Surfboards as artwork. Surfing has grown out of control, and surfing style is even seeping into the concrete jungle of NYC. We took these pics last night through the window of a new store (that has yet to open) on Crosby Street called Blood Boards. Our prediction? The rich colors and classic shapes of these boards will not only be riding the...
...waves soon, they will spend more time hung on a wall, fitting in as easily as an Ellsworth Kelly or a Matisse. And they're not cheap either. Custom boards can start at $600 and go well over $1000.
The Quicksilver shop on Broadway is already using surfboards for their ceiling panels. Cowabunga.
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I have 3 *legitimate* surfboards in my 1BR. Buying them purely for decoration just seems so..... Lame.
Every surfer I know in NYC (and yep, there are many) try to keep their boards out of the way, but easily accessable for day to day use. (and no, they don't go into winter storage- we surf NY all year round.)
Perhaps a column on design for surfboard racks... and where to put our stinky wetsuits!
;-)
single girl, where do you go surfing? sounds fun. i've only surfed three times in my life, but if i lived in cali, i'd be all over it.
will i have to have to fight off the long island (... new jersey?) locals like johnny utah in point break?
I have quite a few friends that display their 'real' boards by hanging them from the ceiling from straps - one at each end of the board, so it easily slides out. Mostly just long boards, though. A twinfin could look kinda cheesy.
I think it looks cool. But then I grew up in L.A.
Real surfing is a great romantic obsession that comes before almost everything else. It's subversive in that way because it's the individual giving the finger to anything and anyone who would come between him and his singular embrace of nature and solitude. You can't package that; you can only create some cheap Quicksilver knockoff for the kids to wear to the mall and people to hang on their walls. Surf or don't, but don't strip surfing down to a 'look' because your neighbor Gidget, or some website, tells you how cool it is to be part of the surfer crowd. Really, there is no such herd. But is it beautiful? Oh, yes.
Brent- full agreement, thanks for the mini essay, nicely worded.
Beach boy- my boyfriend is one of many territorial locals who will put you in a headlock if you drop in on him, but otherwise, go get wet and definitely take a lesson for skills & etiquette. Rockaways, Long Beach, all along LI, NJ too- its all good.
Funny, the differences between a surfboard for decoration and one for surfing: the wax that inevitably collects sand, dirt, and smudgy dirtiness from wetsuits, the dings, the yellowing, the excess gear. There's no mistaking a 'trophy' board vs. a work horse. Gotta agree with the beauty element, - riding the wave or just running your hand along your new, beautifully shaped board- all good!
"Our prediction? The rich colors and classic shapes of these boards will not only be riding the...
...waves soon, they will spend more time hung on a wall, fitting in as easily as an Ellsworth Kelly or a Matisse."
K-O-O-K!