Betye Saar at her home and studio, 1972. Photo by Lezley Saar. Image courtesy of Betye Saar

Edward Kienholz in 1958. Image courtesy of Marvin Silver and Craig Krull Gallery. © Marvin Silver

Llyn Foulkes stands by his work Flanders (1960–62) at the opening of his solo exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum, September 18, 1962. Image courtesy of and © Llyn Foulkes

Judson Powell, Noah Purifoy, and Sandra Corrie in the exhibition 66 Signs of Neon, University of California, Los Angeles, 1966. Photo by Harry Drinkwater. Image courtesy of and © Harry Drinkwater

Ron Miyashiro in front of one of his paintings, ca. 1961. Courtesy of the artist and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. © Ron Miyashiro

Rani Singh, Getty Research Institute, conducts an oral history interview with Ron Miyashiro in 2010. Art © Ron Miyashiro

Exterior view of the Ferus Gallery during the exhibition of Edward Kienholz's installation Roxy's, 1962. Photo by William Claxton. Courtesy Demont Photo Management, LLC.

George Herms in his studio on Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles, ca. 1977. Photo by Frank J. Thomas. Courtesy of the Frank J. Thomas Archives

Thomas Leavitt, Llyn Foulkes, and Walter Hopps at the opening of Foulkes's exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum, September 18, 1962. Image courtesy of and © Llyn Foulkes

Wallace Berman with his collage Papa's Got a Brand New Bag in 1965. Art © the Estate of Wallace Berman and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Marvin Silver and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Marvin Silver

Wallace Berman in 1969. Image courtesy of Malcolm Lubliner and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Malcolm Lubliner

Simon Rodia's Towers (Watts Towers) in Los Angeles, 1967. The Getty Research Institute, Julius Shulman Photography Archive, 2004.R.10. Used with permission

George Herms in 1960. Photo by Edmund Teske. Courtesy of and © 1960 Edmund Teske Archives, Laurence Bump and Nils Vidstrand

Wallace Berman and the LAPD vice squad at Ferus Gallery, 1957. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.8. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Photo by Charles Brittin

George Herms in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, 1960. Photo by Edmund Teske. Courtesy of and © 1960 Edmund Teske Archives, Laurence Bump and Nils Vidstrand