The Wallace Berman papers date from 1907 to 1979 (bulk 1955-1979). The collection measures 5 linear feet and presents a cursory overview of Berman's career as an assemblage artist and poet. The collection contains business correspondence, letters from other artists and writers of the Beat movement, writings by others, scattered artwork by Berman, photographs by Robert F. Heinecken, and sound recordings of poetry readings.
Scope and Content Note:
The Wallace Berman papers, 1907-1979 (bulk 1955-1979), measure 5 linear feet and present a cursory overview of Berman's career as an assemblage artist and poet. The collection is valuable not only for its documentation of the work of Wallace Berman, but for its documentation of the California beat movement of the late 1950s through the early 1970s.
Found are numerous letters, writings, poems, and other published material which portray the thoughts, attitudes, and trends popular in a prominent underground culture which eventually led to radical changes in America and American art. The collection contains business correspondence, letters from other artists and writers of the beat movement, writings by others, scattered artwork by Berman, and photographs by Robert F. Heinecken. In addition, the collection contains files for Berman's mail art publications Semina and S.M.S. Also of note is the large volume of printed material (2.7 feet), much of it in the form of books and other published material. Sound recordings include poets Michael McClure, Kenneth Patchen, David Melzer, and another unidentified writer performing their work.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into nine series which generally reflect material type.
With the exception of the letters in Series 1, each series is arranged chronologically. The original arrangement of the letters has been maintained, with a chronological arrangement of miscellaneous business letters and an alphabetical arrangement of the letters from Berman's more prominent colleagues.
Missing Title
Series 1: Letters, 1957-1979, undated (box 1, 0.5 linear feet)
Series 2: Notes from Interview, 1967 (box 1, 1 folder)
Series 3: Writings by Others, 1972, undated (box 1, 6 folders)
Series 4: Artwork, 1956-1976 (box 1, 4 folders)
Series 5: Semina, 1955-1967 (boxes 1-2, 26 folders)
Series 6: S. M. S., 1968 (box 2, 1 folders)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1907-1976 (boxes 2-5, 2.7 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, 1956-1976 (box 5, 6 folders)
Series 9: Sound Recordings, 1962-1965 (box 5, 6 folders)
Biographical Note:
Wallace Berman was born in 1926 in Staten Island, New York. In the 1930s, his family moved to the Jewish district in Los Angeles. After being expelled from high school for gambling in the early 1940s, Berman immersed himself in the growing West Coast jazz scene. During this period, he briefly attended the Jepson Art School and Chouinard Art School, but departed when he found the training too academic for his needs.
In 1949, while working in a factory finishing antique furniture, he began to make sculptures from unused scraps and reject materials. By the early 1950s, Berman had become a full-time artist and an active figure in the beat community in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Many art historians consider him to be the "father" of the California assemblage movement. 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 Berman.
In 1963, permanently settled in Topanga Canyon in the Los Angeles area, Berman 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.
Provenance:
The Wallace Berman papers were donated by Tosh Berman, Wallace Berman's son, in 1992.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy. Use of audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Shirin Neshat I will greet the sun again organized by Ed Schad ; Shirin Neshat in conversation with Glenn Lowry ; with essays by Godfrey Cheshire, Layla S. Diba, Farzaneh Milani, and Ed Schad
Correspondence, photographs, writings, sketches, drawings, paintings, and printed material.
REELS 1880-1882: Extensive correspondence with Bowden's wife, Lois; letters from Paul Bransom, Imogen Cunningham, Hi Hirsch, Hans Hofmann, Robert Johnson, George McNeil, George Post, James Schevill, Hassel Smith, Brett Weston, and Edward Weston; notes and writings on photography and art; sketches, drawings, and paintings; business papers and business correspondence from museum and gallery directors including Edward Steichen, Fred Hobbs, Charles Campbell, Minor White, and others; catalogs, clippings, and other printed materials.
REEL 1885: Ca. 500 photographs, mostly by Bowden, including photos of George Abend, Al and Frances Bernstein, Richard and Pat Bowman, M. Carles, Walter Chabrow, Imogen Cunningham, Willem de Kooning, Vic and Jeanne Di Suvero, Loyola and Ed Fourtane, Mrs. Gibson, Grabhorn, Robinson Jeffers, Aristodemos Kaldis, Lee Krasner, Darius Milhaud, Gordon Onslow-Ford, Phylis and Bob Pauey, Jackson Pollock's studio, Otis Oldfield, George Post, Kenneth Price, Ad Reinhardt, Kenneth Rexroth, Serge Trubach, Edward and Brett Weston, Yvor Winters, Wilfred Zogbaum, and Aldous Huxley. Also included are photographs Bowden, Bowden's family, his wife, Lois, nudes, his works, and exhibits.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and photographer; San Francisco, California. Studied with Hans Hofmann; founding member of the American Abstract Artists and was associated with the Artists' Gallery; photography influenced by Edward Weston.
Provenance:
Lois Bowden, Harry Bowden's widow, donated the greater part of this collection to the Archives of American Art via Charles Campbell of the Charles Campbell Gallery, San Francisco, Calif. Mr. Campbell subsequently donated 28 additional photographs.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Photographers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Photography, Artistic -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Painting, Abstract -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Imogen Cunningham, 1975 June 9. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Imogen Cunningham conducted 1975 June 9, by Louise Katzman and Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, in Cunningham's home. [Note: A photograph of Cunningham taken by Katzman at the time of the interview has been cataloged separately.]
Cunningham speaks of her training in Germany, working in Edward Curtis' studio, her childhood art classes, her husband Roi Partridge, the f.64 group, platinum prints, her early interest in photography, and the differences between West Coast and East Coast photographers. She discusses magazine photography, her work as a portrait photographer, collectors, and her professional and personal relationships with Ansel Adams, Maynard Dixon, Dorothea Lange, Willard Van Dyke, Edward Henry Weston, Minor White, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976) was a photographer from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 56 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Photographers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Educators -- California -- San Francisco Search this
United States. Farm Security Administration. Historical Section Search this
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Marion Post Wolcott, 1965 January 18. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Paul Caponigro, 1999 July 30-August 12. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Paul Caponigro conducted 1999 July 30-August 12, by Susan C. Larsen, for the Archives of American Art, at Caponigro's home, in Cushing, Maine.
Caponigro describes his childhood, military career, and travels through the southwest and northern California, his association with Minor White, exhibitions, publications, employment, and marriage to wife Eleanor.
Caponigro discusses the significance of his Stonehenge series of photographs; others' interpretations of his work; further exhibitions; and the role that his family's move to Santa Fe, New Mexico, has played in the evolution of his work.
Further discussion of the photographic scene in Santa Fe and its connection to American modernist photographers such as Paul Strand and Ansel Adams; travels; Guggenheim grant; the 1991 fall from a rocky ledge that was a physical and spiritual watershed in his life; and his new home in Cushing, Maine.
He recalls George Tice, Ansel Adams, Minor White, Bert Westin, Imogen Cunningham, Dorothea Lange, Oliver Gagliani, Beniamino Bufano, Morris Graves, Walter Chappell, Jerry Uelsmann, Carl Chiarenza, William Clift, Marie Cosindas, Peter Bunnell, John Szarkowski, Robert Singer, Beaumont Newhall, Georgia O'Keeffe, Ed Ranney, David Scheinbaum, Janet Russek, Lucien Clergue, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Paul Caponigro (1932- ) is a photographer and teacher from New England and New Mexico.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 12 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 19 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
