Artistic Vision.
I look at my art as physical tools for an audience member to perform the art themselves for the benefit of a community. My challenge is getting the tool to provoke a behavioral change: from thought to behavior. This involves a dilemma between intrinsic and extrinsic promise.
I investigate how much language, culture, and image affects action or behavior. I start with an idea that has some element or process of human experience in it, e.g., altruism, ethics, phenomenology, nature, memory, or communication, and give it form. I like being interdisciplinary, pushing the limits of what art does, yet keeping in mind the broader scope of how creativity is necessary for survival. With an avoidance of pretension, I am allergic to the preciousness of the common gallery. An egg carton can be art. A fire extinguisher can be art. I am more idea-oriented than the creation of a finished piece that will decorate your living room. Yet, I’m drawn to objects both visually and conceptually. While some critics of conceptual art dismissed beauty as a liability, I believe you can have both: a strong concept and something beautiful.
The idea of ideas is still important. I want to prompt empathic responses.
Bio.
Phil Berkman (born 1946) is a pioneering conceptual artist based in Chicago, renowned for his innovative contributions to performance art and sculptural installations that delve into the intersections of personal, social, and cultural themes.
Phil Berkman grew up in a small town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his journey as an artist began early. In first grade a palm-tree finger painting won enthusiastic approval from both his teacher and his mom. Phil’s mother, Rita, once questioned whether her son’s talent was real. She took one of his early drawings to a Catholic nun and asked for an honest opinion. The nun’s verdict: “Yes. He has talent.” With that blessing, and a stubborn dedication, Phil continued to create.
The next pivotal moment for Phil came in second grade, when his teacher sent him and his lifelong creative rival, Billy Rose (later Jamal Malik), home with leftover chalk at the end of the school year. From that point on, the two boys pushed each other to grow as artists, competing through their school years and beyond.
Each summer until high school, Phil and his three brothers were sent to military academy, an experience that left a mark. He even arrived at his first day of college in a military uniform. But art was always his passion. He went on to earn a BFA in Illustration from Syracuse University in New York, where he met his friend and creative influence, Howard Fried.
After graduating in 1968, Phil waited for the inevitable call to military service. After considering Canada, he entered the U.S. Army in 1969. serving at Fort Leonard Wood and in Germany before completing his service in 1971.
Phil’s professional art career began with editorial illustration when he returned home from his service. After submitting slides of his work to Playboy, one was accepted and published. This connection and the creative energy of the city, drew him to Chicago, where he built his career. In late September of that same year, a party invitation led him to meet Sue, the woman who would become his wife. As they grew to know each other, Phil noticed Sue's abstract painting, and recalls, “This person speaks my language." They were married on July 8, 1972, and welcomed their daughter, Leah, in 1978.
In 1972, Phil shifted his focus from editorial illustration to conceptual art, a move that opened new creative territory and led to transformative relationships. By 1974, this shift brought him into close collaboration with artists who would become pivotal in his life and work: Àngels Ribé and Francesc Torres from Catalonia, Spain, and Mike Crane from St. Louis. Together, the four formed a tight-knit conceptual nucleus, challenging and inspiring one another as they explored the boundaries of contemporary art. This period marked a deepening of Phil’s artistic vision and helped define his place within the conceptual art movement.
During this period, Phil had a studio across from the Aragon Ballroom and shared space with other emerging artists and graduates from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. United by a sense that their unconventional work might not yet find a wide audience, the group sought out a place of their own. They found it in a space on Lake Street where the L’s crossed. It was there that they co-founded the N.A.M.E. Gallery, a pioneering artist-run venue that helped shape Chicago’s conceptual and experimental art scene in the decades that followed. N.A.M.E. Gallery was instrumental in providing a platform for experimental works across various mediums, including painting, sculpture, performance, and video art.
Berkman's avant-garde artistic practice is characterized by the recontextualization of everyday objects, transforming them into symbols that convey broader messages. His installations often invite audience interaction, blurring the boundaries between the artwork and the viewer. For instance, in his exhibition at N.A.M.E. Gallery, he combined performance elements with traditional sculptural forms, encouraging physical engagement from the audience.
His work has been showcased in numerous esteemed venues, both nationally and internationally. Notable exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Randolph Street Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, Hallwalls in Buffalo, and the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo in Brasil. One of his significant pieces, "Art Guard Aptitude Test Book" (1975–1985), is part of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's collection.
Beyond his artistic endeavors, Berkman has contributed to art education as a part-time instructor of Contemporary Art and Installation at Columbia College Chicago. Students have praised his teaching approach, noting his encouragement of creative thinking and his ability to inspire students to explore conceptual art deeply.
Phil Berkman's multifaceted career as an artist, educator, and curator underscores his significant impact on Chicago's contemporary art landscape, particularly in advancing conceptual and performance art practices.