Desiring Machines

Literature & Fiction

Richard Hertz

Short Stories & Anthologies

Minneola Press

Jack Goldstein and the CalArts Mafia is anchored by Jack's reflections, dramatized by Hertz into first person narratives, of the early days of CalArts and the last days of Chouinard; the New York artworld; the trials and tribulations of finding and maintaining success; his inter-personal relationships; and his disappearance from the art scene. They are complemented by the dramatized first person narratives of Jack's friends, including John Baldessari, Troy Brauntuch, Rosetta Brooks, Jean Fisher, Robert Longo, Matt Mullican, and James Welling. There are provocative portraits of many well known personalities of the 80s, including Mary Boone, David Salle, and Helene Winer, all working at a time when the competitive spirit was strong and often brutal, caring little about anything but oneself and making lots of money. Has anything changed?

Jack Goldstein and the CalArts Mafia

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Autobiography and writings by sculptor/painter/poet Ali Acerol, a Turkish artist who lived in Paris until 1975, when he moved to Southern California and attended CalArts.

Ali Acerol Three Story Man in a One Story Town

The Beat and the Buzz is one-third a history of the Los Angeles art world since 1970, one-third about the psycho-dynamics of how people make it, or don't, and one-third art world gossip and stories. The book demonstrates how "who you know" is one of the prime requisites for success. More specifically, the book demonstrates the importance of the people you know who will support you, who will "lend their name" on your behalf, who at crucial junctures will promote you and your endeavors. The thirty-three narratives that comprise The Beat and the Buzz represent a cross section of the art world and reveal how people define themselves and the art scene at particular junctures in its history. The books deals with the art world that Artforum is likely to review, the moneyed art world of hope and hype where Basel Miami, the Armory Show, or Frieze may or may not be the holy grail, depending on whom you ask. Included in the book are Ed Moses and Alexis Smith, Elyse Grinstein and Cliff Einstein, Dagny Corcoran and Tom Lawson, Javier Peres and Heather Harmon, Emi Fontana and James Hayward. The Beat and the Buzz reveals distortions that make up a crazy picture of the art world. It is more of an album, a series of sketches, than a coherent narrative. It is about the lived experience of some of the people who make up the L.A. art world, a history that in time becomes codified as art history. The book clarifies and also complicates the many factors that make up the fuzzy algorithm of art world success.

The Beat and the Buzz: Inside the L.A. Art World

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Richard Hertz. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Richard Hertz