Film event: The Natural Art

 The Natural Art by Fred Windisch

 A remarkable artist and filmmaker, Fred celebrated the art of surfing with his creativity and inventive spirit. The photographs he began capturing at the age of 18 offer a rare and personal glimpse into what life was like as the sport was just beginning to take off in San Francisco, Pacifica, Santa Cruz and Oregon. His photographs, years ahead of their time, capture more than a sport—they capture a way of life. Selected photos are presented in the book, "Fred Windisch Surf Photography of the 1960s: San Francisco, Pacifica, Santa Cruz & Oregon," which was published in 2012. The book is available in limited edition at www.blurb.com. When an order comes in, a book gets made.

 Fred turned to filmography and documented the shortboard revolution in the late 1960s. His film, The Natural Art, was released in 1969.

 Featured surfers include Ben Aipa, Jackie Baxter, Tiger Espere, Dick Keating, Jim Lucas, John Scott, Tim Watts, performing innovative surfing and experimenting with innovative board shapes (early short board shapes, primitive wood surfboards in the West Indies, finless board, surfboard controlled by a rudder and steering wheel.) It was filmed on location at Haleiwa (Hawaii), The Ranch (Southern California), West Indies, Secos (Southern California), San Francisco Ocean Beach, Monterey, Fort Point, Deadman’s (San Francisco), and Davenport, California.

 Influenced by Fillmore Auditorium's rock concert light shows, Fred brought the light show effect to The Natural Art using images of clouds. The film explores technical developments with references to outer space, including space ships and flying saucers. It dives into personal growth and inner space, exploring freedom of dance and the sense of community in free-for-all dancing at outdoor rock concerts, as well as yoga, martial arts and skiing. The wipeout sequences playfully bring out the sexiness of surfing. Fred’s eye for the beauty of nature is brought out in the nature scenes of snow-capped mountains, lakes, colorful clouds at sunset and peaceful meadows. Fred’s sense of whimsy is carried throughout the film.

 The film cleverly draws from a broad range of musical styles with soundtrack transitions from folk rock boogie, to bluegrass, to Indian ragas, to 60s psychedelic rock, to African drumming, to symphonic music, to pop soul, to classical guitar, to Bach played on Moog synthesizer, to Chicago blues, to traditional surf music.

 The film includes the animated feature “The Eternal Sea” created and drawn by Glen Schot with assistance by Arnie Wong.

 The world was filled with social, artistic and technical experiments in the late 60s. Fred captured that spirit and added his own contributions through his experimental and artistic filming techniques. Fred incorporated his artistic sensibilities into the film, making The Natural Art much more than a surf film. One message from the film could be Fred saying that it's not just surfing that's a natural art. Everything in life is.

 Glen Hogerton

 A native Pacifican, Glen had long been surfing and body boarding before he took up photography in 1983. His work has been published in Surfers Journal, Juice Magazine, Body Boarding Magazine and the Pacifica Tribune. He’s shown his photos at previous surfing related events at the Pedro Point Firehouse in Pacifica. You can see some of his photos at his Flicker account: HOG81365.

 For this show Glen is featuring shots of the 2014 Mavericks Invitational, the fantastic surf at Ocean Beach during the recent December and January, and the ASP RipCurl Pro Search contest at Ocean Beach on November 2, 2011, which included Kelly Slater. He’s also including some of his wildlife and scenery shots.

Tickets:

Tickets are available in advance online here at Eventbrite (see above) and at Pedro Point Sirens Coastal Inspired Gifts, 235 Rockaway Beach Ave, Pacifica, CA (650) 355-6555,  

Guests need to bring their paper ticket for entry to this event.

Beverages and snacks will be available at the bar.

Check your map,  The Firehouse is located in the Pedro Point District in southern Pacifica.  Take San Pedro Ave from Highway One, turn right on Danmann Ave.

More information: Danny Estrella 650 359-3263