Articles & Reviews

Abby Wasserman has published hundreds of articles in magazines and newspapers during her writing career. Posted below are concert reviews written for classicalsonoma.org; major articles for Sonoma magazine, World View magazine, and Front Porch Republic 'zine; personal essays; and features about California artists written between 1985 and 2003 for the Oakland Museum of California's magazine: Robert Bechtle, Charles Schulz, David Ireland, Noah Purifoy, Joan Brown, Garry Knox Bennett, Harry Fonseca, Frank Day, and Beatrice Wood.
(Note: Publication year is shown in the titles; the full dates below are posting dates on this website)

The Power of Image

In 1934, Ann Rice O'Hanlon painted a fresco mural at the University of Kentucky. Today, it is a source of controversy.

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Portents

A freewrite from August 27, 2020 on the theme of "portents."

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The Three Faces of Garry Knox Bennett (2001)

Arriving at Garry Knox Bennett's Oakland loft, I am welcomed with a big hug by Geraldo Bennucci. "Ambrose is making lunch," he says, referring to Ambrose Pillphister, the painter, "and Garry's debating a fine point with a band saw. Vino?"

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Robert Bechtle: Hidden Reflections (2000)

Robert Bechtle's sparkling California light and dense shadows, his gleaming American cars parked on empty streets, and his neat pastel row houses are like a reflection in someone's dark glasses. You see more of yourself than the wearer.

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The Graphic Art of Charles Schulz (1985)

For 50 years Charles M. Schulz created the popular comic strip Peanuts. Abby visited Schulz in Santa Rosa to talk about his ideas regarding the strip, its characters and the world of cartooning.

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