For quite some time we thought photographer Harold Chapman had vanished without a trace. All we had was his amazing book of photos from the Beat Hotel in the late ’50s and early ’60s. His shots of Peter and Allen, Ian Sommerville, William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, and Gregory Corso, are among the most iconic ever shot of these people, and his chronicling of the characters and scene at the hotel on 9 rue Git-le-Coeur, is pretty much the only visual documentation there is of that crucial era. So, anyway, he resurfaced some 5 years ago with a few photo-exhibitions here in the States, via the OMC Gallery in Huntington Beach, as well as in Britain, and now there’s a short film in the works by filmmaker Alan Govenar telling his side of the story, that includes extensive interviews with him, Jean-Jaques Lebel and others. See the trailer for it – here
LA Times ran a short mention over the weekend. They don’t seem to be aware that a larger, expanded version of Chapman’s Beat Hotel book is available, published by Kellner Verlag in Hamburg. We have copies available through the Ginsberg.org website. They’re also available through the OMC Gallery in Huntington Beach.
Another recent You Tube gem is from Nam June Paik – his PBS TV Special “Good Morning Mr Orwell” broadcast New Years Day, 1984. Hear’ Allen singing “Meditation Rock” with Arthur Russell, Steven Taylor and Peter Orlovksy. Hear/see the whole remarkable program – here