This group includes some of Earl's early photos from the slideshow and pictures from the evening at Danny's (October 2008) and the later evening at Sponto. Danny's has become a regular venue for events of this kind - it's a perfect setting.
Gerry Fialka conducted the interview.A few nights later Gerry and Sponto hosted Earl at the old Venice West where a short film about Earl's work was shown. To be there with Earl discussing his Venice West poster from over 45 years earlier was something very moving, very memorable. His life is rich with incredible stories and both evenings held very fortunate capacity crowds.
Earl worked tremendously hard to develop his art and support his family - he is ever mindful and thankful for the freedom and opportunity he found in Venice. We're incredibly fortunate that he has returned in recent years to create new serigraphs, prints and posters. His talent, generosity, humility, and hilarious wry sense of humor make for quite a guy - he's a true Venetian treasure....... Todd von Hoffman

Earl Newman and Todd von Hoffman, 2008

The building further north of the Gas House with the "peace" symbol on it earlier housed Earl Newman's art studio and gallery. The landlord objected to his having painted a Picasso dove in the same spot. The CND symbol was not widely known in 1961, so it got by the landlord, although he certainly knew a communist dove when he saw one. Earl Newman was the "Poster King" of Venice and the Monterey Jazz Festival. His complete collection is at The Smithsonian. He learned silk screen printing on his own in his next studio, the burnt-out "Carousal" bar on the boardwalk, second door north off Dudley. He might have been the only bohemian artist in Venice to make any money, and he made a lot of it. He moved to Oregon in 1973 and bought a town in the coastal range. ........Vaughn Marlowe

EARL NEWMAN was born in 1930 in Massachusetts, earn a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art in 1956, followed by an MA from Harvard University in 1957. Moved to Berkeley, California in 1959 with a wife and two children, and settled in Venice in 1960. A third child was born at the art gallery in which they lived. He began designing and hand-silkscreen printing coffeehouse and jazz posters, doing posters for the Monterey Jazz Festival since 1963. The Smithsonian has a complete collection. Mr. Neuman lives in the mountains of western Oregon, working in a studio on his farm.

Earl Newman through the years

© 2004 - 2010 Pat Hartman
For VirtualVenice e-mail news: send a blank email with "subscribe" in the subject line
"Table of Contents" or site map here it is