Oprah Winfrey signed off this week. It was a story followed around the world AND on the shores of the California coast where she received the honor of being “kookified.”
Created by Hemet sculptor Matthew Antichevich under a $92,000 commission from the Cardiff Botanical Society, the 16-foot tall sculpture was installed three years ago just outside the San Elijo State Beach campground (North San Diego County). Critics immediately blasted it as effeminate, not enough like a surfer — more a ballet dancer than a macho rider of waves.
Since its installation in 2007 along Highway 101 in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, the statue named “Magic Carpet Ride†by its creator Matthew Antichevich has taken on many faces. Much discussed & maligned, eaten by ‘Jaws’, crowned with a pumpkin head, and dressed as everything from a clown to Zorro – the delight and debate that is the “Cardiff Kook†happily rages on…The Cardiff Kook occupies a prominent piece of real estate near some of the most popular surf breaks along the San Diego coastline. Once erected, both surfers & non-surfers immediately began chiming in over what many agree is a poor representation of the ‘true’ surfer form. Perhaps it’s the limp wrists, arms splayed in a strange manner, ’stink-bug’ stance, or portrayal atop a sputtering spray – instead of an epic wave… The Kook has heard it all, and has since become the target of pranksters far and wide.
The Wall Street Journal featured the “Kook” in a story last September.
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