George Herms&raquo;Pacific Standard Time at the Getty

Delve into the postwar Los Angeles art world in this online archive, which provides additional material related to the exhibitions on view at the Getty Center. Learn about hipsters and happenings, and the venues across the city where all the action took place through images from the archives and first-hand accounts with the artists.

George Herms
Artist

George Herms at “Earful,” a Tap City Circus raffle in Los Angeles, 1972. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of George Herms, 2009.M.20.24. Photo by and © Jerry Maybrook

George Herms was born in California in 1935 and has made the state his home ever since. Throughout his long career, which began in the late 1940s, Herms has made assemblages that transform discarded, disheveled materials into poetic objects that carry new meanings and associations. Herms was a close friend of artist Wallace Berman, with whom he shared a love of jazz, poetry, and spirituality. Herms’s objects were often created in homage to the figures that have influenced him, including a thoughtful librarian (The Librarian, 1960).

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Explore the historic Los Angeles art scene related to this type of work.

The Librarian, 1960, George Herms. Wooden box, papers, books, loving cup, and painted stool. 57 x 63 x 21 in. Norton Simon Museum, Gift of Molly Barnes. © George Herms
L.A. Odyssey, 1969, Diane di Prima (poet), cover design by George Herms. Poets Press, San Francisco, 1969. Offset lithograph. 8 5/8 x 5 9/16 x 1/16 in. Book © Diane di Prima. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of George Herms, 2009.M.20.27. Cover image © George Herms
Card to George Herms, 1970, Wallace Berman. Letterpress, ink, and gelatin silver print on board. 6 1/4 x 4 in. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of George Herms, 2009.M.20.9. Courtesy of the Estate of Wallace Berman and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
Card to George Herms, 1968, Dean Stockwell. Letterpress, ink, and tinted gelatin silver print on board. 5 x 3 3/8 in. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of George Herms, 2009.M.20.12. © Dean Stockwell
Card to George Herms, 1967, Dean Stockwell. Letterpress, ink, and gelatin silver prints on board. 5 1/4 x 3 9/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of George Herms, 2009.M.20.17. © Dean Stockwell
Card to George Herms, 1966, Russel Tamblyn. Photomontage and ink board. 4 9/16 x 3 9/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of George Herms, 2009.M.20.10. © Russel Tamblyn

Explore the Archive

Video: George Herms speaks about the work of Wallace Berman, March 2011
Video: Artist George Herms shares anecdotes about the California assemblage community
Video: George Herms speaks about the work of Cameron, 2002. Footage courtesy of the Cameron Parsons Foundation
Video: George Herms speaks about his work, March 2011
Announcement for George Herms exhibition Nativity '63 at Rolf Nelson gallery in Los Angeles, 1963. © George Herms. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Michael Asher, 2009.M.30.9
Announcement for George Herms exhibition at Aura Gallery in Pasadena, California, 1963. Designed by Wallace Berman. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of George Herms, 2009.M.20.3. Courtesy of the Estate of Wallace Berman and Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles
Announcement for "Roofle," a Tap City Circus raffle in Los Angeles, October 30, 1966. Designed by George Herms. Letterpress, woodblock, and rubber stamping. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Hal Glicksman, 2009.M.5.6
Announcement for “Raffle,” a Tap City Circus raffle in Los Angeles, June 6, 1965. Designed by George Herms. Letterpress, woodblock, rubber stamping, and tinted gelatin silver print. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Rolf G. Nelson, 2010.M.38.4
George Herms at “Earful,” a Tap City Circus raffle in Los Angeles, 1972. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of George Herms, 2009.M.20.24. Photo by and © Jerry Maybrook
Announcement for “Earful,” a Tap City Circus raffle in Los Angeles, February 20, 1972. Designed by George Herms. Letterpress, woodblock, and rubber stamping. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of George Herms, 2009.M.20.25. © J. Paul Getty Trust
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
George Herms in 1960. Photo by Edmund Teske. Courtesy of and © 1960 Edmund Teske Archives, Laurence Bump and Nils Vidstrand
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