Presented by Domenic Priore and Brian Chidester

Pop Surf Culture is both a book title and an aesthetic label for the explosion of surf-related media that appeared during the 1960s. Authors Brian Chidester and Domenic Priore, for this seminar, will trace the ascent of surf design, fashion, film, and music from its bohemian roots in the 1950s to its popular peak in the early-to-mid-‘60s to its reinvention in the psychedelic era as a component of the nascent flower-power movement. The authors will also show how psych poster avatars such as Michael Dormer, Rick Griffin, Stanley “Mouse” Miller, Bill Ogden, Mike Salisbury, and John Van Hamersveld cut their teeth as teen artists, drawing comics for surf and hot rod magazines in the early ‘60s, prior to their creative breakout in the late ‘60s.

L.A. native Domenic Priore Domenic is a DJ and author of several books, including Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock ’n’ Roll’s Last Stand in Hollywood and Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson’s Lost Masterpiece. He was primary writer of the documentaries Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years 1955-1970 (hosted by Ringo Starr) and Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s (hosted by David Bowie).

Brian Chidester is a creative historian with a focus on California subculture. He is co-director of documentary films about Eden Ahbez and Don Blanding, co-author of the book "Pop Surf Culture," and curator of the art exhibitions "Beyond the Pleasuredome: The Occult Works of Burt Shonberg" and "Para-Moderne: Life Reform Movements from 1900 Onwards." He resides in Brooklyn, NY and the Western Catskills.