It’s a little jarring to look at a shiny metal surfboard — they usually look more like dolphins, not butter knives — and maybe that’s why world-famous designer Marc Newson’s polished nickel boards are hanging at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea. Most of Newson’s work at his show, which is up through March 3rd, is furniture — shelves, tables, chairs — made out of solid marble. These things have a staggering weight — one shelf weighs nearly 3,000 pounds. Using nickel on a surfboard, the show suggests, is like using marble to make a chair or an arcane material like micarta to make an imposing executive office desk — it’s unique and fabulously, exclusively expensive.
Newson designs Champagne bottles (Dom Perignon), luggage (Samsonite) , sneakers (Nike) and the interiors of jets (Qantas); Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and a metal sofa called “Lockheed Lounge” that he designed is for sale across the street from Gagosian, expected to sell for $2.5 million. Such a high-end design celeb was sure to appear on the art world’s radar, which explains why Gagosian currently looks like a cross between the Museum of Modern Art’s sculpture garden and its gift shop.
The surfboards are in a separate room, with a 13-minute video of surfers projected on the back wall, complete with appropriately Dick Dale-ish surf music. Hanging on thin white ropes, they resemble an airplane wing or a shining blade — or maybe the Silver Surfer comic book hero. At five feet in length, it’s a tow-in board, more steamship than cigarette boat, polished to a mirror finish for minimal drag. And they actually work: last fall, extreme surfing champion Garrett “G-Mac” McNamara rode it off the coast of Tahiti, then wiped out and lost the board; the next day he spotted someone carrying it down the beach 15 miles away. That very board is now suspended from the ceiling of Gagosian Gallery, albeit a little dinged up, like a war-scarred shark.
Newson is from Australia, so I suppose he was obligated to design a surfboard. He teamed up with the legendary Hawaii-based surfboard manufacturer Dick Brewer, who did the critical work of shaping the board; Newson covered it in nickel. They were made in a limited edition of 10, and they’ll set you back over $100,000. Lately, so many swanky things seem to be sheathed in grey metal — Razor phones, PowerBooks, high-end kitchen ranges. Gleaming and sharp, Newson’s board looks like an impervious weapon; perfect for these times.
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One Response to “The Silver Surfer”
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March 12th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I undersatnd the last comment but dissagree, as it was made hand in hande with Newson and Brewer..the point this raisesis: why havent Quik or RipCurl or any of those guys that are busy making ephemeral product lines like t-shirts and back packs etc rulers etc as opposed to better surfcraft; which, lets face it is what this whole frenzy for surfing was spawned from in the first place. Preoccupation with vertical integration and or emerging markets for perepheral products like watches etc…distract all of the big descision makers from the seminal ITEM, which is the SURFBOARD. Can we get back to the SURFBOARD for a minute guys?
Marcs board with Brewer was expensive, gut its a good idea, expensive, but it worked, actually really well in most big surf that we engaged…the tests continue…stay tuned, actually I heared from Garrett today…hes stoked.
ANyone wlse with some cash want to have a go???
Silas