Surf Craft

Anyone interested in design or surfing or both cannot fail to be enchanted by this beautiful book…. High-quality photographs of the exhibited boards, both traditional and modern, are accompanied by Kenvin’s thoughtful commentary on the history of surf board design.

In his gorgeous and learned new book, Surf Craft: Design and the Culture of Board Riding Richard Kenvin makes a strong case that surfboards should be considered works of art.

Richard Kenvin traces the history of surfing from an exclusive pursuit of Hawaiian royals—the 1% scored the most bouyant boards—to the post-Gidget era of big-money competition. Where long or short, wood or fiberglass—all gorgeously photographed here—surfboards have retained their basic uplifting function. Readers may be surprised at how many funky variations board designers have produced over the years—and how beautiful they can be.

A beautiful coffee table book stuffed with stunning images of the boards on display from the exhibition. It’s worth buying simply for the photos alone, but Surf Craft also includes a thoughtfully-written 40-page introduction by Kenvin that traces the evolution of surfboard design, and also explains how meticulous handcraftmanship can inform modern high volume commercially-made surf craft; it’s a well-reasoned take on how ramping up surfboard production in the ‘60s didn’t necessarily kill the beauty and art of surfboards.

Richard Kenvin is Director of the Hydrodynamica Project. He writes for The Surfer’s Journal and is the guest curator of the Surf Craft exhibition.

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