the development of the surfboard and follows surfing's timeline from the earliest legends to the accomplishments of modern surfing heroes.
Author: Gregory Borne Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1317396561 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 287
Book Description
Whilst being an ambiguous and contested concept, sustainability has become one of the twenty-first century’s most pervasive ideas, as humanity’s increasing impact on the environment, as well as increasing social and economic inequalities, have local and global consequences. Surfing is a globally recognised cultural phenomenon whose unique connection with nature and rapid expansion into a multibillion pound industry offers exciting synergies for exploring various dimensions of sustainability. This book is the first to bring together the world’s foremost experts on the themes of sustainability and surfing. Drawing upon cutting edge theory and research, this book offers multidisciplinary perspectives and methodological approaches on the social, environmental and economic components of sustainable surfing. Contributions provide unique discussions that bridge the gap between theory and practice, exploring topics such as sustainable surf tourism, surf-econometrics, surf activism, surfing governance, the surfing industry, and technological advancements. Each chapter produces in-depth insights to provide foundational insights of the relationship between sustainability and surfing. This book will appeal to multiple audiences in different disciplines and sectors. Practitioners will benefit from the insights presented in this volume, while both undergraduate and postgraduate students will find this volume an invaluable companion, including those working in geography, environmental studies, sport sciences, and leisure and tourism studies.
Author: Mami Wata Publisher: Ten Speed Press ISBN: 1984860410 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 320
Book Description
Discover the untold story of African surf culture in this glorious and colorful collection of profiles, essays, photographs, and illustrations. AFROSURF is the first book to capture and celebrate the surfing culture of Africa. This unprecedented collection is compiled by Mami Wata, a Cape Town surf company that fiercely believes in the power of African surf. Mami Wata brings together its co-founder Selema Masekela and some of Africa's finest photographers, thinkers, writers, and surfers to explore the unique culture of eighteen coastal countries, from Morocco to Somalia, Mozambique, South Africa, and beyond. Packed with over fifty essays, AFROSURF features surfer and skater profiles, thought pieces, poems, photos, illustrations, ephemera, recipes, and a mini comic, all wrapped in an astounding design that captures the diversity and character of Africa. A creative force of good in their continent, Mami Wata sources and manufactures all their wares in Africa and works with communities to strengthen local economies through surf tourism. With this mission in mind, Mami Wata is donating 100% of their proceeds to support two African surf therapy organizations, Waves for Change and Surfers Not Street Children.
Author: Mike Brown Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1317058542 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 217
Book Description
Despite the fact that the sea covers 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface, and is integral to the workings of the world, it has been largely neglected or perceived as marginal in modern consciousness. This edited collection disrupts notions of the sea as ’other’, as foreign and featureless, through specific, situated accounts which highlight the centrality of the sea for the individuals concerned. Bringing together academics who combine scholarly expertise with lived experiences on, in and with the sea, it examines humans’ relationships with the sea. Through the use of auto-ethnographic accounting, the contributors reflect on how the sea has shaped their sense of identity, belonging and connection. They examine what it is to be engaged with the sea, and narrate their lived, sentient, corporeal experiences. The sea is a cultural seascape just as it is physical reality. The sea shapes us and we, in turn, attempt to ’shape it’ as we construct various versions of it that reflect our on-going and mutable relationship with it. The use of embodied accounts, as a way of conveying lived-experiences, and the integration of relevant theoretical frames for understanding the broader cultural implications provide new opportunities to understand seascapes.
Author: Richard Kenvin
Author: Jeff E. Toghill
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Author: Jon Anderson
Author: Matt Warshaw
Author: Louise Southerden
Author: Ben R. Finney
Author: Gregory Borne
Author: Mami Wata
Author: Mike Brown