|
'John Witzig – pictures of a tiny sub-cultural world called ‘surfing’...
By Col Bernasconi | 16 November 2011 |
  Murray Smith and Nigel Coates at Smiths Beach, WA 1970 Pic: © John Witzig When John Witzig co-foundered Tracks Magazine in 1970 he was already on his way to establishing a reputation for being a man who could represent the ethos of the surfing lifestyle through both the written word and a camera lens. “He knew surfing and he understood its soul, and that was respected.” Legendary surf journalist and author, Phil Jarratt said in reference to Witzig, “his larrikin humor was roundly appreciated, and spawned a generation of Australian surf writers who sought to entertain as much as to inform.” As both a writer and photographer John Witzig broke new ground throughout the 1960s and ’70s in what was then a tiny sub-cultural world called ‘surfing’. “Witzig took the defining Australian images of the period with an artful eye,” says Surfers Journal Publisher, Steve Pezman, “incorporating grain and texture to capture the aesthetic as well as athletic prowess.  Nat Young (center) & girls with Judy Trim’s Buick at the Australian Championships, Sydney 1972. Pic: © John Witzig On reflection, Witzig's body of work is a treasure trove, a virtual time porthole in which we are free to view surfing as it once was – as we wistfully dream it still can be – despite knowing in our heart of hearts that it can’t. Those golden days may be gone, but so bright do they remain alive in Witzgig’s photographs, that the fact the bulk of his images are in black and white can be easily over looked. Existing untainted and dreamy in a cosmos almost on loop, his photographs take you there. In his new photographic exhibition, taking place at The Raw Gallery, South Melbourne from November 25 until December 24, John Witzig will offer a selection of his photographs from this iconic period, including many images that have never been seen before. Many of John’s photographs focus not only on the act of surfing, but on the lifestyle embraced by this new anti-establishment counterculture. From textural black and white landscapes dotted with boards, dogs, kids and Kombi vans, to the colour shots of the early heroes of the sport, every image in the Witzig collection tells a story of its time. If you're in Australia, don’t miss it. Open from 25th November to 24th December. Note: Sydneysiders can catch a simmilar exhibition from John at 34 Queen St, Woollahra NSW 26 Nov - 18 Dec  Ted Spencer at Bells Beach, 1971. Pic: © John Witzig |