Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Flora Mace, 2005 August 17-18. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Marek Cecula, 2009 May 19-20. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Ceramicists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Designers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Marek Cecula conducted 2009 May 19-20, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Cecula's studio, in New York, New York.
Marek Cecula speaks of his childhood in Kielce, Poland, during World War II; his move to Israel at age 16; studies with ceramists Gdula Ogen and Jean Mayer; the influence of Japanese ceramics on his early studies; life on the kibbutz HaSolelim in the late 1960s and early 1970s; the influence of Kurt and Gerda Spurey and their use of porcelain and slip-casting; his work in both functional and sculptural ceramics; his move to Tel Aviv in early 1970s, then to a commune in Binyamina in 1971; his move to Curitiba, Brazil, and subsequent work with Schmidt porcelain factory; "Art Project 79" exhibition, La Jola, Curitiba, Brazil, 1979; his move to Washington, D.C., with girlfriend (later wife) Lanie in 1976; Klepisko (2008); the cyclical nature in his work; move to New York City in late 1970s; the Soho arts scene in the 1970s and '80s; his work blending design and sculpture; establishing Contemporary Porcelain gallery, 1978; interest in work by Memphis Group, Peter Shire, Jack Earl, Ken Price, and Ron Nagle; head of ceramics department, at Parsons School of Design, New York City (1985-2004); continued design and production work, including for Tiffany & Co. and Barneys New York; establishment of Modus Design firm; continued exploration of industrial processes and use of decals in his work; influence of Howard Kottler; his quest to balance digital and handmade processes, and the continued importance of the tactile; "Scatology" exhibition; series Hygiene, his first purely sculptural series; Porcelain Carpet; representation at Garth Clark Gallery (New York City, Los Angeles, and Kansas City, Missouri); series Violations; series Mutants; series Industrial Interference; "Interface" exhibition (2002), in response to terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; Look Into My Mind; The Stand For the Heroes, 2001; series Beauty of Imperfection; move to Poland in early 2000s; a teaching/artistic position at Bergen National Academy of Arts, Norway; establishment of Design Centrum Kielce in late 2000s; Menorah, 2007, Kielce (site-specific); Six Stations, 2007, Porsgrunn, Norway (site-specific); future projects for the city of Kielce; work with the Łódź Design Festival, Poland, and design center in Cieszyn, Poland; "kilo of earth" product; Last Supper; Mandala; Islam; limitations and advantages of ceramics as a medium; his globalized, multicultural experiences and outlook; the European vanguard in ceramics; periodicals and publications of interest; writers of interest: Edmund de Waal, Jorunn Veiteberg, Janet Koplos; the "desire society"; curating Third Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, 2004; fusion art, craft, and design; "Object Factory: The Art of Industrial Ceramics," Gardiner Museum, Toronto, 2008; redefinition of the concept of the object.
Biographical / Historical:
Marek Cecula (1944- ) is a ceramist and designer, who lives and works in New York and Poland.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 55 min.
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.
Restrictions:
For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.
An interview of Flora Mace conducted 2005 August 17-18, by Lloyd E. Herman, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home and studio, which she shares with Joey Kirkpatrick, in Seattle, Washington.
Ms. Mace discusses growing up in New Hampshire, in a house that her family had lived in for generations; various family businesses, including clam-shucking; how her mother suffered from depression throughout her childhood; her grandparents, who played a large role in her upbringing; joining the 4-H and becoming a skilled shepherd; her family's hunting, fishing, and gathering, on which they survived during her childhood; the various art projects she did with her mother and grandmother, including making wreaths for friends and relatives; building tree houses out of scrap wood; trapping animals and making their pelts into clothes for her dolls; saving up her money from after school jobs and the 4-H competitions to buy tools; getting a scholarship from her grandmother's old employer to go to college; attending Plymouth State; her involvement in college athletics, including field hockey, skiing, and softball; early artistic influences, especially Alexander Calder; traveling to Norway on the International Farm Youth Exchange; attending the University of Illinois for graduate school and being their sculpture technician; attending a summer workshop at the University of Utah with Dale Chihuly; being invited by Chihuly to go to Pilchuck Glass School to continue her work; becoming an artist-in-residence at Wheaton Glass Village; having her first show at the Contemporary Glass Gallery (later the Heller Gallery) in New York; the growth of the studio glass movement in the late 1970s; and finally going to Pilchuck Glass School for the first time in 1979, where she met Joey Kirkpatrick. The continuation of Mace's story, and her lifelong collaboration with Kirkpatrick, is discussed in a joint interview of Kirkpatrick and Mace. Mace also recalls Bill Morris, Ben Moore, Audrey Handler, Paul Stankard, Mary and Frank Wheaton, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Flora Mace (1949- ) is a glass artist from Seattle, Washington. Lloyd E. Herman (1936- ) is a curator and former director of the Smithsonian's American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery and currently lives in Seattle, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 25 min.
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.
Reports of explorations and surveys : to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean / made under the direction of the Secretary of War, in 1853-54, according to acts of Congress of March 3, 1853, May 31, 1854, and August 5, 1854
Yachting in the Arctic seas, or, Notes of five voyages of sport and discovery in the neighbourhood of Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya / by James Lamont ; edited and illustrated by W. Livesay
Title:
Yachting in the Arctic seas
Notes of five voyages of sport and discovery in the neighbourhood of Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya
An account of a voyage to Spitzbergen : containing a full description of that country, of the zoology of the North, and of the Shetland Isles : with an account of the whale fishery / by John Laing, surgeon ; with an appendix, containing some important observations on the variation of the compass, &c, by a gentleman of the Navy
Webb, Elizabeth N. (possible photographer) Search this
Extent:
53 Slides (53 black and white copy slides)
20 Color slides (circa)
1,500 Prints (circa, silver gelatin (some in photo albums))
1,000 Items (circa 1000 copy color prints (made from slides))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Slides
Color slides
Prints
Photographs
Place:
India -- description and travel
Japan -- Description and Travel
Singapore -- Description and Travel
Serbia -- description and travel
Scotland -- description and travel
Russia -- Description and Travel
Sri Lanka -- Description and Travel
Spain -- description and travel
South Africa -- Description and Travel
Chile -- description and travel
Somalia -- description and travel
Palestine -- description and travel
Peru -- Description and Travel
Nepal -- Description and Travel
Norway -- description and travel
Egypt -- description and travel
Portugal -- description and travel
Romania -- description and travel
Philippines -- Description and Travel
Poland -- description and travel
Kenya -- Description and Travel
Israel -- Description and Travel
China -- Description and Travel
Morocco -- description and travel
Mozambique -- description and travel
Mexico -- description and travel
Montenegro -- description and travel
Croatia -- description and travel
Denmark -- description and travel
Czech Republic -- Description and Travel
Burma -- Description and Travel
Bulgaria -- description and travel
Canada -- Description and Travel
Austria -- description and travel
Brazil -- Description and Travel
Borneo -- description and travel
England -- description and travel
France -- description and travel
Ecuador -- Description and Travel
Holland -- Description and Travel
Guatemala -- Description and Travel
Greece -- description and travel
Germany -- description and travel
Ireland -- description and travel
Iran -- Description and Travel
Italy -- description and travel
Hungary -- description and travel
United States -- description and travel
Thailand -- description and travel
Taiwan -- description and travel
Switzerland -- description and travel
Yugoslavia -- description and travel
Yucatan -- Description and Travel
Date:
1938-1996
Scope and Contents note:
Photographs made by Robert and Elizabeth Webb in numerous locations across the world, including Asia (China, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Borneo, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Russia); the Balkans (Czech Republic, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Poland); Europe (Spain, England, France, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Holland, Norway, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, and Portugal); the Middle East (Egypt, Iran, Israel, and Palestine); Africa (Kenya, Morocco, Somalia, Mozambique, and South Africa); South America (Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Yucatan, and Guatemala); and North America (Canada, Florida, Washington state, Alaska, Hawaii, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah). The photographs largely document architecture and art, including historical sites, though there are additional images of parades, transportation, cities, villages, markets, waterways, and people.
Commercial slides in the collection are by Swiss-Foto, E. Djupdraet, Herz-Color-Dias, Hong Kong Color Slide Service, SK Slide Co., Lehnert & Landrock, Douglas Whiteside, Vacation Films, Arctic Circle Enterprise, HI-FI Color Slides, Pana-Vue Slides, CP Inc., Jordan's Colour Lab, Hawaii Chrome, Syon House, John Decopoulos, La Goelette, and Zerkowitz. Notes by Robert Webb and original photograph albums are also available with the collection.
Biographical/Historical note:
Robert Watkins Webb (1906-1998) graduated from Southern Methodist University and received his medical degree from Tulane University in 1933. Before starting his psychiatry practice in Dallas, Webb traveled around the world, returning on the SS Normandie to New York (1938). An amateur photographer, Webb documented this and subsequent foreign trips, later submitting some of his photographs to the Dallas Museum of Art. He served four years in the Army during World War II,stationed primarily in Port Moresby, New Guinea. He later became chief psychiatrist of the Veterans Administration clinic in Washington, DC, from 1946-1950. In 1952, he married Elizabeth Nutting, a psychiatric social worker, while cruising the Mediterranean.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 98-9
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University holds Robert W. Webb photographs.