Henry Porter Bergman was a student at the college from 1945 to 1947, including involvement in the 1946 Summer Art Institute. While a student, he also worked as an Apprentice Teacher in Woodworking, Mechanics, and Architecture. He was also a Student Officer, sat on the Board of Fellows, and was involved in the Discipline Committee.

Biography from obituary, shared on Legacy.com

Architect, craftsman, chef and storyteller, Henry Hank Porter Bergman was born in Milwaukee. After attending Milwaukee State Teachers College, he went to Black Mountain College in North Carolina to study painting under Josef Albers and Ilya Bolotowsky. There he met his wife-to-be, Dorothy Raattama. They were married 64 years until her death in 2012.

In 1948, Hank and "Dor" moved to Oregon with college friends to start a communal farm. Although the farm did not last, group members and their descendants still gather each Thanksgiving to celebrate. The Black Mountain Group was a treasured part of his life.

Through woodworking he discovered he liked to design things that would be built, so he earned an architects license. With Gil Davis, he established Bergman & Davis Architects in Portland in the 1960s. Their style featured exposed beams, natural wood and clean lines influenced by Scandinavian, Bauhaus and Japanese design.

Hank also taught at Portland State University. In the 1980s Hank and Dor spent five years in Khartoum, Sudan, while he built agriculture research stations. They became world travelers who explored Europe, Africa and Asia with a worldwide network of friends. Hank loved classical music and taught himself Chinese cooking. He built many small boats in his home workshop, the Blue Nile Boat Works.

Black Mountain College Project

Mary Emma Harris interviewed Henry in 1998 and the transcript is available from Appalachian State University under The Mary Emma Harris and Black Mountain College Project, Inc. Oral History collection.

Topics: Hearing about BMC – travel to BMC first time by train – arriving at BMC – BMC students – general ambience of college – integrationand Southern Negro Youth Congress – Karl Niebyl crisis – Josef Albers classes – Leo Amino – Jean Varda – Greek party – college drunken party – Albers and Suefong Li – Ilya Bolotowsky class – Max Dehn class – M.C. Richards – work program – Architects Collaborative designs – Josef Albers’ chair design – role as student moderator – move to Oregon near BMC community – architecture practice and study

Courses Taken

Fall quarter 1945-46: Drawing (Albers), Painting (Albers), Problems of Philosophy (Dehn), Reading Literature (Richards), Introductory Psychology (Wallen)

Winter Quarter 1945-46: Painting (J Albers), Design (J Albers), Reading Literature (M Richards), introductory Psychology (J Wallen), Problems of Philosophy (M Dehn)

Summer Art Institute 1946: Color (Albers), Sculpture (Scaravaglione), Painting (Varda)

Fall Quarter 1946-47: Weaving (Mayer), Psychology of Social Issues (Wallen), Shakespeare (Richards), Painting (Bolotowsky)

Winter Quarter 1946-47 : Design and Art History Tutorial (Bolotowsky), Woodwork (Gregory), Small Communities (Rondthaler)