Carlsbad Art and Culture

Carlsbad Sidewalk Surfer by bryan snyder from Bryan Snyder on Vimeo.

A sleepy morning, thick under May’s gray, slowly rubs the gloom from its eyes as the sun punches its card. Village stores flip their window signs and leaf blowers push debris towards the ocean. Rolling waves pound the shore and a light breeze tickles the smooth sea. Ripples agitate mid morning surfers and a chop finds its way through unharvested kelp beds. The sun climbs to its zenith as an unforgiving wind stirs, blowing sand in eyes of children and on the oily bodies of pre summer preparations.

When most nap, eat and count the minutes until the wind calms, one local surfer drives down the face of his favorite wave. Fueled by large gusts of wind and peeling over impenetrable slabs of concrete, a welcoming green room opens its door. A tarp whips in the mid day wind and passers hold up traffic. The green tarp, disconnected along the bottom of the fence, pauses in the gloomy sky and slowly falls to the ground as the wind simmers. Passers continue on their way with a smile and an extra kick to their step. The next swell breaks when the palms blow and the sun is high…

Have you seen Carlsbad’s newest break?

Carlsbad Sidewalk Surfer, a public art piece created by Bryan Snyder, interacts with its environment during mid day wind gusts. Like the waves that tumble upon our shore, the visibility of this art piece depends on the weather. Between the glassy conditions of the morning and the mellow winds at dusk, the Carlsbad Sidewalk Surfer sneaks into another ride.

The goal of this project is to showcase the relationship between a piece of art and its environment when placed in the streets.

Would this art piece be as successful inside a gallery?

project highlighted on woostercollective.com