[1] 
[3]
[2] 
[4]
(1) "Mothers Group", assemblage, 2 1/2 x 4' diameter, 1986.
(2) "Ossier", mixed media assemblage, 24 x 24 x 12", 1992.
(3) "No Trespassing", assemblage, 18 x 16 x 8", 1967-78.
(4) "Menorah Phoenix", assemblage, 14 1/4 x 10 1/4 x 11 1/2",
1995.
by Nancy Kay Turner
(Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, West
Hollywood) Beat Epiphanies and Home Runs is the title borne by George
Herms' maiden show with this gallery, presented to coincide with the Whitney
Museum of American Art's Beat Culture and the New America, 1950-1965. The
Whitney show examines Beat-era art through such diverse artists as Larry
Rivers, Allen Ginsberg, Alan Kaprow, Jack Kerouac, Dennis Hopper, Ed Kienholz--and
Herms.
Although the Beat movement is primarily associated with literary pursuits,
the Whitney show will make the case that the tenets of the Beat movement--manifested
in a fascination with Black culture, jazz, hip slang, travel, rootlessness,
a Bohemian lifestyle, Eastern mysticism, and the elevation of the commonplace--had
a profound influence on the art of the sixties. Happenings, performance
art, impermanent site-specific installations and assemblage all owe an important
debt to the Beats. Herms' local exhibition, while not a retrospective, includes
both large and small works from all periods of the artist's career, highlighting
the consistency of his vision.
Herms creates an homage to the late San Francisco poet and friend Robert
Duncan in Donuts for Duncan. The structure of this witty sculpture
mimics the body, with a round basket for the head, a twisted hunk of metal
serving as the torso, gears for the genitals, and a tripod becoming the
legs and feet. Although the individual elements are from different machines,
their corroded, rusty orange color holds them all together.
Visual and verbal puns play a part in Herms' work, as Encrustation (Hold
Up) demonstrates. A black and white photo, circa the 1950's, depicts
one man 'holding up' another. This looks like a grade B movie still from
some obscure and forgettable Western. There is a delicate balance between
a door hing on the left--which 'holds up' a small oil can and a rusted gear
on the right. A graceful arch on the board that everything is affixed to
and a strong red 'X' anchors this humorous piece.
Assemblage is essentially the art of rescuing objects of urban detritus,
then recombining and transforming them into poetic, humorous or poignant
compositions which resonate with layers of meaning. It is an art which relies
on intuition: One keeps interesting narrative objects around the studio
until the right piece is constructed into which it fits. Stephen Sondheim
has said, "Art is making order out of chaos", and that is just
the task of the 'junk' sculptor. In Southwest Photo Opportunity Herms
creates an elegant cross enclosed by a circle of metal. The earth-toned
piece speaks to the spirituality of the Southwest and its myriad and much
photographed churches.
Herms has distinguished himself with the constancy of his energetic and
youthful vision, and by his prolific output. "Each work is individual,"
Herms says. "I have tunnel vision and I only look at the work I'm involved
with. But at the same time, these are a family."
