Art Brewer - Photos That Never Made the Magazine
photos courtesy of Art Brewer
by Ken McKnight
posted 2004-05-15
Photo courtesy of Art Brewer
Gerry Lopez
"That just some funky afternoon at Pipeline when I was staying at the house there. Gerry went out and I wandered down the beach, nobody else was shooting. There was some good color out of the deal."
Photo courtesy of Art Brewer
Pipeline 1972
"I really don't know who it is."
Photo courtesy of Art Brewer
Joel Tudor
"Well, that was just Joel riding a short board when he shoulda been riding a long board. Down at Beach Park one morning. He was out performing for the photographers I think."
When Art first started shooting photos in Laguna Beach, California, modern surf photography was in it's infancy. Severson, Ron Stoner and a handful of others were the photographers. They knew the surfers and the spots and pretty much dominated the scene. Then Art showed up as a fresh faced teen, open minded, athletic, and talented beyond words.
Here now was a nomadic beach wanderer who quickly became schooled on the road and on the beach. Tripping down life's prodigious walkways, he unassumingly did what no one else had done by swimming in, aiming his camera at, and being around the lifestyle and waves he loved so much. Respectful, vigilant, and very aware of his surroundings at all times he paid dues by working first around the world and then as Photo Editor for Surfer.
Photo by Ken McKnight
Art has a wicked eye for the different, the strange, and the type of things that make a decent photo better. He is modestly resplendent in the knowledge that what he sees as normal thru a piece of glass is what all of us have come to cherish as prized and fondled dreams in our mundane little lives. His office and studio reflect his work and are full of wonderful images and moments in time that he has stopped for us to enjoy later.
He has traveled to the new worlds like an ancient explorer and brought back the treasures we have come to know as "dream surf." Those that spent time with him on these travels have the best of stories to tell that are already in legend status. More than one career has been made by Brewer. He has done it time and time again. And we are all better for it.
