The papers of Dominic Di Mare measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1950 to 2003. The collection provides an overview of Di Mare's career as a fiber artist through biographical information, correspondence, writings, printed material, artwork, and photographs.
The collection is arranged into six series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1987-2003 (box 1; 4 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1970-2002, undated (box 1; 7 folders)
Series 3: Writings, 1971-1977, undated (box 1; 7 folders)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1964-2003, undated (box 1-2; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 5: Artwork, 1950-1999, undated (box 3; 3 folders)
Series 6: Photographs, 1959-2001, undated (box 3-4; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 7: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1950-2003 (box 5; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Fiber artist Dominic Di Mare was born in San Francisco, California, in 1932. He grew up working on his father's fishing boat and was artistically influenced by the process of making rope and fishing lines. After finishing high school, Di Mare attended the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland and later received his art teaching certification at San Francisco State University. In 1960, Di Mare married Margaret Nef, bought his first loom, and began teaching at Francisco Junior High School. He and his wife had three children together, Marcello, Lorenzo, and Livia. A highly respected teacher, Di Mare taught at Francisco Junior High until 1976, when he left to work in his studio full-time.
A self taught fiber artist, Di Mare has explored, throughout his career, the imagery of the ocean and the shore. He works with fiber, wood, handmade paper, and small found objects to create unique sculptures. Since his first one person show at The Yarn Depot in 1963, Di Mare has participated in numerous national and international exhibitions and has been represented by the Anneberg Gallery and Braunstein Gallery in San Francisco, Florence Duhl Gallery in New York, and most recently the Susan Cummins Gallery in Mill Valley, California. In 1998 the Palo Alto Art Center curated "Dominic Di Mare: A Retrospective," which traveled throughout the country. In 1999 Di Mare received the American Crafts Council Gold Medal Award.
Related Material:
The Archives also has a transcribed interview of Dominic Di Mare, conducted June 4 and 10, 2002 by Signe Mayfield for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. The interview was conducted in Di Mare's home in Tiburon, California.
Provenance:
Dominic Di Mare donated his papers in 2003 and 2013 to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
