Explore the Era

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

Robert Alexander, ca. 1960

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, also known as “Baza,” helped Wallace Berman with the initial production of Semina journal and also opened his own printing shop, known as Press Baza. Alexander had his first solo exhibition of collaged poems at Edward Kienholz’s Now Gallery in 1955. He went on to found the Temple of Man, a center for poetry, jazz, and art in Venice, California.

Works of Art

  • Untitled (Art is Love is God)

    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.

  • Business-card box for Charles Brittin

    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

    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.

Explore the Archive

  • Audio: Robert Alexander

    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.

  • Showing a sculpture to the LAPD Vice Squad

    Wallace Berman and friends in the alley next to the Ferus Gallery showing a sculpture to the LAPD vice squad, 1957. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.10. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Photo by Charles Brittin

  • Robert Alexander, John Reed, Wallace Berman, Juanita Dixon, and Walter Hopps

    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

    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.

  • Announcement, "Action 2"

    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.