"John Severson's Surf" 2014 SEVERSON, John (SIGNED)
$350
SEVERSON, John
Signed on title page
Puka Puka [Damiani]
2014
12 1/2" x 9 7/8"
Fine
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John Severson (SEA-ver-son, 1933–2017) was an American editor, author, filmmaker and artist, widely known as the founder of Surfer, a magazine focused on the sport and culture of surfing. Severson also created a diverse body of artwork dedicated to the sport.
Drew Kampion, editor of Surfer 1968-1972, said Severson was "the first to treat surfing as a worthy subject matter for fine art." Sam George, editor of Surfer (1999) said "before John Severson, there was no 'surf media,' no 'surf industry' and no 'surf culture' — at least not in the way we understand it today."
The New York Times called Severen "a pioneer of modern surf culture;" who created "the surf art genre; joined the earliest ranks of surf filmmakers; developed the "Surf Fever" writing font now synonymous with surfing; and started the first major magazine dedicated to wave riding, Surfer, a holy book of the sport.
Southern California, 1960. John Severson founded SURFER, the first magazine to celebrate and revolutionize the art and sport of surfing. Surfing’s most influential artist, John Severson (born in Los Angeles in 1933) has altered the perception, obsession and fascination of surfing in Pop culture. For over six decades, from surfing’s seminal first painting Seal Beach Locals, to the riot and mise-en-scene of his pioneering films––Surf Safari, Surf Fever and Big Wednesday, through the creation of SURFER, Severson has shaped the image and iconography of surfing sending seismic vibrations into the soul of surf culture. John Severson’s Surf is the first monograph and visual survey to explore his singular odyssey through ephemera, painting, photography, film, and publishing. This volume includes an interview with the artist by Nathan Howe, curator at Puka Puka, along with contributions by surf icons, the Hawaiian tube rider Gerry Lopez and the former editor of SURFER Drew Kampion. John Severson’s Surf is a trip to the birth of surf culture and a testament to our Ocean.