It explains how his ongoing interest in dimensionalitythe characteristics of and relationship between one, two, three, and higher dimensionshas shaped his approach to artmaking from the outset. In 1965 a group of four friends decided to drop out of society and set up shop in the middle of nowhere in nowhere in trinidad, colorado. Joann bernofsky jo, richard kallweit lard, and clark richert clard, art students and filmmakers from the university of. But thats just where his 50year career started stephanie wolfcpr news colorado contemporary artist clark richert at cprs downtown denver facilities on. Clark richert, one of drop citys founding members, has said, we really saw ourselves as artists and we saw drop city as an ongoing work of art. Dueling clark richert retrospectives explore the colorado. Join facebook to connect with clark richert and others you may know. Americas first hippie commune, drop city rain taxi. Eugene victor debs bernofsky, the groups early leader, and his cohort clark richert used to drop painted pebbles from rooftops in lawrence, kansas, and took their name from this activity. Through a profusion of illustrations, interviews with figures including gerd stern and michael callahan of usco, gunther zamp kelp of haus rucker co, ken isaacs, ron williams and woody rainey of onyx, franco raggi of global tools, tony martin, clark richert and richard kallweit of drop city, and new scholarly writings, this book explores the. The rise and fall of drop city steven rosens writings. Joann bernofsky jo, richard kallweit lard, and clark richert clar.
This 2012 documentary by joan grossman helps tell the story, while two new exhibitionsclark richert in hyperspace, at mca denver, and clark richert. The artists gene bernofsky, joann bernofsky, richard kallweit, and clark richert constructed geometric domes based on the triacontahedron and other zonohedra. View clark richerts profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. I told her i was trying to find drop city, a legendary colorado artist commune. Drop city a documentary film by joan grossman and tom. Mca denver presented clark richert in hyperspace, a major retrospective of the coloradobased artist that highlighted the specific aesthetic and philosophical questions that had informed richerts oeuvre for more than fifty years the exhibition began with richerts participation in drop city, the artist community that he cofounded near trinidad, colorado, from 1965 to 1969, and drew. Gildar gallery celebrates the work of clark richert, denver westword, 1212. Richert is a significant figure in colorado art history, and this handsome, substantive retrospective makes clear why. Hippie modernism examines the art, architecture and design of the counterculture of the 1960s and early 1970s. His second book about drop city comes out this year a history of communes and coops called for all the people. Through a profusion of illustrations, interviews with figures, including gerd stern of usco, ken isaacs, gunther zamp kelp of hausruckerco, ron williams and woody rainey of onyx, franco raggi of global tools, tony martin, clark richert and richard kallweit of drop city, as well as new scholarly writings, this book explores the conjunction of. Upstairs, stell displays a set of prints that look like book pages, laying out richerts concepts of space from one dimension to ten. The characters in drop city are the hard core hippies the purists. Clark richert head, painting program rocky mountain.
Americas boldest, most farout commune left a surprising legacy thats being celebrated in a series of programs this year. They built this city with alternative ideals the boston. Mca denver presented clark richert in hyperspace, a major retrospective of the coloradobased artist that highlighted the specific aesthetic and philosophical questions that had informed richert s oeuvre for more than fifty years the exhibition began with richert s participation in drop city, the artist community that he cofounded near trinidad, colorado, from 1965 to 1969, and drew. Mark matthews captures this whole saga in his book, droppers. Drop city was an artists commune outside trinidad, colorado, founded by a. In 1993, an indie rock band from sydney, australia formed using the name drop city. Mca denver, exploring the counterculture west coast style. Fuller, and he was awarded a national endowment for the arts fellowship in 1980. Published on the occasion of a major retrospective exhibition at mca denver, clark richert in hyperspace celebrates the singular work of denverbased abstract painter clark richert born 1941. But thats just where his 50year career started we drove around from farmer to farmer starting in missoula, montana, asking anybody if they had land for sale, artist clark richert said.
Clark richerts abstract geometric pattern artwork including paintings and diagrams relating to zonahedra, non repeating tessellations and geodesics. Be one of the first to get a copy of clark richert in hyperspace, get it signed by clark richert himself, and join a tour of the exhibitions led by artists influenced by richert whose work is exhibited in the nth dimension. Clark richerts artistic story in colorado begins in the mid1960s, near trinidad, with a collective called drop city. On may 3, 1965, an artist named clark richert became part owner of a. The exhibition reconciles richerts paintings with his work at drop city by tracing the conceptual throughline that runs the length of his career. Abandoned by the early 1970s, drop city became known as the first rural hippie commune. The first hippie commune drop city new legends magazine. In 1965, the four original founders, gene bernofsky curly, joann bernofsky jo, richard kallweit lard, and clark richert clard, art students and filmmakers from the university of kansas and.
Oral history interview with clark richert, 20 august 2021. Drop city was founded fifty years ago in southern colorado. Drop city was an artists community that filmmaker gene bernofsky and artists joann bernofsky, richard kallweit and clark richert started in southern colorado, near trinidad, in 1965. This book talks a lot about vietnam, though this isnt something that clark has ever told me in person.
The community building, known as the complex, in drop city circa 1967. Both establish richerts place in regional art history, primarily as a founder of the drop city commune, which brought a group of artists, and the selfmade geodesic dome structures they lived. In addition, 2001s the house book a global survey of 500 architecturally significant homes included drop city, even though it no longer exists. The text for this book is largely derived from interviews with the drop city founding member, eugene victor debs bernofsky, but also includes correspondence with other founding members clark richert and richard kallweit. Statements such as this invite a deeper consideration of commune building as art practice and the commune as a cultural form. In 2007, a different, denver based, indie rock band formed with the same name. Our longterm vision was that drop city would function as a seed for future communities that would sprout around the world, said clark richert, one of drop citys chief architects. You could say that drop city is a book about hippies, a surprisingly sober insight into the inner monologues of a gaggle of fullfledged flower children as they celebrate free love under the summer sun of california and in the dead serious beauty of the alaskan middleofnowhere. At the site where southern colorados drop city once stood. As he recounted how he has evolved as an artist, he told us about the geometric models in his. In 1966 he was corecipient the dymaxion award from buckminster r. Mca denver, exploring the counterculture west coast style, adobe air stream, december 2011. Hippie modernism the struggle for utopia artbook d. As an artist, clark richert has been working with fivefold symmetry since the 1960s when he started building domes inspired by buckminster fuller at the experimental artists community drop city.
The novel coronavirus disease continues to affect colorado residents, families, businesses, and schools. Clark richert received his mfa from the university of colorado and his bfa from the university of kansas. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the. Thus there is lsd laced fruit juice on special days for all, including the children. The catalogue surveys the radical experiments that challenged societal norms while proposing new kinds of technological, ecological and political utopia. Pattern and dimensions, at the boulder museum of contemporary artdive into drop city and the multifaceted mind of its cofounder. Clark and gene were impressed by the avantgarde art of allan kaprow and his happenings which they encountered on trips back home to new york city.
Like whole earth, the pages of domebook were a buzzing arcade of. Somewhat more difficult to describe is the utopian vision behind drop city. For clark richert, joann and gene bernofsky, and richard kallweit, drop city was never intended as anything other than a work of art. In 1971, author, and drop city resident, peter rabbits memoir drop city was published. In fact, so great has interest been lately that a denver rock band changed its name to drop city and trinidad brewpub created a drop city beer. Drop city alum currently exhibiting at denvers museum of. Oral history interview with clark richert, 20 august 20. In 1965, in themiddleofnowhere colorado, artists clark richert and gene bernofsky came across a parcel of land to call their own. His domes were inspired by zonahedra such as triacontrahedra. See the complete profile on linkedin and discover clarks. Drop city, americas most farout commune, marks fiftieth.
Gene and clark developed a concept they called drop art coining the term well before the erabranding slogan, turn on, tune in, drop out. Drop city was an artists community that clark richert, filmmaker gene bernofsky and artists joann bernofsky, richard kallweit started in southern colorado. This site also includes information about richerts relationship to drop city, crisscross and a. Collaboratively produced by drop city founders gene and joann bernofsky, clark richert, richard kallweit and charles dijulio, the ultimate painting was made to spin during multimedia shows in drop citys theater dome.
In 1965 richert founded drop city, an artists community formed in southern colorado. Architectures of networked engagement from drop city to rockaway beach, 072520. Drop city is a book, above all else, about adventures. Crisscross was an artists cooperative that was formed in colorado, usa, in the early 1970s. Gene bernofsky curly, joann bernofsky jo, richard kallweit lard and clark richert clard were a bunch of recently graduated art students, and the creators of a little known movement called. By 1970, richert, who was intuitively observing shadows cast by threedimensional forms, found that one such structure the rhombic tricontahedron. He applied his discoveries in the construction of the famed art commune drop city in southern colorado, which he cofounded in 1965. In 1974, the five founders, gene bernofsky, joann bernofsky, richard kallweit, charles dijulio. Drop city was an intentional community in southern colorado established in 1965 and abandoned in 1973. I have the pleasure of working with clark richert at an art college in denver, so im compelled to learn anything i can about drop city. The large, circular painting, organized according to a fivepointed geodesic framework, reveals different patterns. Drop city was a counterculture artists community that formed in southern colorado in 1965. Clark richert exhibits crisscross in colorado westword.
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