Rick Griffin – Perhaps the most influential artist you never heard of
Our American chum Steve Barilotti (Surfer Magazine) is making a film about iconic Californian artist Rick Griffin. Steve is looking for funding to make this epic doc, to find out more and get involved please follow the link below.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/49615095/griffin-the-film
Griffin and British surfing…
Back in the early days of our research for The Endless Winter we heard about a 1960s American comic strip drawn by Griffin that mocked the very notion of surfing in the UK – we had to see it!
We eventually made contact with Ida Griffin and Steve Barilotti who very kindly sent us a copy of the comic and it proved to be a classic example of how the Californian’s viewed British surfing back in the 1960s. This cynical but humorous outsiders perspective became the inspiration for our opening mock-newsreel that Steve helped us to write.
As Steve Barilotti explains – “Griffin and Stoner In Merry Olde England” [published in Surfer Magazine] was likely drawn in late spring 1966 as one of the dozen or so Griffin-Stoner Adventures that Rick created for Surfer from 1965-1967.
Rick had never been to the UK or France or even Hawaii up to that point. Rick’s take on English culture was taken mostly from Mad Magazine and Hollywood stereotypes, which makes them all the more endearing. But you have to understand this in context. Up to the late 60s air travel was expensive and mass tourism has yet to manifest. When the Beatles and Stones landed here in 1964 the English were as alien as moon men (and just as comprehensible) to most Americans. In 1966 “English” meant Winston Churchill, Terry Thomas and Dick Van Dyke doing a ‘orrible Cockney accent in Mary Poppins.’
Thanks again to Steve, Ida and Rick for giving us this brilliant insight. Very excited to see Steve’s film come to life and learn more about the infamous Rick Griffin.
