Alexander, Robert, 1923-1987

Robert Alexander (1923–1987) was the only child of Russian immigrant parents. His family settled in Southern California soon after he was born in 1923. He began writing poetry at a young age and eventually immersed himself in the Los Angeles jazz scene, where he first met Wallace Berman in 1945. A poet, collagist, printer and assemblage artist, Alexander helped 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. - See more at: http://blogs.getty.edu/pacificstandardtime/explore-the-era/people/robert-alexander/#sthash.99oG34xX.dpuf