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Oral history interview with Marnie Weber, 2016 February 10

Online Media

Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Weber, Marnie, 1959-  Search this
Interviewer:
Drohojowska-Philp, Hunter  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Place of publication, production, or execution:
California
Physical Description:
4 sound files (3 hrs., 5 min.), digital, wav; 70 Pages, Transcript
Summary:
An interview of Marnie Weber, conducted 2016 February 10, by by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, for the Archives of American Art at Weber's studio in Los Angeles, California.
Weber discusses growing up in Connecticut and being raised by her parents Evelyn and Charles D. Weber, who was an important art historian and expert in Chinese bronzes; her happy family life in Connecticut with her brother and friends; the family's subsequent residences in California, Hawaii and Asia as a result of Mr. Weber's different teaching positions; her time at high school in Manhattan Beach, California, and her burgeoning interest in theatrical and glam rock; the beginnings of her work with art in high school and her subsequent enrollment as an art student at USC and UCLA; her life as one of the few artists in downtown Los Angeles in the '70s and '80s; her time in the rock band Party Boys, their manager Jack Marquette, his club Anti-Club, and their performances and recordings in L.A. and time spent in London. Weber also describes the influences of Alexis Smith, George Herms and Chris Burden as art teachers, especially the influence of Ms. Smith as a woman artist and as an artist who works in collage; her early character-based performances in Los Angeles hotels; her character-based musical performances in art galleries and the use of collage work and theater in these shows; her time working as a gallery coordinator with Anne Ayres at Otis Art Institute; her work creating films and videos and use of large animal characters; her marriage to the artist Jim Shaw and the raising of their daughter Colette Weber Shaw; their friendships with Mike Kelley and other artists in Los Angeles; the formation of the theatrical rock band Spirit Girls, and their live performances and appearances in her films; her exploration of witches as characters in her two films Night of Forevermore and Day of Forevermore, the latter being a feature-length film shot primarily at Zorthian Ranch in Altadena, California; and the impact of the death of Mr. Kelley on her and Mr. Shaw and the subsequent work they did for Mr. Kelley's foundation. Weber also recalls Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Donald Dunham, Gillean McLeod, Marc Kreisel, Michèle Lamy, Richard Newton, Rosamund Felsen, Patrick Painter as well as Paul McCarthy, Jacci Den Hartog, Bruce Licher, Rick Owens, Dani Tull, Tanya Haden, and Tamara Sussman, among others.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Marnie Weber, 2016 February 10. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Biography Note:
Marnie Weber (1959- ) is an installation artist, photographer, and musician in Los Angeles, California. Hunter Drohojowska-Philp is an art critic and writer from Beverly Hills, California.
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.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Installations (Art)  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)16307
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)379306
AAA_collcode_weber16
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_379306