Anthony Friedkin (American, 1949 - )
The Wave Portfolio
As a visual artist, my journey with the ocean and waves has been a lifelong one. I've always been drawn to the creative and challenging possibilities of photographing waves. The photographs in this portfolio are a culmination of my experiences, selected from a photo essay I've been working on since 1977. They are a personal interpretation of my more than forty-five years as a surfer and disciple of the sea, a way for me to express my deep connection and feelings about the ocean and beyond.
Waves, to me, are like liquid sculptures. They possess a dynamic force and ethereal beauty that is unique to them. They symbolize our universe by displaying mystical forms of energy. The violent storms that generate massive ocean swells, which eventually come to shore, are a testament to their power and majesty. These swells, sometimes traveling thousands of miles, release their phenomenal force in a way that is truly awe-inspiring.
Each wave, like a bolt of lightning, is unique. When a wave breaks, it represents a precise moment in time when the air, the land, and the ocean meet - a confluence of physical wonder. The ocean floor determines the wave's shape, similar to a blueprint for a structure's foundation. The sea's salt water represents mass, and the air or wind determines the wave's texture: "glassy" on a calm day, choppy or topped off with spray, as when strong offshore winds blow up the face of a breaking wave.
Some of the elements that have inspired me to record waves include observing the brilliance of the sunlight when it reflects off the surface of the wave and seeing the chiaroscuro of the wave's tones, with its blacks to brilliant whites as it breaks. And then there are the ocean's deep moods of serenity, totally pure and peaceful. On occasion, the opposite reality can exist: dangerous conditions where the surf is huge and frightening, and one could drown in a heartbeat if not extremely careful. The wave's incredible shape and its abstract, sensual, moist, and cylindrical form motivate me as an artist.
Many scholars believe the ocean represents our unconscious. The sound of the wave breaking underwater is like the clamor of creation itself: loud, booming, yet strangely harmonious and soothing. The ocean, with its jewel-like waves, is from whence we came, and when I'm in the water, I feel like I'm connecting to something so mighty and primordial that it's fantastic. All the mysteries of life and death, light and darkness, space and time, are to be found there. By photographing the ocean waves, I want to reveal their secrets within. - Anthony Friedkin
Anthony Friedkin’s photographs are in the collections of numerous institutions including: the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Modern Art. Monographs by Friedkin include: Time Keeper (2003) and the Gay Essay (2014), both with introductions by Julian Cox.