I would like to write about some discussion this show has started in my immediate circle of friends in the graduate department. To give you a bit of background, the following information was taken directly from the Ulrich Museum's web page:
"This international traveling exhibition documents the community of creative people that coalesced around Wallace Berman (1926-1976), the quintessential visual artist of the Beat era. Showcasing the artists and poets who contributed to "Semina", Berman's free-form journal published in California in the 1950s and 60s, this multimedia exhibition includes rarely seen collages, paintings, assemblages and films by Toni Basil, Jay DeFeo, Allen Ginsberg, Walter Hopps, Michael McClure, Dean Stockwell, and Berman himself. Particularly exciting is the inclusion of works by two artists with Kansas roots. Bruce Conner was born in McPherson, grew up in Wichita and attended Wichita University (now Wichita State). Actor and filmmaker Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider, Blue Velvet) was born in Dodge City and as a child attended art classes at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. "Semina Culture: Wallace Berman & His Circle" has been organized for the Santa Monica Museum of Art by co-curators Michael Duncan and Kristine McKenna."
The show is extremely large and engulfs the entire gallery space with over 200 pieces of printings, photos, multi media collage, film and objects. These pieces, though really quite fascinating are not really the basis for this writing. Instead, the areas of Berman's photographs of each artist involved directly with his "circle" were the most interesting and provide the catalyst for the discussion that follows. Berman, took photos of each artist he was in contact with during the printing of the Semina Culture journal. Each artist is presented in their own environment or if you will, as a visual biography of that very second in their artistic lives. This is the part that I found most interesting.
I have always been fascinated by the ideas that the Beat culture revolved and grew from. The ideas that produced manifestos, writings, happenings and "beat" events seem to have been long forgotten in our modern society. Especially the idea of the artist as a viable subject for the artistic portrait (mind you, not the artist SELF portrait). The art society of today seems to have long displaced the ideas of being photographed as important figures for historical preservation and for the promotion of their work, ideas and lifestyle. These portraits taken by "outside" artists have been replaced with digital imagery that can be controlled by the self and relies on no one but the artist alone. It leaves out the view from the "forth wall" that an outside viewer can provide. It leaves out the content that the artist has decided to manipulate or ignore due to the belief that it is not important to their art making or personal invention. It leaves out the inner soul that they may not be aware of.
My fascination with this generation and many others for that matter has generally revolved around these photographic biographies that visually link their artistic culture with my own and seem to provide their "certificate of authenticity" in the world of art history. It is my firm belief that this documentation needs to find resurgence in our current artistic culture in order to facilitate the same authenticity for future generations. While present day art historians have no "ism" to place the current culture of artists and possible movements into, without these portraits, they will loose much of the historical documentation that will form that very "ism" in our history. And in all honesty, we as artists will loose the very stitching that binds our values, ideas and processes into one form, one movement, one generation. Berman had a vision of his artistic world of friends and thought it necessary to "speak" of visually. The generation of today needs the same voice. It needs the same vision of it's own future to be documented. It needs to be held in reserve for the next generation of voices to look upon one day.
Very nice commentary!