Transcript has not been edited. Originally recorded on 8 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 16 digital wav files. Duration is 11 hrs., 50 min.
Access Note / Rights:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Summary:
An interview of Mary Lucier conducted 1990 Apr.-Nov., by Cynthia Nadelman, for the Archives of American Art. Lucier discusses her family history; education at Brandeis; experiences participating in the avant-garde music scene of the 1960s with the Sonic Arts Union; the Annual Avant Garde Festival; the Kitchen (New York exhibition space); the ONCE group; her performance pieces; projection art; earthworks; conceptual art; dance; installations, and Happenings. She recalls her video pieces, including "Ohio at Giverny," "Salt," "Antique," "Untitled Display System," "Dawn Burn," "Paris Burn," "Equinox," "Air Writing," "Fire Writing," "Planet," "Bird's Eye," "Denman's Col," "Wintergarden," "Asylum," "If I could fly, I would fly," "MASS," and "Noah's Raven."
She recalls traveling for her work; editing her work; influences, including Claude Monet; audiences; sound and music; her publication work; editing Theatre Crafts Magazine; working with museums and galleries; criticism; copies and copyright; collectors, among other topics. She recalls associations with Alvin Lucier; Carolee Schneeman; Sahl Swarz; Karlheinz Stockhausen; Robert Ashley; John Cage; Merce Cunningham; Gordon Mumma; Shigeko Kubota; Nam June Paik; Davidson Gigliotti; Cecilia Sandoval; Charlotte Moorman; Bruce Nauman; Vito Acconci; La Monte Young; Earl Howard; Elizabeth Streb, among others.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Mary Lucier, 1990 Apr.-Nov. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Funding:
Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Biography Note:
Mary Lucier (1944- ) is a video artist and photographer from Bucyrus, Ohio. She lives and works in New York City.
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. Funding for this interview provided by the Lannan Foundation.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
