Ben Talbert (b. ? - 1974)Ben Talbert was an accomplished painter and sculptor, who was part of the original circle of beat and alternative Venice artist’s from the 1960’s. Even by today’s liberal standards, the work is very tough. He was friends with Wallace Berman and Ed Kienholz, and exhibited in a major show with them at the Pasadena Art Museum as well as a solo show by Walter Hopps. Talbert’s assemblages are still well known and were recently in exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and at the Santa Monica Museum of Art.