Art Brewer (1951-2011) a native Californian, who grew up embracing the ocean in all its facets – swimming, diving, surfing, and fishing. Combining his love for the ocean and passion for photography as a teen, Art etched his name into the annals of surf and pop culture history with a notable photography career spanning five decades. Earning his first published photo in Surfer Magazine at the age of fifteen, Art secured his first magazine cover at age sixteen, marking the beginning of a career that would cement him as a pioneering legend of surf photography.
While his surfing photography gained him worldwide fame and notoriety, his sports, portrait, commercial, underwater and travel photography gained him prestige among critics and peers. His self-taught skills, coupled with mentorship from renowned photographer, Ansel Adams, laid the foundation for an extraordinary career that left an indelible mark on the world of photography.
His books, including “Masters of Surf Photography: Art Brewer” (The Surfers Journal, 2002) and “Bunker Spreckels: Surfing Divine Prince of Decadence (1949-1977)” (Taschen Books, 2007)
Website Link: https://artbrewer.com
Social Media Links: Instagram(@artbrewer)
Prints and Sales: https://artbrewer.com/prints
Books at Blurb: https://www.blurb.com/b/1525827-bunker-volume-i
The questions are answered by Jorge Salas and Jean Paul Van Swae.
Jorge Salas is a photographer also living in Dana Point, he ended up there after Art requested he moved to Dana Point a few years after JS started assisting Art(1993-94) and is working with Art’s archive today.
Jean Paul Van Swae is the son of a surfer from Art era, and the grandson of Whitey Harrison, one of the men that brought surfing to us back in the day, Art knew his family down to his grandpa. After moving back to the mainland from Hawaii, he started getting into photography as it was somewhere in his blood. He eventually started working with Art many decades ago.
JP lives in Dana Point, was an assistant editor at Surfer magazine and is a working photographer.
Patricia Lanza : What was Art’s influence on surf and surf culture?
Salas: Art documented the surf culture for some 6 decades, he shared with us what surf culture is today. His images helped make the world a little smaller, showing us style, fashion and of course the surfers we all look-up to.
And every month we ran to the mailbox or magazine shop to get our hands on the next surf magazine.
He brought it to us, we could read it, touch it, and we could be a part of his last adventure if your imagination allowed it.
Whether we wanted to surf like one of our heroes or dress like them, he made it easier to see what they were like, and it was there for all of us to share, to enjoy and to take a part of it.
Van Swae: Art was one of the creators of what is surf culture. He was there in the early stages of it. A bridge between the originators of the sport and the culture it is today. The visual story teller that helped connect us to the past through his present visions of what we should not forget where we came from, and not be influenced by flash and glitter of false surf culture. He was and still is a big part of surf culture even though he never set out to be.
How did he come to do a book on the life of Bunker Spreckels?
Salas: Art and Bunker met in Hawaii in 1969, some years after that, he hired Art to travel the world and document his surfing and lifestyle.
These images were locked away for a long time ( maybe two or three decades ), a Japanese magazine showed interest in the early 90’s, that followed by and article, then eventually a book called Spreckels: Surfing Divine Prince of Decadence (1949-1977)” (Taschen Books, 2007) and a movie named Bunker 77 ( 2017 )
What does his archive hold(encompass)?
Salas: His passion was around the culture of the ocean and its inhabitants. But his curiosity with imagery and artistry drove him to look at photography as art itself. From melting polaroids in the microwave to emulsion transfers and building sets to soften lighting. Sport and culture were the outcome but the way he got to those images took a lot of forethought before he shot the image.
Tell a story about Art that is not public knowledge?
Salas: Once during a surf trip to the Mentawis ( Indonesia ) Canon had lent him a prototype lens.
It was a 300 2.8 IS lens with a value of some 30,000 dollars.
This lens was his to go to lens, when shooting from the tinny.(a small fishing boat with an aluminum hull)
We kept telling the deck hand to please change the spark plugs as the boat kept dying and well lots can go wrong without an engine…
One afternoon, while Lance’s rights was doubling up and maybe 8-12 feet and firing, the engine conked out and we started drifting into the pit, as Shane Beschen was negotiating this huge wave, drop and double up as he was flying towards us I asked him if we were ok, he said maybe, before word was said a chunk of whitewater the size of a car hit the tinny and we flipped, the boat rolled, I dove deep so I did not get hit with the boat or camera etc.
I did not know what happened to the deck hand or Art. I surfaced to find a bunch of people trying to help, some on canoes and some on surfboards.
I was frantically looking for Art as he wasn’t coming up, I dove looked around and nothing, finally he came up and it was something out of the movies, I saw a 300mm 2.8 break the surface of the water being held by Art, It looked like the sword on Excalibur, he must had pushed off the bottom to come up so fast as what followed was him taking a huge breath !
He looked at me and said I got it !
Well, he might have gotten it but at this point, two Eos cameras two 300mm and multiple other lenses and cameras, plus hundreds of yards of 35mm film and 16mm film were absolutely soaked by the warm salty waters of the Indian Ocean.
Most on board were really scared that he would lose his mind and get grumpy after such a blow, but he was actually very mellow and took it very well, as it was beyond his control.
Van Swae: Art was seen as an enforcer of photography standing up for the rights of others and for himself. Sometimes coming off rash to anymore on the other end of it. But he was the most caring and giving person I know who thought of others first.
On our first trip to Puerto Rico to teach surf photography via SVA (school of Visual Art’s) in-between working Malcom Lightner (head of the program) Art Brewer, and myself JP Van Swae (assistant) sat down for a quick lunch at a small cafe off the side of the road. Art touched on a trip he not that long ago was assigned to cover in Sarajevo. It was war torn and decimated to the point that they needed a guide / interpreter just to avoid any troubles that could occur. As Art was explains to us, after taking countless images from the trip the crew got to know each other bonding and sharing etc. as you do on any adventure the guide began to explain the dangers of landmines in the area. At this point he became very solemn and quiet as he told us that the following day the guide had wandered into the wrong area and sadly did not survive. Art began to weep at the table there amongst us, his heart just giving in to someone he just recently met. Art who I’ve always known as being so stoic and steadfast hurt so much for others it caught me off guard. And from that just added to the reason he was such an incredible human being.
What are you presently working on and doing with his photographic collection?
Salas: At this time the team is working on organizing files, scanning, always working on the website, filling print orders, and multiple photo requests for different publications as well.
We are searching for gallery representation to show case his amazing archive and keep sharing these images with the world.
The team is also throwing ideas around for a possible book in the future.
He left us a lifetime of treasure to enjoy, archive and share with others. Be on the lookout.
