SCRIBBLE WAVE

John Van Hamersveld is an icon in Southern California culture, or maybe more aptly described as a creator of icons, credited with many graphics and images that celebrate Southern California. He launched his professional career as the art director at ‘Surfer Magazine’. Then his poster for the classic surf film ‘The Endless Summer’ became an image that is an emblem for surf culture itself. John Van Hamersveld always seems to have his finger on the pulse of popular culture, one step ahead of the crystal ball, a combination of keeping his mind open and his ambitions ever-reaching. Artists and scholars of different disciplines refer to Van Hamersveld and his work as a magical enigma, describing him as a man “of a different mind”, and speaking in awe of his ability to capture the essence of a whole time period in a single piece. Spontaneity is not part of his approach. He has the designer’s sensibility, not the artist who draws. Every inch, every wiggly worm is carefully considered.