Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery hosts the book release celebration for Michael Dormer and the Legend of Hot Curl with surf sounds by Pleasure Island on Saturday, August 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.
The late Michael Dormer is synonymous with the California surf counterculture in the 1960s and 70s. The post-World War II influence of Beatnik poetry, jazz, and art on the California Coast created a revolution in the Orange County surf world, and no one defined the visual style of this movement more than Dormer. His career as an artist took off when he created “Hot Curl,” the mop-haired, knobby-kneed, pot bellied surfer who became a nationwide sensation after appearing regularly in SurfToons magazine (and still published regularly in Surfer magazine). He created the cult classic 1960s TV show Shrimpenstein!, which was a favorite of Frank Sinatra. He also designed the opening credits of 1964’s Muscle Beach Party movie starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.
An exhibition of original Dormer drawings, paintings, and ephemera opens on Saturday, August 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, with music by Pleasure Island at 7:00. This event coincides with the lively Georgetown Art Attack featuring fine art and awesome music all around the historic neighborhood. Fantagraphics Bookstore is located at 1201 S. Vale Street, only minutes south of downtown Seattle. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206-557-4910.