Part Medieval-style bestiary, part natural history treatise, this remarkable body of work by Josep Baque came to the public's attention only in 2011. With this book, author Brian Chidester has penned the first-ever critical biography of this enigmatic creator and of his strange, whimsical creation. Threading 20th century art history, Spain's fascist era, and what record there is of Baque's personal life, Chidester presents a full picture of one of the most fascinating 'outsider art' careers of the 20th century. Grouped into nine distinct taxonomies - wild beasts, primitive men, bats, insects, giant spiders, snakes, cephalopods, crustaceans, birds, and fish - each creature is placed against a blank white backdrop and surrounded by a pencil-drawn square box. Despite setting up his creatures as species classifications instead of individual characters, the artist imbued each with an individualistic personality and self-awareness. They often gaze outward, perform as if on display, and even feel around for possible ways out of their aesthetic cage - which speaks to Baque's visual fondness for carnival posters and freak show banners of the era. Collectively they represent a rich visual imagination at odds with the conformist political climate in which he created them.

From the original beachcomber personalities like the Waikiki Beachboys of the early 20th century, to the postwar rise of southern California as a creative epicentre for music, art, and film, Pop Surf Culture traces the roots of the surf boom from its earliest days as an insular, regional Hawaiian subculture, to its proliferation nationwide in mainstream teen fads and entertainment. Criss-crossing through the 1950s Beat Generation, 1960s counterculture, 1970s punk rock, the book illustrates why surf culture is a vital art movement of the 20th century. Pop Surf Culture covers the highs and lows of surf's mainstreaming, including the popular 'beach' movies of the 1950s and '60s which featured such stars as Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon and the music of Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, Brian Wilson, the Pyramids, Gary Usher, James Brown, and Little Stevie Wonder. 1960s art figures Michael Dormer and Rick Griffin - as well as the surf magazines which promoted their art - are featured alongside the progenitors of 'surf music,' from the little known (the Centurians) to the wildly popular (the Beach Boys). From Duke Kahanamoku, the Gas House, Gidget, surfing on television, the bohemian surf aesthetic, surf music hot spots, and Mickey 'Da Cat' Dora, the entire spectrum of pop surf culture is covered within these colourfully illustrated pages.

Part Medieval-style bestiary, part natural history treatise, this remarkable body of work by Josep Baque came to the public's attention only in 2011. With this book, author Brian Chidester has penned the first-ever critical biography of this enigmatic creator and of his strange, whimsical creation. Threading 20th century art history, Spain's fascist era, and what record there is of Baque's personal life, Chidester presents a full picture of one of the most fascinating 'outsider art' careers of the 20th century. Grouped into nine distinct taxonomies - wild beasts, primitive men, bats, insects, giant spiders, snakes, cephalopods, crustaceans, birds, and fish - each creature is placed against a blank white backdrop and surrounded by a pencil-drawn square box. Despite setting up his creatures as species classifications instead of individual characters, the artist imbued each with an individualistic personality and self-awareness. They often gaze outward, perform as if on display, and even feel around for possible ways out of their aesthetic cage - which speaks to Baque's visual fondness for carnival posters and freak show banners of the era. Collectively they represent a rich visual imagination at odds with the conformist political climate in which he created them.

From the original beachcomber personalities like the Waikiki Beachboys of the early 20th century, to the postwar rise of southern California as a creative epicentre for music, art, and film, Pop Surf Culture traces the roots of the surf boom from its earliest days as an insular, regional Hawaiian subculture, to its proliferation nationwide in mainstream teen fads and entertainment. Criss-crossing through the 1950s Beat Generation, 1960s counterculture, 1970s punk rock, the book illustrates why surf culture is a vital art movement of the 20th century. Pop Surf Culture covers the highs and lows of surf's mainstreaming, including the popular 'beach' movies of the 1950s and '60s which featured such stars as Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon and the music of Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, Brian Wilson, the Pyramids, Gary Usher, James Brown, and Little Stevie Wonder. 1960s art figures Michael Dormer and Rick Griffin - as well as the surf magazines which promoted their art - are featured alongside the progenitors of 'surf music,' from the little known (the Centurians) to the wildly popular (the Beach Boys). From Duke Kahanamoku, the Gas House, Gidget, surfing on television, the bohemian surf aesthetic, surf music hot spots, and Mickey 'Da Cat' Dora, the entire spectrum of pop surf culture is covered within these colourfully illustrated pages.