Wallace Berman at Art Basel

June 8, 2009

Michael Kohn Gallery at Art Basel
Michael Kohn Gallery





Art Basel 40
Hall 2.0
Booth W7

http://www.kohngallery.com/

Michael Kohn Gallery is pleased to present never before seen works by Wallace Berman (1949-1976). Wallace Berman was born in 1926 in Staten Island, New York, and was widely considered to be the father of the assemblage movement. He began his career making sculptures from unused scraps and reject materials while working in an antique furniture factory. By the early 1950s, Berman had become an artist and active figure in the beat community in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Moving between the two cities, Berman devoted himself to his mail art publication, Semina, which contained a sampling of beat poetry and images selected by the artist. In 1963, Berman moved to Topanga Canyon in the Los Angeles area, and began work on verifax collages (printed images, often from magazines and newspapers, mounted in collage fashion onto a flat surface, sometimes with solid bright areas of acrylic paint). He continued creating these works, as well as rock assemblages, until his death in 1976.

In 2008 Wallace Berman was featured in a number of shows in Europe, including his first retrospective at the Camden Arts Centre in London as well as group shows at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. In 2009, Michael Kohn Gallery hosted a well-received two-person show that focused on the work of Wallace Berman and Richard Prince and the way in which the artists portrayed women in their art. Berman’s work is included in public collections at numerous institutions including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

For further inquiry please contact Laura Sumser at 323.658.8088, or info@kohngallery.com

Boris Vian's RED GRASS (L'Herbe Rouge)

Photo by Azoulay

TamTam Books is proud to announce that we have purchased the world English rights to Boris Vian's novel RED GRASS (L'Herbe Rouge). Paul knobloch who is currently working on the translation of the Gainsbourg biography, will do the translation for RED GRASS.

Boris Vian is a great among the greats, and we are thrilled to have another Boris Vian masterpiece under the TamTam Books banner. RED GRASS is scheduled to come out in 2011. Keep checking here for updates and info!

Issei Sagawa: "Excuse Me For Living"

Part 1



Part 2




Part 3


Part 4



Part 5




Part 6

Joe Meek's The Tornados

One of the great music videos ever made.

Serge Gainsbourg Night in Los Angeles

THIS TUESDAY @ LE CLUB DING-A-LING...

FREE HOT CREPES ALL NIGHT!!! Seriously!!!!!

The 1st Annual SERGE GAINSBOURG and '60s FRENCH POP TRIBUTE NIGHT!

If you're not hip to the groovy sounds of SERGE GAINSBOURG and all the
incredible '60s YE YE girl-pop he helped to elevate to a high art
form, then this evening will change your life!!! Even if you're well
steeped in the genre, chances are you haven't seen either of the
incredibly rare SERGE GAINSBOURG film / Television projects that we'll
be showing in their entirety -- namely the melancholy romantic comedy
he made for French television in the late '60s,

ANNA

starring ANNA KARINA, the hottie he was schtupping in between JANE
BIRKIN and BRIDGETTE BARDOT (poor guy!). We've also gotten a hold of a
copy of the equally rare and ultra-kewl

CANNABIS

a film about one of my favorite subjects... Both of these films are
tough enough to find in France, but nearly impossible to get a hold of
here, in the notoriously Francophobic USA!!

Plus, as if that's not enough, we've got hours of GAINSBOURG related
French Television Performances, Music Videos, Scopitones, film clips
and fashion videos featuring the likes of FRANCE GALL, JANE BIRKIN,
CLEO, FRANCOISE HARDY, LIO, PIERRE CARDIN, COUREGGES, DANI, etc... BUT
WAIT -- THERE'S MORE... we also have somehow acquired William Klein's
"MISTER FREEDOM" (featuring GAINSBOURG), and parts of Klein's rarely
seen "WHO ARE YOU, POLLY MAGOO?" and "MODE IN FRANCE".

You don't want to miss this unique opportunity to see all of this
insanely rare footage!!!

Spinning beaucoups of danceable French favorites we have our own MC /
audio miscreant DON BOLLES, DJ LEGS LEBROCK, PRICKLE, QUINN, DJ Mor
Elian and DJ/VJ "MIKIE"...

Serving up the continental suds will be NO-RA and her zany sidekick, MINGY...

So come on down, have some cake, and lose your head to the groovy
sights and sounds of the YE YE revolution! YE YE YE!!!!

It's all happening...
This Tuesday, March 10th
@ Le Club Ding-a-Ling
Hyperion Tavern
1941 Hyperion Blvd
Silverlake, 90026

and remember It's FREE!!!! Like the Free French!
Behold the man himself (and friend...)

SHE: Images of Women by Wallace Berman & Richard Prince

This is the catalogue to the exhibition that is up at the Michael Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles. You can get the book in any bookstore that carries cool art books.

Art work from The Kray Twins (done in Prison)

Jean Paul Yamamoto at Judo-Chop in Little Tokyo

A must-see a must-go

MOCA PACIFIC DESIGN CENTER
11am–6pm

INDEPENDENT BOOK FAIR OPENING PARTY
Meet independent book sellers, small-press publishers, and artists who make books, and browse through special offerings that you won’t find elsewhere. Participating publishers include Ben Maltz Gallery/Otis College of Art and Design, Beyond Baroque, Evil Twin Publications, Santa Monica Museum of Art, 2nd Cannon, Smart Art Press, Specific Object, and TamTam Books, among many others. At 1pm today, join us for fun and refreshments at the Henry T. Hopkins Look-Alike Contest and Bake Sale, presented by the Manitoba Museum of Finds Art. The Book Fair continues on Sunday, February 8.
INFO 310/289-5223 or artcatalogues@moca.org
FREE

Wallace Berman's "Aleph" but bootleg version

This I suspect was shot off the screen at the Camden Arts Centre. I like it because of the sound of the 16mm Projector.

Kristine McKenna's talk on Wallace Berman from the Camden Arts Centre Exhibition, London

Wallace Berman Solo Exhibition in Paris

Hey everyone, go see the Wallace Berman solo show at the Frank Elbaz gallery in Paris. The exhibit is curated by Sophie Dannenmuller. The address is 7 rue Saint-Claude 75003 Paris France. The phone no. there is 33 (0) 1 48 87 50 04

French Press notices on the Wallace Berman Exhibition in Paris

SHE: Wallace Berman and Richard Prince exhibition

Photograph by Wallace Berman

There is going to be a great show opening up in Los Angeles starting January 15th to March 7th with my Dad Wallace Berman and Richard Prince in an exhibition curated by Kristine McKenna called "SHE: Images of Women by Wallace Berman and Richard Prince." Also a catalogue is coming out, edited and written by McKenna very shortly.


Richard Prince

There will be new pieces by Prince as well as never-seen works by Wallace Berman. The show is at the Michael Kohn Gallery located at 8071 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048.

Wallace Berman Solo Exhibition in Paris

My Thoughts (Images) on Sparks while Working on "Angst in my Pants" Chapter in my book on Sparks

Walt Disney


Ron Mael (Sparks)


Mickey Mouse


Walt Disney visions a world that is not the world, but it's his world


Disney sees the world something like this


In Walt's world this is the perfect bedroom


In a perfect Disney "World" this is the perfect girl


Minnie Mouse is our deep secret desire.


But perhaps this is what we really desire as well.


Peter Pan is the ideal man for our fantasies. We never want to leave the world that we made up in our imagination.


Sparks' express the conflict what we desire and dream about and what's out there in the so called world. Disney made up his world and Sparks' made up their world as well.


At last a world where everyone can understand and appreciate.

TamTam Books' Tribute to Lotte Lenya

The first record that I remember of is Lotte Lenya's songs from "Three Penny Opera." To this very day (50 some years later) it reminds me of my childhood. Even my German Grandmother played this album on a consistent basis. So there was no escape for me!

This is a mere introduction to the great Lenya, and do watch the documentary down below. Meanwhile here are some of her recordings and the 'children' who are deeply influenced by Lotte Lenya (and the music of her husband Kurt Weil, with Brecht of course).


Lotte Lenya sings Pirate Jenny in German (of course) from "Three Penny Opera"


Lotte Lenya singing "Mackie the Knife" from "Three Penny Opera"


Lotte Lenya singing "Alabama Song" (just music not much of an image)


Marlyn Manson sings "Alabama Song" Nice footage by the way. If not actuality, he is the grandchild of Lotte and Kurt.


David Bowie performing (greatly) "Alabama Song" The son of Kurt and Lotte. This is great footage as well.

The documentary down below has great imagery and songs by Lotte Lenya.


Lotte Lenya Documentary Part One Great footage of Lenya.


Lotte Lenya Documentary Part Two


Lotte Lenya Documentary Part Three

Sparks Rare footage

Why Sparks and France are so good together


Sparks and France again, with the underrated great song "A Big Surprise"


No. 1 Song in Heaven on "Top of the Pops"

Consumer Alert: Get this Serge Gainsbourg Box Set

A couple of years ago I picked this box set at the Paris airport, and it's one of my most played sets in my office. Serge Gainsbourg's "Mister Melody" is 98 tracks by various artists who worked with Gainsbourg. All songs are by Serge, and the artists who are invovled are Nico, Dominique Walter, Dalida, Isabelle Aubret, France Gall, Serge Reggiani, Valerie Lagrange, Juliette Greco, Nana Mouskouri, Brigitte Bardot, Petula Clark, Michele Arnaud, Les Freres Jacques, Helene Martin, Mireille Darc, Jane Birkin, Catherine Deneuve, Anna Karina, and lots of others! It's a great collection of great songs and all in four disks.

My favorite online store (and they have a real location in Chicago) Dusty Grove is selling the package for only $34.99! Their website address is http://www.dustygroove.com

Buy it! I swear to anyone that this is a great package with great music. A must for someone who is putting their toes for the first time in the bath water that is Gainsbourg. Also a lot of hard-to-find recordings are in this package. A strong TamTam Books' recommendation.