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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Ferrara, Jackie  Search this
Interviewer:
Berman, Avis  Search this
Creator:
United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this
Names:
Michigan State University -- Students  Search this
United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this
Wayne State University -- Students  Search this
Addams, Charles, 1912-1988  Search this
Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this
Beauchamp, Robert, 1923-  Search this
Bellamy, Richard  Search this
DeLap, Tony, 1927-2019  Search this
Eisenhauer, Lette  Search this
Ferrara, Don  Search this
Forst, Miles, 1923-  Search this
Frank, Mary, 1933-  Search this
Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011  Search this
Gallo, Frank, 1933-  Search this
Graves, Nancy Stevenson, 1940-1995  Search this
Gross, Sally  Search this
Hesse, Eva, 1936-1970  Search this
Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this
Judd, Donald, 1928-1994  Search this
LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this
Marcus, Marcia, 1928-  Search this
Motherwell, Robert  Search this
Oldenburg, Claes, 1929-  Search this
Protetch, Max  Search this
Rockburne, Dorothea  Search this
Rosenquist, James, 1933-  Search this
Samaras, Lucas, 1936-  Search this
Smithson, Robert  Search this
Extent:
3 Items (Sound recording: 3 sound files (5 hr., 12 min.), digital, WMA files)
115 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2009 January 16-February 13
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Jackie Ferrara conducted 2009 January 16-February 13, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art's U.S. General Services Administration, Design Excellence and the Arts oral history project, at the Ferrara's home, in New York, New York.
Ferrara speaks of growing up in Detroit, Michigan; her early interest in mathematics and its ever present role in her work; attending Michigan State University for one year; taking fashion drawing classes at Wayne State University and her supposed lack of drawing skills; an early interest in pottery and leather making; moving to New York City in 1951 on a night train from Detroit; working at the Henry Street Playhouse and its influential role on her art; her relationship with Robert Beauchamp and her friendship with many artists in Provincetown, Massachusetts; early works, including the cotton batting works and the rope works, most of which were destroyed; her dislike of traveling and her use of imagination for inspiration; participating in the performances and happenings of Claes Oldenburg; her friendship with Robert Smithson and his influence on her later works; working with Max Protetch; never teaching art because she herself did not attend art school; her creation process of her wood and stone pieces, including their conception in early drawings; having a positive attitude towards her pieces being rebuilt because of decay; quickly moving into public art in the late 1970s, early 1980s; living and working in the same loft in New York for over 40 years; the helpful role the women's movement played in her successful career though she did not participate; receiving art grants to enable her to work for a year or two without having to find an odd job to support herself; various public art projects around the country, how they came to be, creating the works and their significance to her. Ferrara also recalls Charlotte Tokayer, Don Ferrara, Alvin Nikolai, Richard Bellamy, Mary and Paul Frank, Miles and Barbara Forst, Sally Gross, Hans Hofmann, Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, Nat Halprin, Lucas Samara, Letty Lou Eisenhauer, James Rosenquist, Marcia Marcus, Charles Addams, Eva Hesse, Frank Gallo, Tony DeLap, Dorothea Rockburne, Time Doyle, Sol LeWitt, Donald Judd, Carl Andre, Nancy Graves, Marty Greenbaum, Abe Sachs, Mel Bochner, Jan Groover, Alice Aycock, Alice Adams, Jackie Windsor, Scott Burton, Siah Armajani, Michelle Stuart, Lucy Lippard, Zaha Hadid, Max Hutcinson, Andrea Blum, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Jackie Ferrara (1929- ) is a sculptor. Ferrara works with the built environment in her designs for courtyards and architectural structures.
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:
Audio: ACCESS RESTRICTED; Use requires written permission.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Draftsmen (artists) -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.ferrar09
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9efd0b315-7933-452d-945c-e6f5dc917f90
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-ferrar09