San Diego Surf, the last remaining unreleased Warhol movie which was filmed in La Jolla Calf, in May 1968 has resurfaced. It was shot in color on 16mm with two cameras, manned by Andy Warhol and the director Paul Morrissey. The film features superstars Viva, Taylor Mead, Louis Waldon, Joe Dallesandro, Tom Hompertz, Ingrid Superstar, Eric Emerson, Nawana Davis, and others. Its loose narrative concerns an unhappily married couple with a baby who rent their beach house to a group of surfers. Warhol produced more than 4,000 reels of film between 1963 and 1971, when the works were withdrawn from circulation. In the early 1980s a project began to preserve and re-release his films.
Warhol only partially edited and never released San Diego Surf, which has been vaulted until now. The film was recently released by The Andy Warhol Museum, and has only been shown at one other venue. It was screened at The Museum of Modern Art in New York in October 2012 and again last week (January 23-28).
Warhol is widely regarded as one of the most important artists of the second half of the 20th century, and he brought the vision of a successful artist to his filmmaking activities. In 1997, The Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh received the copyright to this material as a gift from The Andy Warhol Foundation. Intriguing even in his lifetime, Warhol’s films have attracted overwhelming public and scholarly attention since they have become newly available. Their wide-ranging influence can be seen in the work of contemporary artists and filmmakers, as well as numerous exhibitions and publications.
Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987), was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, avant-garde filmmaker, record producer, author, and member of highly diverse social circles that included Bohemian street people, distinguished intellectuals, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy patrons.
One of the last films in which Warhol had direct involvement, San Diego Surf is being released by The Andy Warhol Museum, who holds all the copyrights to this film which has never before been publicly shown.
MCASD La Jolla will host the West Coast premier of the film on Saturday, March 16 at 5:30 PM.