David Wasserman

by Steven Wasserman

David Wasserman was a successful New York graphic designer who produced over 40 unique works of metal collage in his spare time, solely for his own pleasure. He used pieces cut from tin and aluminum cans to assemble large pictures that encompassed a tremendous range of subject matters and styles, including abstractions, portraits of famous people, historic events, a Brooklyn cityscape and even cartoons. He never showed these works during his lifetime, except to friends and family. After his death, his son Steven Wasserman was able to exhibit them at museums and other institutions. This book contains full-color reproductions of almost all these remarkable works, including large scale family photos, a giant Willie Mays baseball card, a life-size portrait of Pope John XXIII, and a circus poster that features a leaping tiger with a coat made from orange soda cans. The book also includes an introduction by the director of the Tennessee State Museum, a brief account of the artist's life and methods by his son, and a critical appreciation by Bobby Hansson, author of the Fine Art of the Tin Can (Lark Books, 1996), who called David Wasserman "this Matisse of metal, this Picasso of tin."

40 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2010