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The Long, Wild Ride of John Philbin: Surfer, Actor, and Now, Art Curator; Firestorms, Tsumanis, Big Waves and Kate Bosworth!
John Philbin has a great mug. It’s a face with stories to tell. A casting director would easily pop him as a waterman or a cattle rancher. He can do badass, yet he is quick to smile with a laugh. His eyes actually twinkle.
It is almost impossible to define the process of art making. It is as equally difficult to express the experience of surfing. These two worlds are twin mirrors. Both are tedious and frustrating as one waits and hopes for a wave or an idea. Both require a million immediate micro-decisions. Both are eager to seize an opportunity. Both demand courage, stamina and perseverance. In the arts, success is as fleeting as the memory of a sublime ride.
As I set forth to produce a series of virtual exhibitions for Art Report Today, I confess an agenda: to bypass the systemic elitism; to celebrate the heart and soul of the fine artist; to loudly share these admirable values with the rest of the world. Within a nanosecond, John Philbin came to mind.
GORDY GRUNDY: Before we speak of the higher arts and life in general, I’ve got to ask a Hollywood question. The Western “Tombstone” is a film classic for many, many reasons, but I’ve always felt the star of the film, besides you, was…
