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Don’t call it surf art.
Long Beach Island
Foundation Of The Arts & Sciences Gallery Manager Kristin Myers will be
sure to remind you of that when the highly anticipated show “Where Oceans Converge” opens there on Sunday.
Essentially, all
of the artists featured in “Where
Oceans Converge” happen to surf. A
lot of their work mimics imagery of the sea, and most of the show’s attendees will be surfers. But you
still don’t want to call it
surf art.
The truth is, this
work reaches far beyond surfing. Waveriders or not, most people are inherently
attracted to the ocean, and those who live their lives around the wind, waves,
and tide just happen to be very good at creating imagery based on the experience.
And with so much of the North End of Long Beach Island preserving a subtle
seashore aesthetic, the LBI Foundation is an ideal venue.
“Boris
Blai, who founded the LBI Foundation, said, ‘Long Beach Island is a name that exactly
describes a place,’” describes former LBI surfer and “Where Oceans
Converge” exhibitor Julie Goldstein. “It’s an island that’s 18 miles long, connected to the mainland by
one bridge, with long sandy beaches on the east, the Barnegat Bay on the west, and supported
by dunes on both north and south inlets. To me, it’s one of the
most beautiful places in the world.”
For all its
potential, Long Beach Island isn’t
too conducive to displaying creativity. Is the area inspiring? Yes. Are there
interesting people, waves, and culture here? Yes. Yet it doesn’t seem that long ago that the closest
thing to a scene here was nailing work to plywood in the yard, tapping a keg,
and calling it an art show.
LBI is a place
where very little outside of pastel paintings of Barnegat Lighthouse and clay pottery
is considered art. “Where Oceans
Converge” represents a big
step for the contemporary artists who happen to photograph, carve, draw, sculpt,
and paint the area’s waves.
“The title was a
tough one to come up with,” admits Myers, a surfer and artist herself. “It had to be something that explains bringing the
East Coast and west coast artists together, as we’re doing.”
The oceans will
metaphorically converge when couple Mark Tesi and Goldstein return home to LBI.
The pair called the area home until Pine Surf Shop & Gallery, their retail
space/art gallery, burned down in 2008. Now Tesi and Goldstein are living,
surfing, shaking, and moving in California. A year and a half after relocating
to the west coast, Tesi is the Global Art Director at Roxy and Goldstein is
teaching at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Orange County. Both
will have featured work in “Where
Oceans Converge.”
For Myers, who was
always inspired by whatever medium Tesi and Goldstein chose, the biggest coup
came in managing to reel in some heavy names in the “surf art” world — Wolfgang Bloch, Andy Davis, and Tyler Warren, all
from Southern California. Then she converged San Fran’s Serena Mitnik-Miller, Santa Barbara’s Blakeney Sanford, Malibu’s Russell Crotty, and Manhattan Beach’s Alex Weinstein, along with Maine’s Ty Williams and LBI’s own Joel Dramis, Chris Pfeil, and Ann Coen. Myers
also enlisted the work of Canadian Sophie St. Onge and Orange County shooter/ ESM Senior Photographer Jason Murray,
who summered in LBI while growing up.
“I'm really looking forward to the
show,” Pfeil says. “I’m interested in seeing the influences from the
Pacific Coast to the Atlantic. I think our way of life is so different from the
west coast here in the Northeast, and I’m curious about the contrast.”
One of the final
additions to the show was Kassia Meador, the longboarding/ filmmaking/
globetrotting/ art-making personality who transcends surfing in big ways right
now. “I was surprised at [Meador’s] work,” Myers admits. “Julie kind of brought her into this. I saw her
stuff in a gallery in SoHo, and her work didn’t really match her persona. And I like that. There’s a strong voice in her work that’s intriguing.”
The festivities
actually start at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 31st, with “A Night of Pine,” an art auction fundraiser to reimburse
the artists who lost work in the Pine Surf Shop & Gallery fire. The evening
will also feature the film “Hanging
Five,” which focuses on Bloch, Davis,
Goldstein, and Warren.
Barefoot Wines,
Peerless Brewing Company, and Seven Tiki Rum are handling the spirits for the
main “Where Oceans Converge” event, which starts at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 1st. Admission is free, and the work for sale
ranges from small $60 pieces to elaborate $10,000 installations.
So if you’re in the area, come on down to LBI,
maybe pick off a few clean ones, sip some chard, and check out the surf art — er, contemporary artists who surf.
Sorry Kristin — almost slipped there.
For more information on the Long Beach Island Foundation Of The Arts & Sciences, visit www.lbifoundation.org
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