Nostalgia Crematorium
If I burn the past will it allow me to embrace the future?
In July 1970, artist John Baldessari gathered all his unsold paintings from 1953 to 1966 and burned them in a crematorium. You may have heard about that in this 2012 viral video — it was copied in multiple surf films.
After the burning, Baldessari put the ashes in a bronze book-shaped urn. The rest were baked into cookies. Of course.
This death symbolized his "rebirth" as an artist. From then on, Baldessari became one of the most influential conceptual artists of his time. Burn it, then become revered. Voila!
I tell you this story because I spend a good amount of time surrounded by the physical matter and ephemera of decades dwelling in the world of surf. Art. Boards. Wax combs. Magazines. DVDs. Books. Printed photography. Clippings. Wetsuits. Stuff. Hard drives. Shit. The gold and the garbage. It all surrounds me all day every day. I love these items, but perhaps they hold me back.
I even have a TV with a VHS and DVD player hooked up to it that will scratch my nostalgia itch when I need to. I talk with Tanner Gudauskas, and we discuss obscure details from more obscure surf films. Ever seen "Faces" starring Tim Curran? It's pretty bad, but I own it and know everything about it. This morning I screened "156 Tricks" on DVD and then popped in my Limited Edition yellow VHS of "Cluster" for some morning coffee fodder.
Occasionally I will pick up a magazine and flip through and get lost in the photos, ads and words of the time. Nostalgia again. I quickly return to my phone usually and unfortunately.
I thought somewhat seriously about burning all my ephemera this week. A Baldessari homage of melted wax and resin. Maybe I'd bake the ash into my next board or something.
My wife recently made me give away all my compact discs, and it hurt as much as it felt good. I was allowed to keep one ("Turn on the Bright Lights" by Interpol). I believe one should own that on every medium possible.
I started thinking a lot about how my surf life needs to be reborn. My Instagram feed has become nostalgia overload. Every major brand is marketing throwback lines and campaigns from a better time. Some straight up rehashing them entirely and exactly. New brands are using old surf mag ads to market new product. Same same, but now. Hmmmm.
Anything new and modern seems to be based around wave pools and soft tops, and we all know how I feel about those. After receiving a sort of invite to The Nines at Waco and following an insightful interview with longtime friend and now wave pool magnate Warren Smith, maybe it's time I come around and embrace the evolution. Be modern. Stop living in the past.
Perhaps if I burn everything, melt my brain and forget my former surf life while I ride wave pools, I can learn to embrace the now. Surf some wave pools. Get a Ben Gravy pro model soft top. Video myself surfing shorebreak with a GoPro mouthpiece. Learn to skimboard. Learn to skimboard in a pool, etc.
You see, I just have a lot of stuff. My generation was cursed to multiple mediums. For music, I have had to buy vinyl. Tapes. CDs. iTunes downloads. And now stream. And vinyl again in some cases. I have paid for the same music seven different times.
As I prepared the gas can and matches for my ceremonial burn this weekend, my dad called.
"Hey, you know my student who works at Mollusk Surf Shop? He said he'd trade me a new wetsuit for a few copies of What Youth Magazine. You cool if I give him some? I need a new wetsuit."
I hung up, hit play on that Limited Edition VHS of "Cluster," fast forwarded (literally) to Noa's part and got the weekend started. Tell Baldessari the burn will have to wait. It pays to be nostalgic.—Travis Ferré
