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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Krenov, James  Search this
Interviewer:
Fitzgerald, Oscar P.  Search this
Creator:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Rochester Institute of Technology -- Faculty  Search this
Woodstock School of Painting  Search this
Extent:
38 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2004 August 12-13
Scope and Contents:
An interview of James Krenov conducted 2004 August 12-13, by Oscar Fitzgerald, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Fort Bragg, California.
Krenov speaks of immigrating to the United States; making things as a child; learning woodworking from Carl Malmsten; teaching workshops in England, Japan, and New Zealand; working as a cabinetmaker in Sweden; teaching at Rochester Institute of Technology; writing books on woodworking, including, "A Cabinetmaker's Notebook"; helping to found the Program in Artisanry at Boston University; teaching at the College of the Redwoods; using veneers; his teaching method; choosing the appropriate wood; the process of designing his pieces; choosing tools, and his opinion on computerized machinery; his favorite pieces; receiving awards; working for pleasure and working on commission; making joinery; pricing his work; choosing not to work with galleries; and his predictions for the future of woodworking. Krenov also recalls Soetsu Yanagi, Craig McArt, Wendell Castle, John Makepeace, Lois Moran, Yong Chen, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
James Krenov (1920-2009) was a woodworker of Fort Bragg, California. Oscar Fitzgerald is a writer and historian from Alexandria, Virginia.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 42 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:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Cabinetmakers -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Woodworkers -- California -- Interviews.  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Woodwork  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.krenov04
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw938144c01-9401-4891-828a-495a112b8430
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-krenov04