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Image Not Available for Surfing poster advertising 'Fluid Drive', by Scott Dittrick and Skip Smith
Surfing poster advertising 'Fluid Drive', by Scott Dittrick and Skip Smith
Image Not Available for Surfing poster advertising 'Fluid Drive', by Scott Dittrick and Skip Smith

Surfing poster advertising 'Fluid Drive', by Scott Dittrick and Skip Smith

Date1976
Object number00031873
NamePoster
MediumColour lithograph on paper
DimensionsOverall: 760 x 340 mm
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis poster advertises the 1976 reissue of the 1974 surf film Fluid Drive, by Scott Dittrick and Skip Smith. This updated edit includes additional footage from the 1976 winter island surf season and animations by Bill Davis. Surfing in Australia, California and Hawaii is presented as driving action accompanied by a rock and roll sound track including songs by Led Zepplin, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Lou Reed. The sound recordings were boot-legged from Dittrich's personal collection. Fluid Drive was Dittrich's debut film and includes footage of American surfer Bill Hamilton, regarded by many as the definitive surfing stylist from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s. Dittrich went on to make eight other surfing films between 1981 aand 1987. HistoryThe film consists of radical surfing manoeuvres choreographed to music and was aimed at a youthful audience. Hollywood began producing surf films in the late 1950s as the first generation of post-Second World War baby boomers reached adolescence. From this point on surfing films have grown in popularity and become part of popular surf culture. Surfing and the beach symbolised the idealism of carefree fun and freedom - a contrast to the routines and conventions of everyday life. SignificanceSurfing films showcase the most talented surfers of the year in exotic locations allowing viewers to compare their styles and skills. These films have become part of popular surfing culture. This poster reflects the graphic style of surfing film posterss of the late 1970s and documents the surfers who dominated the sport and the filmakers who recorded them.