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John Witzig’s Big Show

By Kirk Owers | 10 May 2010


Tracks co-founder, John Witzig is having a photography exhibition. He’s had them before, with the same or very similar photos from the shortboard revolution, but this one is a pretty big deal. It’s at the Dickerson Gallery in Sydney and it’s a joint exhibition with Australia’s best known and most acclaimed photographer, Max Dupain. The pairing of the two very different takes on beach culture has been getting enthusiastic press everywhere from the major newspapers to the specialist art mags and websites.
It’s a real compliment to surf photographers everywhere for the art world to value the works and for the Dickerson Gallery to give them equal billing in the show. Surf photography has always been about more than recording history or a split second of high action theatrics, but it is rarely given its due. 

Mark Cherry describes Witzig’s influence in the foreword to John Witzig: Surfing Photographs from the 1960s and 1970s: “At times ethnographic, Witzig’s [photographs are] not items of nostalgic fetish, but forensic traces of lives that revolved around surfing and were active in creating it. He had a knack for this type of thing. It wasn’t just that he was good with a camera. His photographs are more than a technical exercise – they are intuitive pieces of art-directed reportage.”
The exhibition aims to provide a historical snapshot of Australia’s beach culture fetish. Dupain brings us “life during the 30s and 40s when ladies and gentleman walked the promenade in dresses and suits, surf lifesavers regularly marched the shoreline and a day at the beach was more of a holiday treat.” Witzig handles the subculture of surfing during its most colourful period - the late 1960s and early 1970s when surfers stopped riding the board (longboards) and started riding the wave (shortboards). And revolution was in the air.

Be worth a look.

When:
 28 April to 15 May 2010
11:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Where:
 Dickerson Gallery
34 Queen Street, Woollahra, NSW

Org: Dickerson Gallery
 Tel: 02 9363 3358 
Email: sydney@dickersongallery.com.au

Web: www.dickersongallery.com.au

Ed's note: For those unfamiliar with Max's work look up 'The Sunbather' one of Australia's best.
For lovers of photography and the arts this exhibition is not to be missed.

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And Start West
By Adam Waldie @tracksmag.com.au

12/09/2009

Technically not part of Europe, few would argue that Morocco has some of the best surf in Europe. Make sense? Since the 1950’s when US soldiers based in Kentitra began discovering some of the right hand point breaks dotting the coast here it began making sense to a whole lot of surfers.
Morocco remained very much an underground surf destination until Paul Witzig’s landmark film Evolution. Once the word got out though, Morocco has arisen as a staple on any global surfers hit list.

The 1000 odd miles of Atlantic Coast south of Casablanca fire on almost any swell with a N to NW swell direction. Morocco has the additional benefit of being far enough south from some of the caning North Sea storms that lash Spain and France as nothing but foul weather in winter, down in Morocco these storms often produce clean swell on the endless array of right hand points.

Most Moroccan surf trips start and end in the surf camps around Safi and there is nothing wrong with that at all. Overcrowding in recent years though has seen additional camps open up to the south around the Taghazoute / Agadir area; home to classic points such as Anchor Point, Boilers and Killers. There is a lot in between though and as long as you are sensible about it, Morocco is a destination that you can conceivably explore yourself given enough time.

The Northern Hemisphere Winter is the time to visit. Any low pressure cell hovering around Europe is going to deliver the goods albeit a few days later and a couple of feet smaller along the Moroccan Coast. If you are time poor, head straight to Safi, the breaks around Casablanca and the capital Rabat are generally very crowded and lack the quality of the southern points.


OTHER CONTEXT-

http://www.australianlongboarding.com/video%20E%20list.htm

EVOLUTION

Filmed By: Paul Witzig

Year of Production: 1969

Duration: 78 minutes

Rating (out of 10): 8

This is definitely an oldie but a goodie. There is no commentary to speak of, and very little indication of where the spots are that are being filmed. Hot surfers of the time were featured. Keith Paul, Wayne Lynch, Nat Young, Butch Cooney, etc... There are a lot of overseas places featured including France, Morocco, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and so-on. Thirty years ago this was considered very daring stuff. Most of the places they visited probably didn't have any idea what surfboards were, let alone see people riding them. You won't find any made for film set-ups like in some American surf flicks. This was 100% surf action.

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FILM

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1548982/

http://www.goingvertical.info/screenings.asp?category=295

*
WAYNE LYNCH

Monday, 18 January 2010

Wayne Lynch is one of best examples of the pure-bred evolutionary surfer, one of that small group who pushed the sport through perhaps its greatest shift of skill -- from the longboard stateliness of the early '60s to the full-bore creativity of the shorter-board '70s and beyond.


Lynch was born and raised in the small coastal town of Lorne in Victoria, Australia, some 25 miles southwest of the famous Bells Beach.


Like many young Aussies of the time he was in the surf almost from infanthood, riding rubber inflatable mats at the age of six in the small, clean beachbreaks of the area. Wayne won the Australian junior title four years running between 1967 and 1970.


In Paul Witzig's movie, Evolution, released in 1969, Lynch, along with Ted Spencer and Nat Young are captured at work on surfing’s massive leap forward in style, carving turns from the lip to the base and connecting them in combination as had nobody in surfing history.


Lynch is a master craftsman in the world of surfboard shaping.

http://surfermag.com/features/onlineexclusives/number_17_wayne_lynch/

#17: WAYNE LYNCH

SURFER Celebrates the 50 Greatest Surfers of All Time
By Nat Young

https://www.mctavish.com.au

Bob McTavish - Stoked! (Softcover)
[stokedsc]
This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 11 November, 2009.


product description
Just in time for summer is the "must read" book for anyone who surfs....and anyone who loves a good Aussie yarn. Bob McTavish - Stoked! is the true story of a surfer, stowaway and inventor who accidently started a lifestyle.









http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/homepage/local_allaboutwaves2_edit.mp3

All about the waves
Bob McTavish (mctavish.com.au)

Surfer Bob McTavish fondly remembers the days before the best breaks became crowded.






Sunny Slide Up
WAH WAH WILLIE


AUDIO
(You will need RealPlayer for audio + video)




Surf culture literally surrounds us, the waves, the boards, the muscles, the drugs, the breasts, the cafe latte, but what about the music...

Maybe this is the one genre that Australian musicians should have gotten hold of and thoroughly made their own, coming up with something objectively original and as recognisable as ragtime or callipso. well it didn't happen but it should have, it still could. As you read this, maybe up on a northern beach somewhere sitting under a palm tree, a young muso is dreaming the new language of surf.
"A soaring guitar virtuoso"
Daily Telegraph

Dennis Nattrass has played on many a surf movie soundtrack including 'Starstruck', 'Powerglide', 'Hot', 'All down the line', 'Freeze Frame', Fun Odyssey'. His relaxed guitar style harks back to the Hendrix of Electric Lady Land.

He plays accoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, banjo, hawiian steel, bass guitar, keyboards, and the world's worst harmonica (his description, not mine).

He says in the letter accompanying his new CD 'Cinema', "I guess if I was forced into pinning a name on it I'd call it new millennium surf music, in that it has drawn on a lot of the music that this north coast boy has been into over the years. In other words, the title being a hint, I've tried to make each track into a mini-movie, with a general mood covering the whole disc, allowing me to branch out a lot (hopefully successfully). Maybe this is because I've done so many surf movies."

Dennis Nattrass



29/04/07 http://www.anthologyrecordings.com/release.asp?album=PogHShdRzeg#notes


Artist : Tamam Shud : Evolution


Lindsay Bjerre : vocals
Dannie Davidson : drums
Zac Zytnik : guitar
Peter Barron : bass
Richard Lockwood : various instruments
Michael Carlos : various instruments


Origin : Australia
Released : CBS Records 1969 / Em Records 2007

TAMAM SHUD AND EVOLUTION

TAMAM SHUD is the end in Persian.
Evolution is the beginning of their recording career.
The first four songs on the album are featured in Paul Witzig's
movie Evolution
The other tracks were developed from the "Evolution" idea.
The Shud are unlike any other band in Australia.
They have their own scene, evolved from playing together
for the past two years.
Their "thing" didn't have to be manufactured.
It evolved as they lived and played together.
The same applied to their recording.
It was done "live" in the studio.
It begun on Monday morning.
Two and a half hours later it was finished bar the mixing.
Some way to do the record!
That's the way the Shud wanted it.
An LP that was a true representation of their stage sound.
The sound of the Shud is heavy.
The vocal of the Shud is incidental.
Lindsay wrote...
...continue.
Origin : Australia
Released : CBS Records 1969 / Em Records 2007


Evolution was first screened as 16mm theatrical release in 1969.
As a ground breaking surf film of that era, it became a huge success in Australia and California for two reasons :

Firstly it documented the fast rise to stardom of a hot young group of Australian surfers, including Wayne Lynch, Nat Young and Ted Spencer who were rejecting
the old California-style surfing traditions and breaking through into a new era of fast agressive surfing using short light boards., which in turn gave them access to areas of the wave face which had never been explored before.

This film, more than any other surf movie of that era brought this new style of surfing to world audiences, and set in train a complete revolution which, within a few short years, saw the end of the old surfing era as we had known it.

As the film-maker documenting this exciting and dramatic period of change, I wanted to throw away all the old styles of surf film making, with boring commentary and tired background music.

The action was dramatic and fast.
I wanted music to match this mood, and approach a raw young surfing band from Newcastle, who’s leader Lindsay Bjerre had previously written fast surf music for an earlier film of mine The Hot Generation.

I asked Lindsay to augment the lineup of his band by including within the group Michal Carlos on keyboards, and Richard Lockwood on winds instruments.

The new enlarged lineup gave me a depth of sound which enabled me to do away with narration altogether,and to rely on the music and songs to create the mood and tell the story of the film.

The result was electric.
The film was raw and powerful, reflecting the spirit of the times.
The music fitted the mood of the film perfectly.

The first film screenings were in Adelaide .
Each night the audiences grew larger till we were turning away crowds of people at the last of the scheduled screenings.
This pattern was repeated wherever the film was screened.

Perhaps the most memorable screenings were held in the old Union Theatre in Sydney, where the band was installed in the theatre’s orchestra pit, playing live as the images flashed on the giant screen over their heads.
The music was loud and strong .
The audiences enraptured
Paul Witzig,
Maclean,
4/29/07

Thanks firies 20/10/09

Then from longtime Brooms Head resident this letter to the editor in The Daily Examiner on 20 October 2009:

Thanks firies
As a Brooms Head resident I would like to express appreciation for the magnificent work of the local Clarence Valley and outside brigades in saving the village from what appeared to be likely destruction - particularly on Wednesday afternoon and night last week.
The fire was bearing down on the village, fanned by an appalling hot north-west wind. A terrible situation.
Without the selfless work of the brigades, through the afternoon and right through the night many houses would have been lost.
Then, having saved the Brooms Head village, they continued to work for days to stop the fire spreading north to Wooloweyah and Angourie, as it certainly would have done.
Many thanks indeed.

PAUL WITZIG,
Brooms Head.

Photo-
Sarah Ostenfeld
6644 5895

northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html


TRIBUTE TO HESO KIWI

23/9/09

Artists and collectors pay tribute to a fine Papua New Guinean artist, Heso Kiwi, who suddenly passed away in September 2009.
His fine ink works are sought after around the world. May he rest in peace.

TRIBUTE TO JOERN UTZON

30/11/08

"I hope this email reaches the family.
I met Joern Utzon on many occasions when he was living at Palm Beach, during the early years of Opera House construction.
As an architecture student I was drawn to his shining light like a moth to a candle flame.I knew Jan & Lin well in those days.However, apart from occasional letters & contacts during ensuing years I lost contact with the family after the departure.
And of that fateful day I remember sitting at an Avalon coffee shop with Alex P. and watching as their car drove South towards the airport.
A tragic moment.

However the memories of Joern & his work have stayed with me throughout my life and have always served as an inspiration wen considering the role of the architect in guiding & uplifting the human condition.

Perhaps for centuries we'll salute his vision."

Paul Witzig,
Maclean NSW

Tributes can be left:
utzontribute@sydneyoperahouse.com

Other- Architecture Context-

http://www.urban-design-award.com/awardevents.html

Hailans to Ailans.com

Martin Morububuna Biography

Themes: community, family, government, identity, nation-building, Painting, PNG Independence, printmaking, relationships, schooling, storytelling, synthetic materials, Trobriand Islands, urban synthesis

http://hailanstoailans.com/category/artists/biographies/
.................................
Speaker: Martin Morububuna

BIOGRAPHY

Martin Morububuna is from Kiriwina, the largest of the Trobriand Islands. He is an esteemed contemporary artist and has executed commissioned works that include murals for the University of PNG, carvings for the State Banquet Table in Parliament House, and facades for local markets. Morububuna has participated in numerous group and solo shows, and several of his works are on display at the National Gallery of Australia.

Morububuna's most recent work was featured in this fall's Hailans to Ailans exhibition in London and Victoria, British Columbia.
1 PROGRAM
Howard Wiley and the Angola Project feat. Faye Carol
10.16.09 | 01:05:57 min |

http://fora.tv/speaker/8465/Martin_Morububuna
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2009 Jolika Fellowship Wrap-up
Posted by Andrew on November 13, 2009

Martin Morububuna and Purago Marabe completed their one-month-long residency in the Kimball Artist Studio on November 1, 2009.

Martin created a vibrant mural showing Papua New Guinea as a panoramic collective of plants, animals, houses, boats, people and their bilas. Bilas is a word in Melanesian Tok Pisin that refers to the array of headdresses, necklaces, belts, armbands, and aprons that people use to adorn themselves for dance and ceremony. The mural expresses Martin’s wish for all people to honor the past and keep traditional values strong.

www.famsf.org/blog/index.asp?articleid=62
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Imagining

Papua New Guinea

After generations of colonial rule, the free nation of Papua New Guinea was established in 1975. This exhibition celebrates 30 years of independence of Australia’s nearest neighbour. Stories and images, both traditional and imaginary, are recorded in pen, pencil, woodcuts and screenprints – all new forms of expression to artists from the region. These prints and drawings, produced in the years around independence, show ways in which Papua Niuginian artists responded to their contemporary world. These visions confronting the modern world encompass its social structures and technologies, and delight in the patterns and textures of these mediums to create fantastical creatures, both real and imagined.

www.nga.gov.au/Imagining/essay.cfm
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Islands in the sun

First National Gallery of Australia exhibition to visit Papua New Guinea

Thursday 16 May 2002

The National Gallery of Australia's Program of Travelling Exhibitions is visiting Papua New Guinea for the first time, with Islands in the Sun, a visually uplifting collection of prints by artists from Arnhem Land, Torres Strait Islands, Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

The exhibition will be on display at the Papua New Guinea Museum and Art Gallery in Port Moresby from the May 20 to June 25.

Details of the exhibition were announced today by Ms Barbara Poliness, Project Officer with the Gallery's Travelling Exhibitions Program.

'The exhibition is visiting Papua New Guinea because the National Gallery of Australia has a leadership role to play in the Asia and Pacific regions', Ms Poliness said.

'We aim to foster and promote collegiate relationships with other national cultural institutions. The program to provide access to our collection is enthusiastically supported by our partners in this project - the Australian High Commission and the Gordon Darling Australasian Print Fund', she said.

Printmaking was introduced in Papua New Guinea in the late 1960s and its artists, as with indigenous artists in the Australasian region, share strong thematic links of subject matter expressed in their print works.

'All indigenous people of the Australasian region, although belonging to different cultures, share the same history of European colonisation and flourishing print cultures', Ms Poliness said.

This exhibition will bring together a group of cross-cultural collaborative works which have produced quite different kinds of ideas, images, knowledge and values.

Three artists from Papua New Guinea feature in the exhibition - Mathias Kauage, David Lasisi, Martin Morububuna. Their work reflects the changing social, political, artistic, literary and educational changes in PNG during the 1970s. All three artists will be present at the official opening, launched by the wife of the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Lady Roslyn Morauta.

Transporting the exhibition safely to the tropics has proved a logistical challenge for the Gallery.

Special humidity controlled storage facilities have been made available for the exhibition. Several crates had to be reconfigured so they could fit into the cargo hold of the plane. 'We will also be taking along 120 metres of special coated chain, 202 button head screws, an electric drill and 20 pairs of white cotton gloves', Ms Poliness said.

For further information contact:
Barbara Poliness 02 6240 6619;
Ken Begg (0412) 174319

www.nationalgallery.com.au/AboutUs/press/islands.cfm
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