ARTIST JOHN VAN HAMERSVELD CREATES ICONIC POSTER IMAGE OF SURF LEGEND LARRY BERTLEMANN AS THEY BOTH ENTER THE \u201cSURFING WALK OF FAME\u201d
\nLegendary artist John Van Hamersveld and surfing icon Larry Bertlemann, aka, \u201cThe Rubberman,\u201d have at least two things in particular in common \u2013 they have each pioneered a new and completely original way of looking at the world, recognizing in their respective fields the possibility for change and innovation, AND, they are both being acknowledged for it by being inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame on Thursday July 31st, 10 a.m. at the Main Street, Huntington Beach ceremony.<\/p>\n
Artist Dave Tourj\u00e9, the catalyst behind this poster project explains the inspiration for it: \u201cAfter becoming friends with Larry Bertlemann\u2019s wife Karean on Facebook, I started thinking about how influential Bertlemann has been on not only surfing, but skateboarding and the entire extreme sports world to present day, whether all the kids know it or not. I told Karean how profound his impact was on anyone involved in those worlds, and next thing you know, she sets up a surprise conference call with him \u2013 one of my heroes growing up in the \u201870s as a surfer\/skater\u201d. After this call, Tourj\u00e9, himself known as an L.A. art innovator (L.A. Aboriginal, California Locos, etc.) explains that he envisioned a classic surf\/rock poster of Bertlemann in the vein of Van Hamersveld\u2019s classic rock imagery of iconic rockers like Jimi Hendrix, The Cream and John Lennon, and that Van Hamersveld was the only person that could do the project. Tourj\u00e9\u2019s own deep involvement in early vertical skating, snowboarding and surf gave him a decisive understanding: \u201cJohn and I have been friends for years and I realized that though he is so deeply associated with surf culture with the Endless Summer image, Clark Foam logo, etc., he has never released a portrait of a surfer in the vernacular of his historic rock and roll portraits. I thought this was the perfect opportunity for his first, so I pitched it to him and he dug the idea. I picked out the photo and Larry gave us the rights to do it, so it was over to John\u201d. Inspired by Bertlemann\u2019s influence on vertical skating as well as his own deep connection to the surfer\/skater movement of the ’70s, Tourj\u00e9 recognized the power and influence of Bertlemann\u2019s image as culturally iconic and simply ran with it.<\/p>\n
In honor of Larry Bertlemann and John Van Hamersveld\u2019s induction into the Surfing Walk of Fame this year, Tourj\u00e9 imagined Bertlemann as the \u201cJimi Hendrix of Surfing,\u201d and approached Van Hamersveld, himself an iconic figure in the world of graphic design, to propose the idea for a groundbreaking poster of a Bertlemann portrait, an image that follows roughly the same graphic architectural style as Hamersveld\u2019s famous Pinnacle Hendrix poster of the 1960s. Van Hamersveld explained recently that \u201cBertlemann\u2019s energy, positivity and winning smile were the driving elements in bringing this all together\u201d, and created a classic poster with vibrant colors as the perfect embodiment of Bertlemann\u2019s vital energy and influence.<\/p>\n
The project includes a run of T-shirts and a Limited Edition of 100, size 19\u201d x 28\u201d posters produced by Andr\u00e9s Cuervo and N.E.L.A. Clothing Company, printed by David Mayes and Typecraft Wood and Jones who\u2019ve created posters for Robbie Conal, Shepard Fairey as well as Tourj\u00e9 and many others. In addition, Nash Editions will be producing an edition of 50, at 28\u201dx40\u201d printed on Moab Entrada cotton rag fine art paper. The project combines Van Hamersveld\u2019s versatility and revolutionary graphic style with Bertlemann\u2019s progressive vision on the water, and represents the first time Van Hamersveld has released a quintessential graphic portrait in the world of Surf, though he has produced many other things such as his recent \u201cPipeline Wave\u201d, which was shown at the Cal State University Northridge Gallery in 2013. Amazingly, Van Hamersveld\u2019s Endless Summer image celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and has become the key graphic that symbolizes an incredibly influential cultural moment in California history, while Van Hamersveld\u2019s contemporary presence in the surf world remains strong to this day. Tourj\u00e9, Van Hamersveld and Bertlemann focus entirely on individuality, progression and innovation. \u201cI surfed for myself and the public, not for five judges,\u201d Bertlemann has said, and this attitude of generosity and accessibility between all these three is what marks this event as landmark. This is truly a collaborative project on many levels and Tourj\u00e9 and Van Hamersveld have been working together on graphic and conceptual collaborations since 2002 including the Chouinard Foundation and most recently the CALIFORNIA LOCOS exhibition which also includes graffiti legend Chaz Boj\u00f3rquez and iconic artists Norton Wisdom and Gary Wong as well as Tourj\u00e9.<\/p>\n
Bertlemann\u2019s influence on surf culture extends well beyond the world of Surf to encompass an entire generation of\u00a0 \u201cvert\u201d skateboarding heroes including Jay Adams, Stacy Peralta and Tony Alva, all of whom drew from Bertlemann\u2019s pioneering surfing repertoire, distinguished by \u201clow gravity cutbacks, 360s and switch-foot antics that were spontaneous, yet completely functional\u201d. Bertlemann also utilized the short board in ways that were then considered unimaginable. Like Bertlemann, Van Hamersveld created his own electrifying visual language and this singular event is both a celebration of Bertlemann\u2019s iconic style and also constitutes Van Hamersveld\u2019s legacy of a far-reaching generational vision that is as contemporary and vital today as it was in the mid 1970s. That these two legends are being inducted into the prestigious \u201cSurfing Walk of Fame\u201d on the same day is fitting. That Van Hamersveld has created a surf portrait of Larry Bertlemann during the 50th anniversary of the most important image in surfing \u2013 the Endless Summer \u2013 is both telling and timeless.<\/p>\n
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