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An interview with James Magee conducted 2016 September 29-30, by Jason Stieber, for the Archives of American Art, at Magee's home in El Paso, Texas.
Magee speaks of his childhood in Michigan; introduction to art in his grandfather's house; memories of his family of origin, discussing religion and music; learning to read in school; sports, running, football, and friendships; Alma College: studying French, poetry, history; travels in high school and college to North Ireland, West Africa; attending University of Pennsylvania Law School [Penn Law]; his father's illness and his own misdiagnosis of M.S.; painting while at Penn Law; travel to Corsica and Paris; Working as assistant to artist Caroline Lee; living in a French monastery; learning and thinking about homosexuality; moving to New York in 1972; the gay scene post-Stonewall; cruising; working and living in Staten Island; living in Manhattan in the Flower District; driving a cab; moving upstate to a former summer camp; working with mentally disabled adults; welding; opera design; working for the UN on bills about Conscientious Objection and the Seabed Initiative; choosing his pseudonym J.R. McCoy; moving from Upstate New York to Texas; working on an oil rig; finding land to create his installation complex the Hill, in El Paso, Texas; concurrently returning to New York City to do legal work at the U.N. and to volunteer for the poor; building the Hill; describes the identities and personas of his alter egos, Annabel Livermore and Horace Mayfield; being diagnosed as HIV Positive; surgery and amputation of his legs; public interest in his work; scholarship about his work; shows and collaborations in sound art and poetry; his romantic relationships; his desired legacy of his work; and his poems or "titles." Magee also recalls Darthea Speyer Galerie; James Rechy; Paterson Sims; Rod McCall; Tommy Koh; Rudy Weingartner; Dr. Richard Brettell; Camilla Carr; Bob Ostertag; Doug Cohen.
Biographical / Historical:
James Magee (1946- ) is a painter, sculptor, and creates architectural works of art in El Paso, Texas. Jason Stieber (1973- ) is the National Collector for the Archives of American Art.
General:
Originally recorded as 11 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 16 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.
An interview of Jesse Treviño conducted 2004 July 15-16, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in San Antonio, Texas.
Treviño discusses his birth in Monterrey, Mexico; moving to San Antonio; being one of 12 children; attending the Art Students League of New York; being drafted into Vietnam; the Mekong Delta; falling into a booby trap and being badly wounded; the long recovery and the subsequent amputation of his right hand; learning to paint with his left hand; his first shows; his "Mi Vida" self-portrait; the numerous poster contests he won as a youth; his art training; the difficulty in organizing Chicano art shows; the relationships with his siblings, particularly his oldest sister, Eva; his Santa Rosa Hospital mural ("Spirit of Healing"); and the importance of public art, particularly murals. Treviño also discusses his Veladora; his early left-handed paintings; the classification of himself as a "Realist"; how he chooses the sites he paints; helping form the Alameda/Smithsonian art center; being invited to talk at veteran's groups and high schools; his early paintings on black canvas; his new public art project on San Antonio's notorious Guadalupe Street; his Wells Fargo Bank mural and its formation; his interest, or lack thereof, in photography; his portraits of Henry B. Gonzales and his mother; his painting, "Mis Hermanos;" his successful one man show at the San Antonio Museum of Art; his relationships with galleries; the rejuvenating qualities of art in poor neighborhoods; his trip to Chile with Hillary Clinton, as part of her First Lady's Convention; being honored at the White House; and how he wants his art to unite people. Treviño also recalls William Draper, Felipe Reyes, Katherine Alsup, Earl Mayan, George Cortex, Gilbert Denman, Kevin Consey, Lionel Sosa, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Jesse Treviño (1946- ) is a painter from San Antonio, Texas. Cary Cordova (1970- ) is an art historian from Austin, Texas.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 11 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.
Topic:
Painters -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews Search this
Muralists -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews Search this
This interview is part of the series "Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas," supported by Federal funds for Latino programming, administered by the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives.
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.
Puerto Rico. Division of Community Education. Department of Education Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Ink on paper., 58.2 x 49 cm.)
Container:
Map-folder 10
Type:
Archival materials
Film posters
Posters
Screen prints
Place:
Puerto Rico -- 20th century
Date:
1972
Scope and Contents:
This movie poster boldly depicts a women's body cropped from the waist down, on crutches, missing a leg. The symmetrical composition, large planes of color and drastic cropping emphasize the missing limb and add drama. The script, adapted by Emilio Diaz Valcarcel, is based on a short story by Rene Marques. (From exhibition text by Marvette Perez.)
Local Numbers:
AC0615-0000031.tif (AC Scan)
1997.3100.15 (Museum Cat. No.)
Exhibitions Note:
In the exhibition "Posters from the Division of Community Education (DIVEDCO) of Puerto Rico, 1948-1989," Sept. 17, 2008-Jan. 18, 2009, at the Smithsonian's S. Dillon Ripley Center.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Correspondence is between Spohn and his colleagues, including two letters from Alexander Calder, eight letters from Mark Rothko, and twenty-eight letters from Clyfford Still.
See Appendix for an alphabetical list of correspondents from Series 2.2.
Appendix: Alphabetical List of Correspondents in 2.2:
Abend, George and Kitty Parker Abend (artists): 1950-1960 (4 letters)
Abingdon Square Painters: 1958 (1 letter)
Addison Gallery of American Art: 1958 (2 letters)
American Artists' Congress: 1938 (1 letter)
American Library of Color Slides: 1941 (1 letter)
Anderson, Claude J. K.: 1958 (1 letter)
Anderson, Wendell (poet): 1955-1956 (2 letters)
Archives of American Art: 1964 (4 letters)
Art Academy of Cincinnati: 1958-1959 (3 letters)
Art Association of Newport: 1958 (1 letter)
Art Career School: 1958 (1 letter)
Artists Equity Association: 1950 (1 letter)
Arts and Architecture: 1963 (1 letter)
Art Students League: 1958-1964 (2 letters)
Art Times: 1959 (1 letter)
Art Workshop of the Rivington Neighborhood Asociation, Inc.: 1958 (1 letter)
Ashton, Dore: 1969 (1 letter)
Ayer, Phyllis: 1956 (1 letter)
Bachels, Andrew: 1969 (1 letter)
Barnett, Rici: 1973 (1 letter)
Barron, John N.: 1966 (1 letter)
Beasley, David and Viola: 1963-1978 (11 letters)
Bender: Albert M. Bender Memorial Trust: 1947-1951 (2 letters)
Bethers, Peggy: 1940 (1 letter)
Blesh, Rudi: 1960 (1 letter)
Board of Education, City of New York: 1958-1965 (2 letters)
Booth, James W. (family friend): 1943-1956 (7 letters)
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture: 1966 (1 letter)
Brown, Lesley: 1955 (1 letter)
Burke, Bob: 1971 (1 letter)
Burnham, Janet B.: 1950 (1 letter)
Bute, Janey: 1971 (1 letter)
Calcagno, Lawrence: 1969-1977 (5 letters)
Calder, Alexander: 1970-1972 (2 letters)
California Palace of the Legion of Honor: 1964 (1 letter)
California School of Fine Arts: 1955-1964 (2 letters)
California: University of California at Berkeley: 1940 (1 letter)
California: University of California at Santa Clara: 1975-1976 (2 letters)
Carewe, Sylvia: 1969 (1 letter)
Carr, James F.: 1967 (1 letter)
Chase Manhattan Bank: 1971 (2 letters)
Chisholm, Stuart (landscape architect): 1925 (1 letter)
Clayton, Janice: undated and 1965-1974 (6 letters)
Clifton, Jim and Mary (owners of a Spohn painting): 1956 (1 letter)
College Art Association: 1949 (1 letter)
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center: 1952-1970 (4 letters)
Cooke, Regina: 1955 (1 letter)
Cooley, Anne: 1941 (1 letter)
Corbett, Ed and Steff, and Rosamond Tirana: undated and 1951-1977(47 letters, including a 1962 wedding announcement for Corbett and Tirana, and a letter dated Mar 21, 1963 enclosing a photograph of Ed with an amputated foot)
Craig, Jeanne: 1963 (2 letters)
Crawford, Jane and Ernie: 1958 (3 letters)
Crehan, Hub and Anne: 1960 (1 letter)
Crewe, Sylvia: 1969 (1 letter)
Crews, Judson and Mildred (publishers of poetry magazine in Taos): 1952-1969 (4 letters)
Cumming, Ann (and Jennifer Sutcliffe): 1956 (1 letter)
Cunningham, Ben: 1950 (1 letter)
D'Arcangelo, Allan and Sylvia: 1965 (1 letter)
Dasburg, Andrew: 1961 (1 letter)
DePuy, John: 1964 (1 letter)
Diebenkorn, Richard: 1951 (1 letter)
Dilexi Gallery (L. James Newman): 1965 (1 letter)
Dixon, Budd (J.B.) and Peggy: 1954-1970 (5 letters)
Gallery of Modern Art, Taos, N.M.: 1972 (1 letter)
Garcia, Enos: 1954 (1 letter)
Georgiadis, Alex: 1951 (1 letter)
Gettell, Mrs. Richard Glenn: 1958 (an invitation to meet Col. George Lincoln)
Gluck, Heidi: 1977 (1 letter)
Gomez, Dorothy Massey (mother of anthropologist Bill Massey): 1950 (1 letter)
Gomez, Joe: undated and 1971 (2 letters)
Grant, Bob: 1953-1972 (2 letters)
Grant, Carolyn: 1969 (1 letter)
Great Neck Board of Education: 1960 (1 letter)
Grimm, Marjorie: 1973 (1 letter)
Grossmann, Nancy: 1966 (1 letter)
Guggenheim: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: 1953-1954 (2 letters)
Harwood Foundation: 1953-1956 (2 letters)
Harris, Roger: 1973 (1 letter)
Hawley, W. R.: 1977 (1 letter enclosing an exhibition catalog "Unemployed Wizards")
Heischman, R. L.: undated (1 letter)
Hill, Dorothy: 1967 (2 letters)
Hocks, Fred: 1952 (1 letter)
Howard, Ellen and Galen: 1957 (1 letter)
Howard, Robert Boardman and Adaline Kent (San Francisco sculptors): 1951-1955 (2 letters)
Howard, Madge Knight and Charles H.: 1946-1954 (21 letters)
Hultburg, John and Lynne: 1959-1974 (5 letters)
Huntsville Museum of Art: see Braunstein/Quay Gallery
Hurst, Tricia: 1977 (1 letter)
Hutchinson, Mrs. D. H.: 1925 (1 letter)
Illinois: University of Illinois at Urbana: 1952 (2 letters)
Jackson: Martha Jackson Gallery: 1965 (1 letter)
Jacobson, Art (artist) and Ursula: 1950-1960 (9 letters)
Jonson Gallery: 1969-1970 (2 letters)
Kadish, Reuben: 1958 (1 letter)
Kahl: Leone Kahl Gallery: 1964 (1 letter)
Karnes, Marion Watson: undated and 1947-1954 (80 letters from Spohn)
Keeney, James: 1963 (1 letter)
Kieve, Rudolph: 1971 (3 letters)
King, Vivie and Rufus: 1977 (1 letter)
Kingman, Dong: undated calling card
Kuhlman, Walt: 1957 (2 letters)
Kultberg, Lynne and John: 1965 (1 letter)
Labaudt, Lucien: 1943 (1 letter)
Labaudt, Marcelle: 1956 (1 letter)
Landgren, Paula: undated (1 letter)
Lannan, J. Patrick (The Susquehanna Corporation/ The Lannan Foundation): 1966-1971 (4 letters); see Personal Business Records for correspondence pertaining to the Foundation's support of Spohn, 1961-1962
LaPlante, John (Stanford University): 1949 (1 letter)
Lazarus, Rosalind: 1960 (1 letter)
LeBow-Gould Associates: 1958 (3 letters)
Lee, Martha: 1957 (1 letter)
Lehman, Margarett: 1957 (1 letter)
Letter Shop: 1956 (1 letter)
Library of Congress Copyright Office: 1932 (1 letter concerning the trisection of an arbitrary angle)
Lippincott, Janet (artist): 1955-1956 (5 letters)
Lockwood, Ward: 1952 (1 letter)
MacAgy, Douglas and Betty: undated and 1945-1973 (13 letters)
MacAgy, Jermayne (Jerry): 1945-1948 (2 letters)
Macdowell Colony: 1975 (1 letter)
Machcinski, Barbara: 1971 (1 letter)
MacIntyre, Carlyle F.: 1945 (1 letter)
Maes, Virginia: 1941 (1 letter)
Mare, Doris and Emil: 1969 (1 letter)
Marse, John J.: 1962 (1 letter)
Marter, Joan: 1977 (3 letters)
Martin, Agnes: 1958-1975 (3 letters)
Massey, Ellen DeSelms: 1940 (2 letters)
McCarthy, Francis Joseph (AIA): 1950 (1 change of address card)
McChesney, Mary (Fuller) and Mac: 1952-1977 (62 letters, including one dated May 21, 1968 decorated with a lizard skin, one dated Jun 08, 1973 enclosing a wooden Yalalag Indian good luck charm, and one dated May 26, 1976 enclosing a photograph of group and McChesney art work at Temko mansion in Berkeley)
McCormick, Herbert: 1951 (1 letter)
McDonald, Katharyn: 1963-1964 (2 letters)
Merlin Development Company: 1962 (1 letter)
Merrick, Barbara: 1975 (1 letter)
Meyer, Fleur Cowler: 1968 (1 letter)
Miller, Dorothy (Museum of Modern Art): 1952-1977 (8 letters)
Moore Dry Dock Company: 1942 (2 letters)
Murphy, Jack W. and Dori (owners of some of Spohn's work): 1951-1976 (7 letters)
Mygatt, Tony: 1954 (1 letter)
National Collection of Fine Arts: 1977 (1 letter)
Neininger, Urban and Jeanne: 1950-1976 (48 letters)
New Mexico Highlands University: 1958-1969 (3 letters)
New Mexico: Museum of New Mexico Art Gallery: 1952-1957 (3 letters)
New Mexico: University of New Mexico at Albuquerque: 1957-1970 (2 letters)
New York City Transit Authority: 1962-1963 (2 letters)
New York Saucer Information Bureau: 1962-1965 (2 letters)
New York University: 1958-1960 (3 letters)
Oakland Museum (Terry St. John): 1970-1977 (33 letters)
O'Connor, Francis V.: 1979 (1 letter)
Ohio State University: 1958 (1 letter)
Oldfield, Otis: 1942 (1 letter of recommendation for Spohn for Albert M. Bender Grants-in-Aid)
Olmsted, Frederick: 1943 (1 letter)
Oregon: University of Oregon: 1974-1975 (2 letters)
Ortman, George: 1964 (2 letters)
Otto, Curtis, Roberta, and Adrienne: 1957 (1 letter)
Oxford University Press: 1949 (1 letter)
Parrett, Fred C.: undated and 1954 (2 letters)
Peale, Norman Vincent (office of): 1975 (1 letter)
Pepsi-Cola Annual Art Competition: 1947 (2 letters)
Peterson, Arline? and Pete: 1955-1957 (2 letters)
Petrovo, Miriam: 1961-1971 (11 letters)
Pitney, Peggy and Ed: 1948 (1 letter)
Queens College: 1958 (2 letters)
Ramsay, Anna R.: 1954 (1 letter)
Rankine, Vivie (Mrs. Paul Scott Rankine): 1964-1981 (5 letters)
Remington, Deborah: 1963 (1 letter)
Reminick, Harry: 1954 (1 letter)
Reynal, Jeanne: 1941 (an invitation to a reception for Arshile Gorky) and 1952 (1 letter)
Ribak, Louis and Bea: 1954-1976 (5 letters)
Richards, Tally: 1971-1980 (5 letters)
Ridiman, Bob: 1963-1970 (4 letters)
Rogoway, Marjorie and Rog: undated and 1953-1968 (15 letters)
Rosebury, Amy and Ted: 1954 (1 letter)
Rosen, Michael: 1970-1974 (4 letters)
Roswell Museum and Art Center: 1977-1978 (6 letters)
Rothko Foundation: 1971-1975 (4 letters)
Rothko, Mark and Mell: 1946-1958 (8 letters)
Rusnell, Wesley: 1972-1979 (13 letters)
Sachs Gallery: undated and 1968 (2 letters)
St. John's College: 1969 (1 letter)
Salzer, Oscar: 1955 (1 letter)
Sanders, Una and John: 1975-1977 (6 letters)
Sands, Louis: 1948 (1 letter)
San Francisco Art Association: 1939-1955 (19 letters)
San Francisco Museum of Art: 1949-1977 (18 letters)
Saxe, Suzanne: 1972-1973 (2 letters)
Scarpitta, Pat and Sal: 1968 (1 letter)
Schneiderwirth, Joan (friend of Ed Corbett): 1955 (1 letter)
School of Visual Arts: 1964-1970 (86 letters)
Schubart, Pauline: 1950 (1 letter)
Shoemaker, Peter (former student of Spohn): 1955-1958 (5 letters)
Shiras, Mary: 1958-1965 (10 letters)
Sihvonen, Oli: 1953-1977 (66 letters)
Slivka, David: 1954 (1 letter)
Smith, Hassel: 1948 (1 letter)
Spoerri, John: 1965-1977 (10 letters)
Stables Art Gallery (Leone Kahl, director): 1956-1965 (14 letters)
Stanford University: 1946 (1 letter)
Stephens, Dick and Carolyn: 1960-1965 (3 letters)
Stevens: Arthur Stevens Book Club: 1968 (1 letter)
Still, Clyfford: 1948-1968 (28 letters, including one dated Nov 1950 to Ed Corbett, and one dated Nov 29, 1963 enclosing a hand-drawn map to Still's home)
Strehler, Allen (Sociologist): 1954 (1 letter)
Summers, Al: 1952 (1 letter)
Sutcliffe, Jennifer (beautiful English girl who passed through Taos with Ann Cumming): 1956 (2 letters)
Sznajderman, Marius: 1967 (1 letter)
Taggart, Bill, Sandy, and Sean: 1968 (1 letter)
Taos Artist's Association (Taos Art Association): 1956-1964 (6 letters)
Taos Realty: 1968-1969 (3 letters)
Tatarsky, Hy and Muriel: 1952-1957 (2 letters)
Tatarsky, Stephanie: 1963-1964 (7 letters)
Taylor, Gene: 1925 (letter of introduction to Erskine Gwynne)
Temianka, Henri: 1941 (1 letter)
Tensan, Keith and Gene: 1957 (1 letter)
Terrain Gallery: 1960 (1 letter)
Terry Art Institute: 1951-1952 (7 letters)
Third Street Gallery (Helen Kaye, Director): 1950 (1 letter)
Thomas, Corine (owner of a Spohn painting): 1954-1957 (7 letters)
Tirana, Rosamond: undated and 1958-1962 (10 letters); see Corbett, Edward for additional letters
Van Duren, Allan and Betsy: 1953 (1 letter)
Van Ingen, Pat: 1973 (2 letters)
Varda, Yantoo?: 1949 (1 letter)
Visual Arts Gallery: 1967 (2 letters)
Vollmer, George A.: 1945-1948 (3 letters)
Von Herberg, Charlotte: 1950-1958 (2 letters)
Wakefield, Ruth Cravath: 1943 (1 letter of recommendation for Spohn)
Wandell, Walt and Doreen: 1958 (1 letter)
Wasley, Emily (aunt) and Sarah Rhoads (cousin): 1946-1955 (14 letters)
Wehrer, Anne: 1974 (1 letter)
Whaley, Bill: 1974 (1 letter)
White, Minor: 1963 (1 letter)
Who's Who In American Art: 1952-1969 (5 letters)
Who's Who In The Midwest: 1959 (1 letter)
Who's Who In The West: 1959 (1 letter)
Willard, Charlotte: 1960-1967 (3 letters)
Williams, Matilda A.: 1958 (1 letter)
Wilmans, Margery and Steve: 1974 (1 letter)
Winston, James W.: 1941 (1 letter)
Wise: Howard Wise Gallery: 1962 (1 letter)
Woelffer, Emerson and Diana: 1955-1958 (5 letters)
Wood, Ralph: 1960-1970 (5 letters)
Wright, Dorothy: 1926 (1 letter)
Wurlitzer: Helene Wurlitzer Foundation: 1954-1957 (3 letters)
Young-Hunter, Mrs. John: 1959 (1 letter)
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use of unfilmed material requires an appointment.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Clay Spohn Papers, circa 1862-1985, bulk 1890-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.