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Interviewee:
Rabinovich, Raquel, 1929-  Search this
Interviewer:
McElhinney, James, 1952-  Search this
Subject:
Beethoven, Ludwig van  Search this
Borges, Jorge Luis  Search this
Braque, Georges  Search this
Cézanne, Paul  Search this
Del Giocondo, Lisa  Search this
Denes, Agnes  Search this
Farina, Ernesto  Search this
Herzberg, Julia P.  Search this
Johns, Jasper  Search this
Kelly, Robert  Search this
Lenin, Vladimir Il?ich  Search this
Lhote, André  Search this
Maggi, Marco  Search this
Martin, Agnes  Search this
Mondolfo, Rodolfo  Search this
Mondrian, Piet  Search this
Pavia, Philip  Search this
Perón, Juan Domingo  Search this
Picasso, Pablo  Search this
Quasha, George  Search this
Rockburne, Dorothea  Search this
Schwabsky, Barry  Search this
Stein, Charles  Search this
Strauss, David Levi  Search this
Velázquez, Diego  Search this
Weintraub, Linda  Search this
Zimmer, William  Search this
Hispanic American Arts Center (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Station Hill Press  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Place:
Argentina -- Description and travel
Denmark -- Copenhagen -- Description and travel
Egypt -- description and travel
France -- Paris -- description and travel
India -- description and travel
Machu Picchu Site (Peru)
Nepal -- description and travel
New York (N.Y.) -- Description and travel
Thailand -- description and travel
Place of publication, production, or execution:
New York (State)
Physical Description:
4 Items, Sound recording: 4 sound files (3 hr., 6 min.), digital, wav; 64 Pages, Transcript
Access Note / Rights:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Summary:
An interview of Raquel Rabinovich conducted 2012 September 25 and October 9, by James McElhinney, for the Archives of American Art, at Rabinovich's home, in Rhinebeck, New York.
Rabinovich speaks of growing up in Argentina; becoming aware of art; reproductions and books; European art; her Jewish heritage; her parents moving to Argentina before World War I; Jewish persecution; her parents' background; living in Cordoba; speaking Spanish and Yiddish growing up; quiet reflections; church; art exposure; traveling and moving to Paris; the influence of Ernesto Farina; Peron's dictatorship and rebellion; attending medical school and the call of art; political activities and spending time in jail; meeting Jose and moving to Scotland; Paris and exposure to artwork; teachings of Andre Lhote; her early works; abstraction; painting; the Mona Lisa; darkness and light; "The Dark is Light Enough"; exposure to literature and poetry; living in Copenhagen; meeting Jorge Luis Borges; the Book of Sand; her siblings; her children and her relationship to them; staying up to date with current events; libraries and a lack of books growing up; meditation; texture and the monochromatic works; interest in Jasper Johns' work; meeting Jasper Johns; living in New York; trip to Machu Picchu and spending the night outdoors; "Cloister, Crossing, Passageway 1.32"; glassworks and transparency; exhibiting artwork; her divorce; Rodolfo Mondolfo; environment and exposure; quiet contemplation; spending time with artwork; commissioned work near High Falls; "River Library"; libraries as places of knowledge; minimalism; the 1980s; her daughter's wedding and her relationship with Jose; stones; traveling to Nepal, Thailand, India, and Egypt; temples; Buddhism; "Chhodrtens"; garbhagrihas; NEA fellowship and residency in Paris; "Thrones for the Gods"; INTAR Gallery; "Gateless Gates"; artifacts; Pabhavikas sculpture; Charles Stein; Linda Weintraub; George Quasha; Station Hill Press; "Enfolded Darkness" and "Light Unworn". Rabinovich also recalls Baron Hughes, Beethoven, Lenin, Diego Velazquez, Andre Lhote, Mondrian, Picasso, Braque, David Levi Straus, Robert Kelly, Cezanne, Philip Pavia, Agnes Martin, Dorothea Rockburne, Barry Schwabsky, Bill Zimmer, Agnes Denes, Louisa Valenzuela, Julia Herzberg, and Marco Maggi.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Raquel Rabinovich, 2012 September 25 and October 9. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Transcript available online.
Biography Note:
Raquel Rabinovich (1929- ) is a painter and sculptor in Rhinebeck, New York. James McElhinney (1952- ) is a painter and educator from New York, New York.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Buddhism  Search this
Minimal art  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)16067
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)338396
AAA_collcode_rabino12
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_338396