Charlie: A Narrative Portrait of Charles Lang (Portrait Series) [Paperback]

Warren Lehrer (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 199 pages
• Publisher: Bay Pr (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941920348
• ISBN-13: 978-0941920346
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,986,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Warren Lehrer is a writer and artist/designer known internationally as a pioneer in the fields of visual literature and design authorship. His work explores the vagaries and luminescence of character, the relationships between social structures and the individual, and the pathos and absurdity of life. His books, acclaimed for capturing the shape of thought and reuniting the traditions of storytelling with the printed page, include: Crossing the BLVD: strangers, neighbors, aliens in a New America (W.W. Norton) with Judith Sloan,The Portrait Series: a quartet of men (four book series, Bay Press); GRRRHHHHH: a study of social patterns (Center for Editions) with Sandra Brownlee and Dennis Bernstein; FRENCH FRIES with Dennis Bernstein (Visual Studies Workshop); i mean you know (Visual Studies Workshop), and versations (EarSay).

He has received many awards for his books and projects, including the 2004 Brendan Gill Prize, the 2003 Innovative Use of Archives Award, a Media That Matters Award, three American Institute for Graphic Arts Book awards, two Type Director's Club awards, The International Book Design Award, a Best of the Best Award from the New York Book Show, and a Prix Arts Electronica award. He's received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council and Foundation for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Greenwall Foundation, the Furthermore Foundation, and others. His work has been exhibited widely and is in many collections including the Museum of Modern Art, L.A. County Art Museum, The Getty Museum, Georges Pompidou Centre, and Tate Gallery. The Crossing the BLVD exhibition (co-produced with Sloan) has been to fifteen museums and galleries and continues to travel the country. Lehrer is also a performer and has co-written four plays (Social Security: the basic training of Eugene Solomon with Dennis Bernstein, Denial of the Fittest, A Tattle Tale, and The Whole K'Cufin World and a Few More Things with Judith Sloan), and co-written and co-composed one opera (The Search For IT and Other Pronouns with Harvey Goldman). He co-produces public radio documentaries and audio works with his wife Judith Sloan. Lehrer's performances and plays have been performed at many venues including La MaMa Experimental Theatre, The Public Theatre, The Knitting Factory, Independent Art at Here, The Painted Bride, the Market Theatre (Johannesberg), and the Theatre Workshop (Edinburgh).

Lehrer is a frequent lecturer and presenter at universities, art and literary centers, and book stores throughout the United States and internationally. Lehrer has been written about in scores of books and in many feature articles and reviews in print and broadcast media. His essays on design authorship and visual literature have been widely reproduced. Lehrer is a professor at the School of Art+Design at Purchase College, SUNY, and a founding faculty member of the Designer As Author graduate program at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. He received his BA from Queens College, CUNY, and an MFA from Yale University. Together with Sloan, Lehrer founded EarSay, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to uncovering and portraying the lives of the uncelebrated in print, on stage, on radio, in exhibitions, electronic media, and through educational programs in public schools, prisons, and community centers. Lehrer is currently completing an illuminated novel which contains 101 books within it, entitled A Life In Books: the rise and fall of Bleu Mobley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What We Really Know, October 10, 2001

By 

Eric B. Gordon "The greatest thing we ever ha... (Indianapolis, IN (USA)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Charlie: A Narrative Portrait of Charles Lang (Portrait Series) (Paperback)

I met Charlie Lang in January of 1997. Since then, he's become one of my closest friends and favorite musicians, and I was curious about this book. I bought it in spring of 2000, and I just melted. I thought I knew Charlie, but I couldn't believe it when I read about what he went through. Whether it's exaggerated, or not I do think it describes in great detail a brutal mental health system that many have to survive, rather than embrace. I have a healthy respect for people who have been through such a hell as described in this book, and I believe Charlie deserves every ounce of respect he gets, and more. It takes major guts to exist in such a deep mental pit for such a long time. My hat's off to Charlie Lang

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A roller coaster ride through the mind of a creative genius!, May 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Charlie: A Narrative Portrait of Charles Lang (Portrait Series) (Paperback)

The sounds of joy, angst, torment, love and desires jump off the pages of this book! It is being used by actors in acting classes- a fabulous read, and great work for actors who are looking for characters with tremendous vocal range and emotional depth!

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as promising as it seems, January 12, 2000

By 

KTB "KTB" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Charlie: A Narrative Portrait of Charles Lang (Portrait Series) (Paperback)

I've read all the books in this series and this is the one I liked the least. This can be either a good or bad thing. I found myself not liking Charlie much, but that fact that it was Charlie who I didn't like is impressive. His personality is IN this book and if you like Charlie as a person, you'll like the book.