Tosh Berman on "West of Eden: An American Place" by Jean Stein

 

Tosh Berman on "West of Eden: An American Place" by Jean Stein

Wallace Berman Retrospective Catalog 1978

As far as I know this is the first full catalog of Wallace Berman's art. It was published by the Fellows of Contemporary Art in 1978. Two years after my dad's death. The exhibiton was curated by Hal Glicksman and located at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Walter Hopps was originally going to curate the show, but he disappeared and I can't remember why. I do have a memory having a meeting with Walter at a big table at someone's house. I was there with my mom, I'm pretty sure Hal was there as well. Walter spoke slowly with a sense of drama. He said "Wallace's art is.....on the wall....and the walls are white....." We all silently thought about this, and we all nod our heads yes. Nevertheless, Hal did a remarkable job in putting the show together, and it looked beautiful.

"Wallace Berman Retrospective" (1978) is out-of-print and be expensive when found. But for the collector..... "Perfect bound in wrappers, 118 pp., illustrated throughout. Includes a foreword by Hal Glicksman, an interview with Walter Hopps, essays by Robert Duncan and David Meltzer, a chronology, a catalog of the exhibition, and a bibliography. An important early gathering of Berman's work, his first retrospective."

-Tosh Berman

Wallace Berman: Semina No. 1 (1955)

 

I goofed yesterday due to god knows why, but here is Semina No. 1 edited and published by Wallace Berman. The cover is an image of the artist Cameron. Inside in the publication is the drawing by Cameron that led my dad to Jail for a night or so. From the Metropolitan Museum in New York City:

Title:Semina 1

Artist:Wallace Berman (American, Staten Island, New York 1926–1976 Topanga Canyon, California)

Author:Robert Alexander (American, Chicago 1923–1978)

Artist:Charles Brittin (American, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1928–2011)

Artist: Cameron (American, Belle Plain, Iowa 1922–1995 Pasadena, California)

Author:Jean Cocteau (French, Maisons-Laffitte 1889–1963 Milly-la-Forêt)

Author: Hermann Hesse (German, 1877–1962)

Author: Marion Grogan (American (?), active 1950s)

Artist:Walter Hopps (American, Eagle Rock, California 1932–2005)

Author:David Meltzer (American, born Rochester, New York, 1937)

Author: Peder Carr (American (?), active 1950s)

Date:1955

Medium:Mixed media artist’s publication

Dimensions:7 7/16 × 4 in. (18.9 × 10.2 cm)

Classification:Periodicals

Credit Line:Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, and Joyce F. Menschel Photography Library Funds, 2014

Accession Number:2014.8.1

-Tosh Berman

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/634164

Wallace Berman Installation at the Ferus Gallery, 1957

Contact sheet showing images of Wallace Berman's exhibition at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, 1957. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.13. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Photos by Charles Brittin

My dad, Wallace Berman, first and the very last gallery show he did while alive. This exhibition was shut down by the LAPD in 1057. -Tosh Berman

 

Tosh Berman meets Marcel Duchamp on Tosh Talks

Tosh Berman Meets Marcel Duchamp on Tosh Talks

Tosh Berman talks about the Pasadena Museum retrospective exhibition of Marcel Duchamp's artwork, curated by Walter Hopps in 1963. Tosh reads a chapter from "Tosh: Growing Up in Wallace Berman's World (City Lights Books)," focusing on meeting Duchamp.

"Tosh Talks" Podcast: Meeting Marcel Duchamp

Tosh Berman reads a chapter from his memoir "Tosh: Growing Up in Wallace Berman's World" (City Lights) regarding his meeting as a 9-year-old with iconic artist Marcel Duchamp. Photograph by Julian Wasser, at the Pasadena Museum's opening for the Duchamp retrospective, curated by Walter Hopps. -Tosh Berman

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