Wallace Berman Show


I have heard good things about the Berman Show. Please check it out if you get the chance. Here is the cover of Floating Bear 37, designed by Berman. I love the stamps and address on the cover. Mimeo and mail art go hand in hand. When Diane DiPrima took over Floating Bear starting with Issue 26 (Leroi Jones resigned after Issue 25), there was a shift from New York City to San Francisco. Issue 37 is very much a San Francisco Issue and Berman was a fixture there. DiPrima distributed this issue (free in most cases) to local bookstores like Cody's and Moe's. The illustrated covers are a DiPrima touch. Starting with Issue 28, Floating Bear had designed covers, from a variety of artists, like Berman, Jess and Ray Johnson. The later issues of The Bear also had guest editors, such as Bill Berkson or John Wieners.

JB

1 comments:

Tosh Berman said...

You got to see the Berman show! Well, I am personally close to it.
ciao
Tosh

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