George Herms

George Herms: The River Book is the first-ever comprehensive publication on acclaimed and pivotal California assemblage artist George Herms (born 1935). The handsome, two-volume slipcased book covers his earliest works from the 1960s, through his influential assemblages from the 1970s to today, as well as his work on such films as Easy Rider, his set designs for poet and playwright Michael McClure and dancer/choreographer Fred Herko, and his fascinating collaborations with, among others, Diane di Prima and Wallace Berman, for his LOVE Press series of hand-printed books. Interspersed throughout are comments by Herms on various works and on his creative ethos. Also included is a trove of never-before-seen archival photographs of Herms' friends, such as Wallace and Tosh Berman, Fred Herko, Diane di Prima, Kirby Doyle and Ray Johnson, as well as of Herms himself. A bonus DVD showcases the entirety of Herms' opera The Artist's Life. Renowned art critic Dave Hickey provides an insightful look at the artist and his milieu, and the artist himself offers witty and informative text throughout. This is truly an essential book for anyone interested in California art, the Beats, avant-garde theater and film, and fine-art printing.

One of the founding members of the California Assemblage movement in the 1950s (alongside Wallace Berman, Bruce Conner and Jess), George Herms uses the most weather-worn, battered, junked-up materials for his assemblages, forging a style that was to greatly influence Pop art in America and presage Nouveau Realisme in France. Herms pushes the limits of assemblage to exciting extremes, making gentle, sometimes funny statements. Then and Now surveys his earliest documented work alongside recent works, and is the most substantial publication on Herms.