I’m listening to Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass’ Classics, Volume 1 as I write this. Besides being famous for his ’60s music, Alpert has apparently been making art for almost as long. I ran into his formidable sculptures again recently, this time at the Robert Berman Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. I saw them for the first time at ACE Gallery in Beverly Hills a few years back.

Mostly I found them to be pleasing to the eye. They are biomorphic in form, substantial (10– to 18-feet tall), totem-like, harkening to a sloppier Henry Moore and Rodin-like in stature. Yes, those are heavyweights to be comparing Alpert to, but why not? I will get to that momentarily.

Herb Alpert, Warrior, 2011

When I first saw these sculptures, my husband and I were attending a chamber music concert held at ACE gallery. The concert is performed in one of the cavernous galleries, so another part of the experience is the art. On view at that particular time were the Alpert sculptures. The lights were out during the performance, so these massive totems surrounding us were even more eerie in the low light, not unlike the trees with faces in The Wizard of Oz. It was as if we were in a dark forest with music coming from the heavens… it truly was sublime. But somehow I couldn’t get it out of my mind that Herb Alpert created these sculptures.

The Wizard of Oz tree

That fact alone has quite a bit of bearing on my opinion of these artworks. I know it’s unfair, but it’s like when you compliment someone on their dress and they respond, “Thank you, I got it at Target.” You’re not sure if that shows you have taste or not, and you sort of feel like a fool. But if they reply, “This old thing? I got it at Sak’s for half price,” then you feel proud that you indeed have taste. It’s all about the name, the brand. And it’s all about pretense.

What’s in a name? If Picasso had produced those sculptures, or even someone hip like Urs Fischer (whose current sculpture up outside the Geffen looks quite similar to Alpert’s), everyone would be falling over themselves.

Urs Fischer
Installation view of URS FISCHER,at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Photo by Brian Forrest.

When a celebrity starts to indulge in another medium, people are suspicious; I’m no exception. My first thought is usually, Oh, being famous for (fill in the blank) isn’t enough? There are several celebrities that have shown talent in fields other than those they are already justly celebrated for. To name a few off the top of my head: Martin Mull, Bob Dylan, Carole Bayer Sager, Dennis Hopper. Some of those celebrities show talent in their secondary field. But there’s something in us ordinary folk that stops us from fully appreciating the work for what it is. Mostly because the art does fall short. In other words, it sucks. But Alpert’s seems to have merit.

Herb Alpert, (Left to right):
Chumash, 2012; Lineage, 2009; Freedom, 2011; all bronze sculptures

This comes down to, what’s in a name. Can we appreciate work that is labeled anonymous, for instance? Yes, of course. But once we put that name on it, Bam! it becomes loaded. If it’s a no-name, we don’t pay so much attention to it. If it’s a famous artist, we pay closer attention, perhaps making critiques in our head: Is this better work than his/her earlier work? Does this work push boundaries? If it’s a famous name—but not famous for art—then we really put our critic’s hat on.

Herb Alpert, Genesis 3, 2011

Here’s my critique for Alpert’s sculptures currently up at the Robert Berman Gallery. I like those sculptures, and I’m not ashamed to say it. They’re a bit cheesy really, sort of like his music. They’re fun to look at, as his music is fun to listen to. They have a sense of humor, just like his music. They borrow from many other forms, as does his music. He is prolific with his artwork, as he was with his music. They are soft and fluid. They are abstract and representational. They twist and turn and go in and out. They are tall and bumpy and curvy, looking like they are made of clay, disguising their real medium, bronze. They are works of art with the human touch. That alone makes them very attractive, especially in our current climate of art-making with big industrial factory-made art. And I like that.

What’s in a name? It’s true, I can’t separate the fact that these sculptures are made by Herb Alpert, a man that was a huge presence in my household while growing up in the ’60s. I loved that music and I will never forget my father dancing around to it in an alcoholic haze, bringing love and mirth to our house, even though it was probably the most dysfunctional home around town. And the same man responsible for bringing back fond memories and joyous emotions as I listen to his music now, seems to be able to do that with his other talent, making sculptures. Is it cheesy? A little. But I love cheese.

See Herb Alpert: in•ter•course at Robert Berman Gallery, Bergamot Station Arts Center, Santa Monica, ends June 29, 2103; robertbermangallery.com; all Alpert images courtesy Robert Berman Gallery