Surfer Brett Simpson views artwork at the International Surf Museum on Thursday, March 21, 2024 in Huntington Beach, California. Their new exhibit focuses on Duke Kahanamoku and his efforts to get surfing into the Olympics. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen of Orange County Register/SCNG)
When modern wave riding was still in its infancy, a young surfer in Hawaii dreamed that one day the sport he loved would be part of the Olympic Games.
Duke Kahanamoku won the Olympic gold medal in swimming at the 1912 Stockholm Games, but his vision was for surfers to also be on the winner's podium. Impossible considering there were only a handful of people who knew how to surf at the time.
But more than 100 years later, the International Huntington Beach Surfing Museum has unveiled “Duke's Dream Come True: Surfing's Road to the Olympics,” a new exhibit dedicated to the man considered the father of modern surfing. He spread his spirit of surfing and aloha all over the world, and his influence remains strong today.
This extensive exhibit features 18 famous surf artists depicting Hawaiian surfers and features 16 panels highlighting various chapters of Kahanamoku's life. From his youth teaching tourists how to surf in Waikiki, to his Olympic honors, his time as a Hollywood actor, and countless surfing exhibitions around the world. World, appearances at Huntington Beach, lifeboat rescue off the coast of Corona His Del Mar in 1925, and more.
And in his old age, he was the High Sheriff of Honolulu and an “ambassador of aloha” to his home in Hawaii. He was also the master of ceremonies when Hawaii was declared a state.
The exhibit tells an important story in surfing's history and heritage, said Surf, who helped curate the collection with fellow artist Dave Reynolds and the museum's executive director Peter “PT” Townend. said artist Rick Blake.
“It's not just about surfing, it's about the Olympics, Duke's life and all the cultural things that go along with it,” Blake said. “Kids are going to come here and learn a lot. There's so much information in this one exhibit of his, it's just incredible.”
Many younger generations are curious about Kahanamoku's important story, how his life is intertwined with the sport's growing popularity, and how he and others helped build surfing exhibitions in places like Huntington Beach. and how it contributed to the growth of coastal towns as developers try to sell the land.
Mr. Townend brought for display, including his “Duke” jacket and trophies from the Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championships, the first surfing contest held in Hawaii in the 1960s. He pointed out some of his own memorabilia.
The photo shows Kahanamoku and aviator Amelia Earhart, whom she taught surfing before she went missing a year later.
The featured artists featured in the exhibition were commissioned to capture different chapters of Kahanamoku's life, with some depicting his younger years in detail and others depicting his hair graying and his face aging. It was a depiction of the iconic surfer. Some of the artists include Sandow Burke, Rob Havasy, Colleen Gnos, Courtney Conlogue, and Joshua Paskowitz, to name a few.
Victoria White's deep blue acrylic portrait on three surfboards costs $20,000 and was painted live at last year's U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach.
Blake painted a tribute to the Duke Invitational Surf Contest, depicting early winners against the backdrop of Sunset Beach, where the contest was held.
Blake said it was an honor to perform with all of his idols.
Burke's artwork depicts Kahanamoku doing a surfing exhibition on the Huntington Beach Pier, an oil rig, and a crowd watching from the sandy beach in the background.
Renowned surf artist Phil Roberts created several portraits, including two side-by-side paintings of Hawaiian surfers. One is young, the other older, with salt and pepper hair framing his aged face. It captures both his strength and grace.
“The whole premise of the show is a really beautiful story,” Roberts said. “We all have a very, very deep respect for the man Duke was and what a great leader he was, his philosophy, his spirit for life and aloha. He was a visionary. .”
Roberts called Kahanamoku “the grandfather of all of us in this great surfing family, this tribe.”
“Anything we can do to portray and tell this man's story and what it means to us is a gift,” Roberts said.
The exhibit focuses not only on Kahanamoku, but also on his legacy, which lived on with the 2020 Olympics, the first time many surfers participated in the Tokyo Olympics.
Some corners are dedicated to gold medal winners Carissa Moore of Hawaii and Italo Ferreira of Brazil, as well as U.S. Surfing Team members Kolohe Andino of San Clemente, two-time world champion John The surfboards ridden by John Florence and Caroline Marks (Florida) are also on display. Surfers call San Clemente home.
There is also a slot for Kanoa Igarashi, a two-time U.S. Open of Surfing champion and silver medalist for Japan, who grew up surfing on a pier in Huntington Beach.
There is also a place to honor Fernando Aguerre, president of the International Surfing Association, who fought tirelessly for decades for the sport to be added to the Olympics.
Townend talked about how much has changed since he was crowned the first professional surfing champion in 1976, when competitive surfers could only dream of making a million dollars.
“I barely made enough money to survive,” he said with a laugh.
Currently, surfing is not as lucrative as other professional sports, but it is more than just a lifestyle pastime, it is a career path that people can strive for, and from 2020 onwards, it is a sport where you can aim for an Olympic medal.
Townend said the timing is fortuitous, as surfing will be featured in the Olympics this July, and Huntington Beach is in the running to host surfing when the Olympics are held in Los Angeles in 2028. He pointed out that it was not.
“We are in an Olympic year and there will be two new champions,” he said. “So we're going to continue doing this all year long.”
For more information about exhibits and the museum, visit huntingtonbeachsurfingmuseum.org.
