Tosh
eBook - ePub

Tosh

Growing Up in Wallace Berman's World

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Tosh

Growing Up in Wallace Berman's World

About this book

The triumphs and tragedies of growing up as the son of a famous Beat artist.

TOSH is a memoir of growing up as the son of an enigmatic, much-admired, hermetic, and ruthlessly bohemian artist during the waning years of the Beat Generation and the heyday of hippie counterculture. A critical figure in the history of postwar American culture, Tosh Berman's father, Wallace Berman, was known as the "father of assemblage art, " and was the creator of the legendary mail-art publication Semina. Wallace Berman and his wife, famed beauty and artist's muse Shirley Berman, raised Tosh between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and their home life was a heady atmosphere of art, music, and literature, with local and international luminaries regularly passing through.

Tosh's unconventional childhood and peculiar journey to adulthood features an array of famous characters, from George Herms and Marcel Duchamp, to Michael McClure and William S. Burroughs, to Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell, to the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and Toni Basil.

TOSH takes an unflinching look at the triumphs and tragedies of his unusual upbringing by an artistic genius with all-too-human frailties, against a backdrop that includes The T.A.M.I. Show, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Easy Rider, and more. With a preface by actress/writer Amber Tamblyn (daughter of Wallace's friend, actor Russ Tamblyn), TOSH is a self-portrait taken at the crossroads of popular culture and the avant-garde. The index of names included represents a who's who of midcentury American—and international—culture.

Praise for Tosh:

"Tosh Berman's sweet and affecting memoir provides an intimate glimpse of his father, Wallace, and the exciting, seat-of-the-pants LA art scene of the 1960s, and it also speaks to the hearts of current and former lonely teenagers everywhere."-- Luc Sante, author of The Other Paris

"This is the story of a kid growing up inside of art world history, retelling his upbringing warts and all. A well-written, fast-moving book that is candid, funny, often disturbing, and never dull."-- Gillian McCain, co-author of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk

" TOSH is a delightfully entertaining memoir filled with sly wit and a profound personal perspective."-- John Zorn, composer

"One could not wish for a better guide into the subterranean and bohemian worlds of the California art/Beat scene than Tosh Berman, only scion of the great Wallace. Tosh has a sly wit and an informed eye, he is both erudite and neurotic, and often hilarious."-- John Taylor, Duran Duran

"There's the life—and then there's the life. With TOSH you can have both. My life, and that of many who sailed with me, was formed by the 40's & 50's. TOSH takes you there."-- Andrew Loog Oldham, producer/manager, The Rolling Stones

"As the son of artist Wallace Berman, Tosh Berman had a front row seat for the beat parade of the '50s, and the hippie extravaganza of the '60s. It was an exotic, star-studded childhood, but having groovy parents doesn't insulate one from the challenge of forging one's own identity in the world. Berman's successful effort to do that provides the heart and soul of this movingly candid chronicle of growing up bohemian."-- Kristine McKenna, co-author of Room to Dream by David Lynch

"This is a beautifully written memoir, and I highly recommend it to those who are interested in the Sixties, Topanga Canyon, the Southern California art scene, and for those who wonder what it might mean to grow up as the son of one of our most acclaimed artists."-- Lisa See, author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

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Yes, you can access Tosh by Tosh Berman in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Art & Artist Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Preface by Amber Tamblyn
  5. A Note on Wallace Berman
  6. Chapter 1 Wallace
  7. Chapter 2 Loree Foxx
  8. Chapter 3 Shirley
  9. Chapter 4 Tosh
  10. Chapter 5 Beverly Glen
  11. Chapter 6 Ferus
  12. Chapter 7 Cameron
  13. Chapter 8 Semina
  14. Chapter 9 San Francisco
  15. Chapter 10 707 Scott Street
  16. Chapter 11 Larkspur
  17. Chapter 12 School
  18. Chapter 13 Beverly Glen II
  19. Chapter 14 Special Education
  20. Chapter 15 Secret Headquarters
  21. Chapter 16 James Bond
  22. Chapter 17 Marcel Duchamp
  23. Chapter 18 JFK
  24. Chapter 19 Andy Warhol
  25. Chapter 20 Dean Stockwell
  26. Chapter 21 Toni Basil
  27. Chapter 22 Russ Tamblyn
  28. Chapter 23 Billy Gray
  29. Chapter 24 Dennis Hopper
  30. Chapter 25 George Herms
  31. Chapter 26 Music
  32. Chapter 27 Frames
  33. Chapter 28 Brian Jones
  34. Chapter 29 Grandparents
  35. Chapter 30 Mudslide
  36. Chapter 31 Topanga
  37. Chapter 32 Topanga Elementary
  38. Chapter 33 Collector’s Items
  39. Chapter 34 The Grinsteins
  40. Chapter 35 The Doors
  41. Chapter 36 Friends
  42. Chapter 37 London
  43. Chapter 38 Junior High
  44. Chapter 39 Easy Rider
  45. Chapter 40 High School
  46. Chapter 41 Neil Young
  47. Chapter 42 Taos
  48. Chapter 43 Concerts
  49. Chapter 44 Mermaid Tavern
  50. Chapter 45 Topanga II
  51. Chapter 46 Driving
  52. Chapter 47 Sex
  53. Chapter 48 Gary
  54. Chapter 49 Hairdressing
  55. Chapter 50 Death
  56. Epilogue