Single: Studies of Movement by Andrew Kidman

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
The Depth Test

It rained all of Saturday and Sunday and there was precious little to do. Time ticked by, as the old saying goes, as slow as a wet weekend, and because it was wet and surfless it went even slower. To pass the plodding time I went out to the shed, pulled up a pew under the window, and grabbed a random collection of old surf magazines off the shelf.

Midway through a Channon/McLeod-era Surfing World I was struck by an image of Steph Gilmore getting barrelled at Burleigh Heads. She was crouched perfectly in the pocket, bent at the knee and waist, her leading arm hanging loose, trailing hand caressing the wave face. Simple yet effective, and also so graceful. It was a perfect execution of the classic tube stance. Bikini top notwithstanding it could almost be MP.

But my reverie was quickly undercut by a gathering awareness. This magazine was printed in 1995, the caption to the picture said the photo was taken in 1980, and the board 'Steph' was riding was a Hot Buttered. Steph Gilmore is, of course, aged in her mid-twenties. She wasn't even born when the photo was taken, let alone having ever ridden for Terry Fitzgerald.

The accompanying text explained the mystery; the surfer in the image was Linda Davoli, a native of New Jersey. “One of the very best woman surfers of all time,” read the caption. In 1980 Davoli was ranked third in the world and despite living many miles from North Narra flew high on the Hot Buttered totem.

Yet even after the explanation I couldn't get past the uncanny likeness with Steph. How one still image of a surfer, a single fleeting moment in time, could look so much like another surfer born half a world away and a whole generation later.

I went looking for images of Steph, motivated now by curiousity rather than a need to pass the time.

steph2_1.jpg
Linda Davoli, Burleigh Heads 1980 (Pic Hugh McLeod)

First stop was Andrew Kidman's 2012 book Single, subtitled 'Stephanie Gilmore: Studies Of Movement'.  For those unaware of Single, and if you aren't then you should be, it was made in the wake of Spirit Of Akasha. Kidman has always been multi-disciplanary, interpreting the world through words, film, or song. He's equal parts scribe, auteur, and troubadour. Singular events find various renderings within Kidman's purview.

In the case of Single it's a Greenmount session with Steph Gilmore filmed by Kidman. Filmed, that is, not 'shot'. From the moving footage, Kidman pulled frame grabs to use as 'still' images. There's some history in this concept: the defining image of Morning Of The Earth is a frame grab of MP, as is the poster to Kidman's own film Litmus which featured Derek Hynd's high line jive.

dscn0241.jpgThe book's presentation warrants comment. Hard bound in royal blue with a white, august font it defies all gender stereotypes. No doubt it's a deliberate ploy by Kidman to take the spotlght away from gender and put the focus squarely on Surfing - deliberate capital 'S'. It's a brave move by any author - daring their work to be judged purely on content and not the packaging it's sold in - made almost revolutionary by the demands of the marketing age.

The abstinence continues within the covers. Opposite the table of contents is a passage printed in small type: Stephanie is a Quiksilver ambassador. At the beginning of the Spirit of Akasha project we asked Stephanie if she would keep the board we made for her logo free, so visually the audience could watch her without their thoughts being broken by references to marketing.

Steph's session features in Spirit of Akasha, it's arguably the high point of the film. By pulling stills from the moving footage, Kidman ostensibly deconstructs Steph's glissade and we see the elemental ingredients of her style without the distraction of motion: the relaxed leading shoulder, the cocked back knee, the long limbs that could so easily be a hinderance used gracefully for projection. We also see the flashes of white spray that mark the board's sovereign glide on the water, and that becomes a chapter in itself.

Kidman's long time collaborator Dave Parmenter made the yellow six foot single fin, and it's no incidental prop. They forgo the modern Thruster because, as Parmenter explains, "...in order to ride these boards at black-belt level, everyone ends up surfing with almost exactly the same style because the fundamental mechanics of locomotion have to be the same or the boards just wont get out of first gear."

stephanie-gilmore-riding-dave-parmenter-single-fin-in-spirit-of-akasha-photo-kidman.jpg

The choice of board is telling, because it's not only gender and marketing that Single eschews but also age and era. All board designs are rooted in time, forever associated with the date they were invented and perfected, but the single fin is the closest we have to a 'timeless' design. The simplest of all the fin configurations is best complimented by sublime curves in the board it's steering.

At least half the book is comprised of full page, sometimes double spread, stills of Steph surfing. Dissappointingly I couldn't find a 'moment' that matched Linda Davoli's Burleigh tube stance, but it doesn't matter, the similarities are there irrespective of the specific pose. Their body English being the lingua franca that connects them over a thirty year span.

From the cover to the content to the idea behind the book, there's a subtle resistance within Single. A resistance to being defined by that which is irrelevant to Surfing. Single transcends all trends, totally ignores gender, and only the publishing date betrays its age. Much like the board Steph rides, and Linda too for that matter, it's a timeless book.

Perfect reading for a wet weekend...anytime.

'Single' is available in limited edition from Andrew Kidman's website

Comments

surfstarved's picture
surfstarved's picture
surfstarved Wednesday, 22 Jun 2016 at 4:18pm

Jeez Stu, you're getting a bit phil-a-ma-sophical in your dotage.

Can't argue though - Steph's segment in Spirit of Akasha definitely has a timeless quality to it, the result of the intersection of place, craft, physiology, mechanics and physics (not to mention a killer soundtrack). If you'd asked me who was in the first photo, hers would definitely have been the first name that came to mind.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Wednesday, 22 Jun 2016 at 4:33pm

It's not me SS, it's the Shed of Knowledge. Remarkable things happen when you cross the colourbond threshold.

simba's picture
simba's picture
simba Wednesday, 22 Jun 2016 at 6:29pm

Speaking of crossing the threshold Stu hows the new assym going?

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 7:10am

Unreal. Every bit as good as the one it replaced. I surfed it all during the recent oversized East Coast swell, even had one session it on it at the local point break during the biggest day of the swell. Slightly undergunned, bit hard to get into them, but fine once up.

fish4dinna's picture
fish4dinna's picture
fish4dinna Wednesday, 22 Jun 2016 at 6:31pm

Steph is a champ no matter what she's doin.....

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Wednesday, 22 Jun 2016 at 8:18pm

Great read Stu.

So stoked you're posting gear of this nature and of this quality.

Ummm ....haven't actually seen the movie, or the book, but it took me a while to get to Litmus and that turned out to be a revelation.

PS - Is Burleigh the most beautiful, photogenic wave in the world ?

That photo of Linda Davoli, those shots of Munga.

I'm in love.

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Wednesday, 22 Jun 2016 at 9:43pm

HB singles... yeeeeeew!

That shot of Linda is insane.

Island Bay's picture
Island Bay's picture
Island Bay Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 4:56am

Very good read, Stu. Thank you. Sounds like you have a magic shed.

I haven't read Single, but Spirit of Akasha is on the shelf, and among many fine performances, Steph's is my favourite - possibly one of the best video parts ever.

Highly recommended

sharkman's picture
sharkman's picture
sharkman Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 9:12am

lovely retro piece , living in the past , and revisiting a bygone era , nice, but,

"Kidman's long time collaborator Dave Parmenter made the yellow six foot single fin, and it's no incidental prop. They forgo the modern Thruster because, as Parmenter explains, "...in order to ride these boards at black-belt level, everyone ends up surfing with almost exactly the same style because the fundamental mechanics of locomotion have to be the same or the boards just wont get out of first gear."

please explain?

tonybarber's picture
tonybarber's picture
tonybarber Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 9:14am

Thanks Stu, will have to chase the Spirit up. Gilmour is a great surfer. She takes some great lines.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 9:31am

Great article but as Sharkman mentioned above the comment about everybody having to ride almost exactly the same to get out of first gear gave me pause for thought.

WTF? Maybe someone could elaborate a little further?

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 9:39am

I take it to mean that modern shortboards need to be pumped for speed and those "fundamental mechanics of locomotion" - i.e pumping the board so the concaves lift and drive - are similar amongst many surfers. In that reading, style would be everything in surfing except for the way speed is derived.

A different interpretation would say that style includes all parts of surfing, top turns, bottom turn, cutbacks, etc etc plus the way the board is pumped for speed.

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 10:01am

So, you were in the shed looking for, at, Steph porn, but did you finish the balsa board per this thread in the forums:

http://www.swellnet.com/forums/shaping-bay/141581

???

dandandan's picture
dandandan's picture
dandandan Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 10:47am

Don't feel bad if you haven't Stu! I started making a hollow wooden board about 8 years ago. It's still sitting there, one weekend away from being finished. I doubt it will ever see the water.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 11:55am

Yeah, something along the same lines Dan. The board is near enough finished but a few of the balsa strips had hollow cores which were unfortunately placed on the rails. Once the hollow is sanded into it opens a pit that has to be filled and smoothed to match the contrours of the rail.

Couldn't quite be arsed doing that...and so it waits.

wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443's picture
wingnut2443 Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 12:58pm

Bugger ... so close, yet so far!

saltman's picture
saltman's picture
saltman Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 10:09am

Linda's stance is classic rabbit at Burleigh don't ya think
Gives credence to the Parmenter quote above about singles ridden at the highest level forcing a common style

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 10:41am

I think he was referring to thrusters forcing a common style.

memlasurf's picture
memlasurf's picture
memlasurf Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 2:25pm

Not sure FR my memory of the singles was that they were mangey dogs and everybody tended to surf in a similar manner as turning the things (particulary the long ones) was a chore so it required the same approach. Nice waves to ride them in, don't try this at an average beach break.

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 2:56pm

yes, but Parmenter is clearly referencing thrusters as forcing a common style, which is why they chose a single fin.

saltman's picture
saltman's picture
saltman Friday, 24 Jun 2016 at 7:18am

Ah I misread that quote

Still she looks like rabbit in a bikini in that pic

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 3:08pm

I don't know how he could say that thrusters force a common style without acknowledging any other specific craft forces a certain style.

You could say the same thing about a boogie board or rhino chaser.

twoplusone's picture
twoplusone's picture
twoplusone Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 4:02pm

Think about it Zen, the modern shortboard (thruster or quad) is designed to be surfed in a particular manner, one turn leads straight to the next and so on. And they need to be kept on rail or in constant motion to keep going. So the locomotion between riders becomes very similar. Its pretty evident when watching the pro's surf - there are often only small differences in scores, from variations on the same type of turn - not that there is anything wrong with that. Single fins offer something else, in that there isn't the constant wind up between turns. Parmenter gives a great analysis on the whole single fin and modern shortboard shebang in the last edition of Surfers Journal. Worth a read.

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Friday, 24 Jun 2016 at 8:52am

Got it in one. My work ends up playing the 1981 Bells heats on its screens from time to time, take a look at the sheer variety of individual styles. Compare Fitzy to Bobby Owens to Richo - then compare all to footage you find of Buttons or MP or Shaun - radically different. Then compare to Cheyne! There was certainly more individual expression on how to ride a wave.

sharkman's picture
sharkman's picture
sharkman Friday, 24 Jun 2016 at 1:19pm

I would have thought that people would be able to tell the difference between Jon Jon , Bourez , Medina , Toledo 's style and way they surf a wave different?
I think riding a single fins limits you to a certain part of the wave , where as Thrusters alow way more scope to ride all different parts of the wave.
Kidman and Parmateer , have just found a warm and fuzzy part of Surfings ancient history and have simply plagiarized this part of History for their own personal gain , by using groovy far out statements , and trying to show us that cool / locomotion is what they are , and we should pay homage to them!

twoplusone's picture
twoplusone's picture
twoplusone Friday, 24 Jun 2016 at 2:23pm

Settle down sharkman. I wasn't deriding thrusters at all and I wasn't talking about style either - everyone has their own style. The point was about the mechanics of surfing, and how this is similar to a large extent by the nature of riding a contemporary shape. Go back and read what Stu has written and then have a look at Steph's surfing and see if you can work it out. People are into what interests them - if you don't like it - too bad. Kidman and Parmenter are purists in my view & there is nothing wrong with that either.

derra83's picture
derra83's picture
derra83 Friday, 24 Jun 2016 at 2:57pm

Ive just noticed you're using your real name on Beachgrit, however over here you use a fake name to slag off other shapers. You're a weak character Maurice.

sharkman's picture
sharkman's picture
sharkman Sunday, 26 Jun 2016 at 8:54am

WTF are you talking about ? Slag off shapers , that's your interpretation,. my point is its great to see some students of the past working through the technical side of surfings past . But there is nothing new , nothing creative and innovative , celebrating a bygone design era , each to his own ! I agree Maurice is a very weak character!

chook's picture
chook's picture
chook Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 4:48pm

thrusters seem pretty damn good for just pulling into a barrel and going straight.

rabbit_warren's picture
rabbit_warren's picture
rabbit_warren Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 9:16pm

Have read and re-read so many different threads and comments on swellnet and conclude that I'm mighty glad most of you don't 'attempt' to surf where I do.
Stick with your theory, concepts, appraisals and bullshite and leave the waves to us who surf...good enough eh,appreciate your help ;;))))

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 10:07pm

Where do you surf ?

rabbit_warren's picture
rabbit_warren's picture
rabbit_warren Thursday, 23 Jun 2016 at 10:44pm

Ohh come on..flip, did not i scribe along the lines.. am so happy you do not surf wherever i am not?
Happy for you to surf your patch or the web as so often comments are posted...sadly with a view the poster surfs more web than wave so much stoked that i can go do My stuff.., bury a rail, take off late, surf alone

hovercraft's picture
hovercraft's picture
hovercraft Thursday, 7 Jul 2016 at 6:06pm

Riding a 70's style single fin in a half decent manner takes practice. Riding a modern thruster set up is so much easier