La Jolla Historical Society is holding an exhibition focusing on the early days of surfing and its evolution in La Jolla from Feb. 8 to May 25. An opening reception will be held at 7846 Eads Ave. on Friday, Feb. 7 from 5-7 p.m.
“La Jolla Surf: Culture, Art, Craft,” will introduce audiences to some of the artists, surfers, and surfboard builders that have lived in or passed through La Jolla.
By way of a short film created specifically for this exhibition by curator John Durant, visitors will meet a few of the ocean lovers, oddballs, outcasts, poets, and geniuses who focused their lives on a small patch of ocean near where they decided to live to keep surfing.
The interviews in the film will reveal experiences, circumstances, and decisions that resulted in a lifetime spent in the ocean mastering, appreciating, and falling in love with an activity that’s been called a sport, a lifestyle, and a religion.
“I have been surfing all my life, most of it in La Jolla at the reefs and beaches,” said Durant, who is a filmmaker, writer, and photographer. “One day I woke up and realized I knew everybody.”
Which, Durant said, led him to begin “the amorphous task of photographing classic surfboards. I took a personal interest in studying La Jolla surfing and who the original guys were who they were influencing, and who influenced them.”
Of La Jolla’s surfing culture, Durant noted: “It’s a big ecosystem. In La Jolla, you want to focus on the geniuses, the poets, beatniks, weirdos, and eccentrics, rather than just the guys who were surfing on the weekend. You want to focus on the guys who gave everything up for a spot in the lineup.”
La Jolla Surf also invites viewers into the world of surfing through iconic photography by Roy Porello, Jeff Divine, and Ron Church. There is also original artwork by award-winning designer John van Hamersveld, and surfboards from the greatest shapers in the region.
Through the extensive, original interview footage with local surfers created by Durant, visitors will hear firsthand accounts of how the surfing community developed, how it has evolved, and the powerful connection to, and appreciation of, the ocean and nature that surfing engenders.
Funding for this exhibition was generously provided by Richard VandeNoord, Matt and Nancy Browar, Suzanne Conlon, Abby and Ray Weiss, and Seonaid and Barry Bielinski. Additional support was provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and members of the La Jolla Historical Society.
LA JOLLA SURF: CULTURE, ART, CRAFT
Exhibit at La Jolla Historical Society, Feb. 8 to May 25.
About tél Curator: John Durant has been a professional photographer based in Southern California since 1978. A graduate of UC San Diego, he is a lifelong surfer and has worked as a photographer for Rusty Surfboards, Gordon & Smith Surfboards, Bing, Larry Mabile, and Dennis Murphy. Durant has written about surfing and some of the more interesting characters that have populated surf culture for The Surfer’s Journal, The LA Times, and San Diego Magazine.
