Page 161 - David Bermant Foundation

Who was that man with the magic cane and sparkling shirts? Urban myth or merry prankster? Did David Bermant exist or was he an illusion, a hologram,a light dancing through the shadows? Was he the developer, collector, promoter, philanthropist who some knew . . . or was he the fantasy, the illusion, the kinetic creation of some far out, laughing, jokester artist? At some level he will always bring joy to those of us lucky enough to live in Santa Barbara. We see his artat our libraries, universities, airport and beaches. His children and wife carry on his legacy of philanthropy and support for the arts. His thoughtful art collection is preserved and shown throughout the world. The man may be gone, the image may have disappeared, but the fun will continue forever.“Pull this lever,” he said, his eyes twinkling in expectation. “Pull this lever, you’ll be amazed at the effect the artist has created.” As I pulled up hard on the stainless steel lever a powerful stream of water shot from the sculpture, soaking my slacks. Laughing, David continued with the tour of his art collection. I still picture him as this Zen-like Yoda gazing out to sea from his hilltop sculpture garden. If you can imagine the whirling clocks, floating rocks and fiber optic illusions of this 20th century mind, you would be amazed to know he was also an army major, mall magnate and Yale cum laude. We were fortunate to have him in Santa Barbara. “The end of fine art is to produce a favorable impression upon the mind of the viewer.” That was David’s aesthetic . . . a mist retreating from the morning sun.Steve CushmanPresident, Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce Contemporary Arts Forum Board Member“I do hope you have a curator or a guide taking you along on these art walks or you’re gonna to be spending most of your time trying to find out how these damn things work. I hope my foundation left enough money so that we could employ people to assist those of you interested enough to come here to look at this art, assist you in seeing it. I’ll never know. Fancy that.”160