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THIS ARTICLE WAS PRINTED IN THE SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2007.

Surf statue draws a wave of criticism

By Michael Stetz -STAFF WRITER

August 12, 2007

ENCINITAS -- Surfers panned the Beach Boys. They dismissed Gidget. They trashed the surf movie "Point Break." They criticize just about everything that anybody tries to do when it comes to highlighting or celebrating surfing.

So that statue of a surfer in Cardiff-by-the-Sea?

It had one tough audience to woo. And -- big surprise -- it failed.

"When outsiders try, more often than not, they get it wrong," said Matt Warshaw, author of "The Encyclopedia of Surfing" and other books on the subject. "And if they do get it right, surfers are too cool to even see it."

Surfers have had a field day blasting the Cardiff statue, which was unveiled July 22. They say it's not masculine enough. They've also attacked the pose of the bronze figure, arguing that it doesn't capture a true surfing move.

Pranksters recently dressed the statue in a pink skirt, bikini top and lucha libre mask.

None of that surprises Warshaw and other surf experts, who say surfers can be elitist and arrogant and quick to shun any effort to reflect them or their sport.

In Warshaw's opinion, this particular statue "is a misfire" because it doesn't accurately portray a surf move. The pose is bizarre, said Warshaw, who lives in San Francisco and surfs himself. But even if the 16-foot-high statue had captured a compelling surfing moment, surfers would probably take some shots at it.

"Their knee-jerk reaction is not to like it," Warshaw said. "It's sort of tradition." On the day the $120,000 statue -- the first to honor surfing in San Diego County -- was unveiled, onlookers applauded. But any accolades were soon drowned out by the surfers' angry response. Even though the artist, Matthew Antichevich, has surfing experience himself, many thought his interpretation was not just flawed but insulting.

Antichevich said the statue, called "Magic Carpet Ride," would have been better received if he could have fulfilled his original vision. He wanted to add a wave made of bronze, but the Cardiff Botanical Society, which commissioned the statue, couldn't afford that cost.

The move he was trying to capture is called a floater, he said. It's when a surfer rides on a broken part of a wave.

"They (the critics) should know what the move is," he said of the pose.

Cardiff resident Chris Ahrens, who's a surfer and a writer, agrees that surfers have always had problems with mainstream efforts that popularize surfing.

He remembers hearing how famed surfing legend Greg Noll was once given Beach Boys records by a music promoter. As soon as the promoter left, Noll and his surfing buddies started flinging them like Frisbees and breaking them into pieces, he said.

But the heated reaction from surfers over the new surfing statue goes deeper than the controversial artwork itself, Ahrens said.

Many surfers today feel under siege, he said. The activity is becoming more popular. Great surf spots are being overrun because so many rookies are taking to the waves.

"Our identity is being ripped off," Ahrens said. "Surfing has become big business. They've taken our words, our styles."

And the statue?

It only added insult to injury.

"If they were building it for the tourists, then fine," Ahrens said. "But to honor us?"

Surfing does appear to be hotter than ever. A February New York Times article detailed the growing popularity of surfing among an unexpected group: well-heeled and corporate types.

Surfing is also a key element in a new HBO drama, "John From Cincinnati," which is filmed in Imperial Beach. But despite the series's attempt to capture at least the physical prowess of surfers, it too has drawn criticism.

When San Clemente-based Surfer Magazinedid an online poll about the series, 15 percent of those responding chose the following answer: "Hollywood should leave surfing and surfers, alone -- forever."

If anything, the surf community should brace for more mainstream efforts to capture their world. Right now there are are only a handful of surf statues in California, according to Steve Pezman, publisher of The Surfer's Journal in San Clemente. But he expects more to come, given the growing appeal of surfing and its ties to local economies.

"It's something you have to do right, though, or it'll come back and splash you," Pezman said.

At least two California surf statues seem to be accepted by surfers.

One, in Santa Cruz, features a surfer standing with a board behind him, looking toward the ocean. Erected in 1992, it was well received and is still popular, said Bob Gillies, a member of the Santa Cruz Surf Club, which commissioned it.

A 1970s-era statue in Huntington Beach also has been generally accepted, Pezman said, even though the surfer is nude. The lack of backlash could be because the statue was commissioned in a more tolerant era, he said. Or maybe the Greek style model -- the surfer is buff -- is simply more acceptable to surfers. Or, maybe, it's accepted just because it's been there so long, he added.

Much of the criticism on blogs about the Cardiff statue has had a homophobic undertow. Some say it looks "gay." Others have dubbed it "Fairy Mary."

While surfers routinely use the word gay to describe lame, uninspired efforts, homophobia is part of the surfing culture, said Warshaw, the San Francisco writer.

He knows of no American professional male surfer who is openly gay, for instance. That might seem surprising, he said, since many surfers believe themselves to be free-spirited and laid-back.

But some say the surfers' furor over the Cardiff statue isn't all that complicated. The statue doesn't cut it when it comes to depicting a surfer, they say.

"The pose is just dorky," Pezman said. "Even a gay surfer would say the same thing."

Michael Stetz: (619) 293-1720; michael.stetz@uniontrib.com