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Josh "Bagel" Klassman is an exhibited and published American documentary street photographer who grew up in Venice Beach, California. Klassman attended Venice High School where he studied photography under his early mentor Larry Shapiro. From then on, he began to focus on photographically documenting his own immediate surroundings, the timelessly authentic Venice Beach cultures around him; surfing, skateboarding and street art.

A large volume of Klassman's works were created in the Venice Beach area from the mid-80's until the mid-90s. A period of time Klassman described in an interview given to Shacked Magazine as being, "extremely volatile, gritty, dangerous, violent, chaotic, crazy, unruly, insane, and radical." He was not only an observer of the underground however, he was a participant, allowing him unrestricted access to his subject matter. Some of these early Venice friends and acquaintances he spent years photographing, such as Jay Adams, Christian Hosoi, Allen Sarlo, DJ Muggs and others, went on to become enduring names in skateboarding, surfing and music. In Season 10 of the popular Youtube program, Jeff Grosso's Loveletters to Skateboarding, Grosso pays homage to Klassman's documentation of the influential Venice skateboard scene of the 80's and 90's.

In 2016, Klassman's archival black and white 35mm film photographs were exhibited in "On Ishton's Porch" curated by Spanto and Nick Angelo. Renowned photographers Estevan Oriol, Jordan Doner, and Greg Bojorquez were also featured. Exhibits at the C.A.V.E. Gallery and Ignition Creative followed. Klassman's images also appeared in the documentary "Made In Venice" directed by Jonathan Penson. In 2018, his Venice Beach retrospective photography book "It Wuz All A Beautiful Disaster" was released by Beyond The Streets publishing.

In July of 2023, Klassman and painter/curator Alan Scott produced the Los Angeles art and music collective Surf Skate Roots Rock. Among the event's highlights were works by graffitist RISK and paintings and sculptures by skater-artists such as Marty Grimes, Lance Mountain, Lonnie Toft and Steve Olson (all of whom are Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductees). There was also a musical appearance by the band His Eyes Have Fangs, whose bass player is world champion skater Tony Alva.

Early Life and Notes
As a young child, Klassman played with his parents' Instamatic cameras until his mother bought him a 35mm Nikon. He spent his youth surfing the Venice Breakwater and skateboarding at the Venice Pavilion. His childhood nickname “Bagel” began as a less than politically correct reference to his Jewish heritage, but it has stayed with him ever since.

Exhibitions

 * 2016 "On Ishton's Porch" Ho Yee Chan Gallery (L.A.)


 * 2017 C.A.V.E. Gallery, Venice, CA


 * 2017 "A Westside Story" Ignition Creative (Los Angeles)


 * 2018 "Out In The Streets" VICA (L.A.)


 * 2018 "Beyond The Streets" (Los Angeles)


 * 2019 Art in Palm Springs


 * 2021 The Venice Heritage Museum / Vice


 * 2023 "No Comply" Ren Gallery, Los Angeles


 * 2023 "Surf Skate Roots Rock"

Books

 * 2018 It Wuz All A Beautiful Disaster by Josh "Bagel" Klassman (Beyond The Streets Publishing)


 * 2018 Welcome To Venice by Ric "Rxcx" Clayton [Ginko]


 * 2022 "Contagious Culture" Super Chief Gallery, L.A.

Film, TV and Documentaries

 * 2016 "Made In Venice" directed by Jonathan Penson


 * 2021 "City of Ghosts - voiceover artist as "Bagel" (episode "Venice")


 * 2022 "Contagious Culture" documentary