English
Until December 24 Frank Elbaz Paris gallery showcases the wonderful work of American artist Wallace Berman, one of the leadn exponents of the Beat art nthe United States durn the tumultuous 60s.
Frank Elbaz Gallery, located at 7, rue San Claude, specializes ncontemporary art and has organized the Berman xhibitnits bid to revive nerest nthe graphic work of one of the most iconoclastic artists of his generation.
Berman was a legendary figure of the Beat movement. He was known for his hermetic livn na shack and the underground exhibitions he organized, which gave him cult artist status for his generation. Mystical and charismatic, he is said to have been one of the most nluential artists of his time nLos Angeles, home of the Beat movement.
Berman gave rise to new aesthetic concepts, experimentn with new materials and technologies. Born nStaten Island, New York. He studied at Chounrd rtSchool, but did not complete his studies and began work on restorn antique furniture.
The Beat movement was born nthe post war nthe early 50´s, when the effects of loomn nuclear war changed the way youth viewed human transcendence and made formerly permanent structures seem ephemeral. From beneath this specter of a loomn end, a new way of life and begn to criticize the so-called “American dream.” These hipsters started a resistance to the atomic power wielded by the United States and its imperialist policies nthe world. The Beats sought resistance via art, bohemian lifestyles, traveln and were heavily nluenced by the ideas of existentialist writers like Jean Paul Sartre. This movement generated unique writers like Jack Kerouac, Allen Gnberg and Williams Burroughs. The term “beat” is cond n1952 by the New York Times na story on irreverent generation of nellectuals and artists entitled “This is the Beat Generation.”
Berman began to experiment with new ways to express his dissent. He shrouded letters nplastic with new symbols and nluences from advertisn, and the resultant collages opened up a new artistic discourse.
He also made use of new tools of nustrial society like the Verifax photocopier, which was his manartistic tool until his accidental death n1976 at the hands of a drunk driver.
His verifax collages, featurn sepia tones and faded images that are repeated, Warhol-style, convey a sense of nostalgia, where the images and nthe memory are weapons of subjectivity against the culture of mass media, which repeats ad infinitum.
http://www.galeriefrankelbaz.com/wp/artists/wallace-berman/wallace-berman-show-2010/
Nancy Guzman
Rent apartments in Paris and swing with the hippest cats in the art world when you check out this exhibit.
