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
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!