Saturday, June 7, 2008

surfer's cross



... used by surfers as a talisman to bring good waves, worn to distinguish the surfer from the rest of society...

... co-opted because young surfers would wear their father's war trophies as an anti-establishment statement...

3 comments:

wheaty said...

In the pre WW2 years the swastica appeared on many boards and was something of an early board company label. Didn't have any connections with Adolf at this stage though.
The iron cross and nazi uniform thing kicked in during the 50's at Malibu. Definitely to piss off parents and outsiders. Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth even mass produced a chromed plastic nazi helmet, all part of that beatnik hot rod surf culture thing.

Anonymous said...

I thought you might like that one Wheaty adn not a bad match to your last board? Was it the swastica that was orginally a symbol of peace for buddhist monks or some such connection??

wheaty said...

The swastica is originally a religeous symbol I think, even connected to christianity at certain times. It has been quite a popular motif at times, but of course the Nazis adopting it seems to have killed off its mainstream appeal.