Announcement, "Action 2"&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.

From the Archive

Exhibition announcement for Action²: Works by West Coast Painters, at the NOW Gallery inside the Turnabout Theatre in Los Angeles, September 5–25, 1956. Robert Alexander, designer. Letterpress on paper mounted on cardboard. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.15. Courtesy of the Temple of Man, Inc.

On View at the Getty Center: Greetings from L.A.: Artists and Publics 1950-1980

The NOW Gallery was established in August 1956 by artist Edward Kienholz in the greenroom of the Turnabout Theatre as a space to present the work of California artists. It was the site for Action², an exhibition organized by Walter Hopps and Robert Alexander that featured abstract painting from the West Coast.

Historic Map Locations

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

Styles & Materials

Painting

Time Periods & Venues

Works of Art

Walter Hopps Hopps Hopps, 1959, Edward Kienholz. Paint and resin on wood, printed color reproductions, ink on paper, vertebrae, telephone parts, candy, dental molds, metal, pencil, and leather. 87 x 42 x 21 in. The Menil Collection, Houston, Gift of Lannan Foundation. © Nancy Reddin Kienholz. Photo: Susan Einstein
Untitled (Art is Love is God), 1955, Robert Alexander. Wooden box, photograph, bullet, and paper. 3 7/16 x 6 7/16 x 3 5/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin Papers, 2005.M.11.29. Courtesy of the Temple of Man, Inc.
The Future as Afterthought, 1962, Edward Kienholz. Paint and resin on plastic and rubber doll parts with sheet metal, tricycle pedals, and wood. 54 x 21 x 16 15/16 in. Onnasch Collection. © Nancy Reddin Kienholz. Photo courtesy L.A. Louver, Venice, CA
Business-card box for Charles Brittin, 1957, Robert Alexander. Collaged box with medicine cap affixed. 2 1/2 x 6 3/8 x 3 7/8 in. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin Papers, 2005.M.11.27. Courtesy of the Temple of Man, Inc.
Business-card box for Charles Brittin, ca. 1950s, Robert Alexander. Collaged box with key affixed. 2 1/4 x 4 5/16 x 3 15/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin Papers, 2005.M.11.28. Courtesy of the Temple of Man, Inc.

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Audio: Hear Robert Alexander discuss his artwork. Excerpt from an interview with Robert Alexander by Sandra Leonard Starr, 1986. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Sandra Leonard Starr, 2011.M.22. Courtesy of the Temple of Man, Inc.
Video: Making the Scene—find out about the L.A. gallery scene during the postwar years
Robert Alexander, ca. 1960. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.20 © J. Paul Getty Trust. Photo by Charles Brittin
Robert Alexander, John Reed, Wallace Berman, Juanita Dixon, and Walter Hopps in the alley next to Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles, ca. 1957. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.9. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Photo by Charles Brittin
Brochure for a performance at Instant Theatre, "Part of the forest is remaining unseen and the seen no longer is seen," ca. 1957, designed by Robert Alexander. Letterpress. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.25. Courtesy of the Temple of Man, Inc.
Walter and Shirley Hopps at Ice Boxes in Malibu, California, 1955. Photo by Edmund Teske, gelatin silver print. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 95.XM.86. © Edmund Teske Archives/Lawrence Bump and Nils Vidstrand

Explore the Era