An interview of Regina Vater conducted 2004 February 23-25, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in her home in Austin, Texas.
Vater speaks of her childhood in Copacabana, Ipanema, south of Rio de Janeiro; her father's career as a physician; her Basque, Portuguese, and Jewish heritage; her early education including early experiences with Greek philosophy; her parents' reaction to her desire to be an artist; her great-grandfather's translation of Virgil and Homer into Portuguese; her study abroad in France in 1972; her move to New York in the mid-1970s; her motivations for various works of art, including the series Gentle Solitude, Three Chinese Monkeys, Luxo Lixo, Electronic Nature, The Knots, Tina America, and "O Que e Arte?"; her Guggenheim fellowship in 1981; the 1976 Whitney Biennial; her marriage to video installation artist Bill Lundberg; her move to Austin, Tex.; her work with the Franklin Furnace Gallery and Flue magazine; her involvement with "cinema verité"; making films with Ruth Escobar; her travels in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Lima, Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia; her perception of the emotional differences between Latinos and Americans; her love of Brazilian culture; her own classification of her work and potential reasons for the lack of scholarship on her work; her activities as a curator including the 1984 show "Latin American Visual Thinking," at the Art Awareness Gallery in New York, N.Y.; difficulties with the Brazilian government in attempting to bring her film Green into that country; her love of poetry, especially concrete poetry; and the spirituality of her work. Vater also recalls Helio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Frank Schaeffer, Antonio Diaz, Carlos Vergara, Rubens Gerschman, Mario Schemberg, Lucy Lippard, Augustos de Campos, John Cage, Joseph Beuys, Quentin Fiore, Tomasso Trinino, Bill Lundberg [the artist's husband], Leo Castelli, Dore Ashton, Nam June Paik, Charlotte Moorman, Sophie Calle, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Ruth Escobar, Antonio Pitanga, Bobby Wilson, Sylvia Orozco, Bill Viola, Ana Mendieta, Martha Wilson, Catalina Parra, Liliana Porter, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Regina Vater (1943-) is a multimedia artist from Austin, Texas. Cary Cordova (1970-) is an art historian from Austin, Texas.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs and 1 compact disc. Duration is 5 hr., 10 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.
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.
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Marisol conducted 1968 Feb. 8, by Colette Roberts, for the Archives of American Art.
In the interview Marisol speaks of her childhood spent both in Chile and France; the encouragement of her parents and teachers to draw freely; her progression from painting, to drawing, to collage and reliefs; the influence of Europeans, Matisse and Picasso, and American, Rauschenberg; her time spent in museums as a child and the subsequent exposure to DaVinci and Rembrandt; her art education, predominantly in New York at the Art Students League and briefly in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Art; her association with the Abstract Expressionists at the Club; the contrast of her work to the dream-based Surrealists; her first show for Castelli in 1957; her shows at the '62 and '64 annual exhibitions at the Stable; her more recent exhibitions for the Carnegie and Sidney Janis Gallery of The Beach and The Party; the origins of her wood drawings as a discovery while drawing lines to be sculpted upon wood; her experience working for the Daily Telegraph and completing portraits of historical figures such as Charles DeGalle; the literary influence of Dostoeveski, and more specifically Crime and Punishment; her recent apathy for visual entertainments and diversions (like the Ballet). Both in the interview and afterwards in a supplemental biographical addition Roberts and Marisol allude to her resistence to sit for interviews. The artist feels that she doesn't "have much to say."
Biographical / Historical:
Marisol (1930- ) is a sculptor in New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 15 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:
Use requires an appointment.
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Santa Barraza conducted 2003 November 21-22, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in Kingsville, Texas.
Barraza speaks of her childhood, family and early education; picking cotton in the summer; the University of Texas, Kingsville; meeting Carmen Lomas Garza and learning graphic design; her daughter Andrea; involvement with Mayo, a Mexican-American Youth Organization; Austin, Tex. and the differences between UT Kingsville and UT Austin; and Acuña Rodolfo's book, "Occupied America: the Chicano's Struggle Toward Liberation," 1972. Barraza also discusses Jacinto Quirarte and the first formal art history class on Mexican-American art; the formation of MAS, Mujeres Artistas del Suroeste; the Conferencia del Plástica Chicana, held September 13-16, 1979 in Austin, Texas; Con Safo; use of the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in her artwork; stories of witchcraft; La Llorona; MACLA, the Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, founded in 1989 in San Jose, California; teaching at Pennsylvania State University; her studio space in Kingsville, Texas; the distinction between Chicana and Latina; the visual artists Faith Ringgold and Leslie King Hammond whom Barraza admires; her travels to Oaxaca and other places; her book, "Santa Barraza, Artist of the Borderlands," 2001. Barraza also recalls Ben Bailey, Maurice Schmidt, José Rivera, Amado Peña, Israel Reyna, Sylvia Orozco, Barbina Modesta Treviño, Nora González Dodson, Rita Starpattern, Raquel Tibol, Jorge Bustamante, Liliana Wilson, Isabel Juárez, Viola Delgado, Kathy Vargas, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Santa Barraza (1951-) is an artist from Kingsville, Texas. Cary Cordova (1970-) is an art historian from Austin, Texas.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 13 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:
Mexican American artists -- Texas -- 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.
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Sylvia Orozco conducted 2004 Jan. 26-Feb. 2, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in Mexic-Arte Gallery, Austin, Tex.
Orozco speaks of her family history, having the best drawing in second grade, the earliest recollection of being an artist; Camp Fire Girls; painting for high school pep squad and protest signs; growing up in Cuero, Tex.; integration in high school; Texas A and I; the Raza Unida movement; University of Texas; the Conferencia del Plastica Chicana, held September 13-16, 1979 in Austin, Tex.; MECha, the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan; the effect of her work as a curator on her ability to do her own artwork; CONACYT, National Council of Arts and Technology; her passion for Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros; meeting Pio Pulido; LUChA, the League of United Chicano Artists; organizing an exhibition on Manuel Alvarez Bravo at the Texas Memorial Museum; the beginnings of Mexic-Arte Gallery; the group Women and Their Work; the installation "Counter Colon-ialismo"; alternative spaces and museums; and future plans for Mexic-Arte Gallery. Orozco also recalls Santa Barraza, Kelly Fearing, Mike Frary, Sam Coronado, Barbina Modesta Treviño, Nora Gonzalez-Dodson, Linda Pace, Rita Starpattern, Gilbert Cardenas, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Sylvia Orozco (1954- ) is an artist from Austin, Tex. Cary Cordova (1970-) is an art historian from Austin, Tex.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hrs., 55 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.
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.
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Liliana Wilson conducted 2004 July 13-27, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in Austin, Texas.
Wilson displays a slideshow of her works and discusses Disparecidos en el Cielo; The Gatekeepers; The Immigrants; Man Running from Himself; Girl and Red Fish; Self-Portrait; Organic Barbed Wire; The Fish Tree; The Wedding; Desperate Housewife; The Lovers; The Meaning of Life; Lies; Proposition 187; Luciano; Time; Shift; El dia en que le hicieron pedazos la corona; Casi Gomez; Man and Leaf, and others. Wilson also discusses her relationship with Gloria Anzaldua; her sister's kidnapping by the Pinochet regime; experiences winning art contests at primary school; her uncommon last name; her use of Catholic imagery; her bad experience teaching; her childhood in Valparaiso, Chile; the patriarchal qualities of Chilean culture; attending architecture school and then transferring to law; her father's death and the family's resulting financial struggles; her disdain for traditional political paradigms; Santiago during the 1973 coup by Augusto Pinochet; her apartment being raided by the Army; moving to America and working as an au pair; enrolling in Austin Community College; her color choices in her paintings; moving to San Francisco; her various jobs doing commercial art; her early grant from MACLA; her anti-social nature, and how Anzaldua's nature is similar; her various residences in San Francisco; her conversion to Buddhism; moving back to Austin and her love for its community; learning to promote her own work; painting nude forms; her disdain for certain Catholic ideologies; the painters which she considers influences, such as Bosch, Kahlo, and Klee; her inability to be recognized by museums; the masculine nature of art academia; her involvement in the San Antonio arts scene; and the positive qualities of the United States. Wilson also discusses Cynthia Perez, Mia Gonzales, Jesse Treviño, Rene Yañez, Pema Chödrön, Neil Wilson, Arturo Almeida, Mary Margaret Navarro, Marjorie Agosin, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Liliana Wilson (1953-) is an artist in Austin, Texas. Cary Cordova (1970-) is an art historian from Austin, Texas.
General:
Originally recorded on 6 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 55 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.
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.
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Graciela Sanchez conducted 2004 June 25-July 2, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in San Antonio, Tex.
Sánchez speaks of her family background, her family's move to Chicago, return to San Antonio, and cultural traditions; San Antonio's Chili Queens; activism in the community; high school, attending Yale University; MEChA; Gloria Anzaldúa and This Bridge Called My Back; working for the Southwest Voter Registration Project; MALDEF, Mexican American Legal Defense; the foundation of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center with Susan Guerra and others; going to Cuba to study film; the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center; the values of being "buena gente," "good people"; Ellas, a Latina lesbian organization; working with Amy Kastely, lawyer; Mujer Artes; her film "No Porque lo Diga Fidel Castro"; working for AIDS prevention/education; the newsletter "The Interchange" which became "La Voz de Esperanza"; Stonehaven Ranch, a retreat location; the film screenings "Other America"; the complete de-funding of Esperanza in 1997 and the four year litigation with the city of San Antonio; trying to save the building La Gloria and other endeavors taken on by the Esperanza; the Cuentos Project and recent events sponsored by the Esperanza. Sánchez also recalls Audre Lorde, Luz Calvo, Eduardo Diaz, Liliana Wilson Grez, Cherríe Moraga, Cynthia Perez, Genevieve Vaughn, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Graciela Sanchez (1960- ) is an arts activist and the executive director of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in San Antonio, Tex. Cary Cordova (1970- ) is an art historian from Austin, Tex.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound discs. Duration is 5 hr., 30 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:
Arts administrators -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Mexican American artists -- Texas -- 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.
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Celia Alvarez Muñoz conducted 2004 Feb. 7-28, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in Arlington, Tex.
Muñoz speaks of her early childhood and close relationship to her maternal grandmother Damiana Esparza Limón; travels to California in high school; Father Rahm, the youth center, and the opportunity to go to college; Dr. Robert Massey who was an etcher and took Muñoz under his wing; her zeal graduating from Texas Western University; teaching art to school children; her marriage; experimenting with photography; the theory of deconstruction; being a writer; the "Enlightenment" series, which began in graduate school; spirituality and philosophy; Dolores Hayden and the University of California at Los Angeles program in architecture and urban planning; her consciousness of feminism; meeting Lucy Lippard and discussing her evolution; language and the multiple meanings of words; the significance of architecture within her work; the Dallas/Fort Worth airport project; the importance of her family and their support throughout her life; Xeroxing and use of transparencies; and the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas. Muñoz also recalls Al Souza, Ashley Walker, Rupert Garcia, Vicky Ruiz, Benito Huerta, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Celia Alvarez Muñoz (1937- ) is an artist from Arlington, Tex. Cary Cordova (1970- ) is an art historian from Austin, Tex.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound discs and 1 compact disc. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hrs., 22 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.
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.
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Patssi Valdez conducted 1999 May 26-June 2, by Jeffrey Rangel, for the Archives of American Art.
The interviews were conducted at the artist's home/studio in Los Angeles, California. Valdez discusses her current show at the Laguna Art Museum, "A Precarious Comfort," and the intensely personal nature of the work being exhibited; the liberating aspects of painting and her journey from dealing with the problems and concerns of the Chicano community to a more internal focus in which she examines her personal emotional life through symbol and imagination; how, in her work, landscape has come to represent emotions and states of mind; health problems and her turning to alternative methods of healing; her relationship with Asco and her eventual break from the group to pursue her art studies at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles (now Otis College of Art and Design) and in New York, and with a NEA grant to Europe and Mexico; difficulties she experienced with her decision to focus on art school and on her survival as an artist, while trying to keep in touch with friends and peers; friendships with Amalia Mesa Bains, Christina Fernandez, and Gronk, as well as with Sister Karen Boccalero whose Self-Help Graphics contributed so much to the growth of a younger generation of Chicano artists; fellow Asco artist Harry Gamboa, Jr., and their mutual goals in their art to subvert Chicano stereotypes; what constitutes Chicano art and how the Les Demon des Anges show changed her perspective; and her ability to create change through her art.
Biographical / Historical:
Patssi Valdez (1951-) is a painter, and installation artist from Los Angeles, California. Valdez is known for her boldly rendered works that vary in themes from homages to female deities to mystical environments.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 32 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. Funding for the interview and transcription provided by the Smithsonian Institution Latino Inititatives Fund.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Hispanic American artists -- Interviews Search this
Mexican American artists -- Interviews Search this
Hispanic American women artists -- Interviews Search this
Women artists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Luchita Hurtado conducted 1994 May 1-1995 Apr. 13, by Amy Winter and Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project.
1994 May 1 session: The interview focuses on Hurtado's family background; years with her second husband, artist and collector Wolfgang Paalen; the surrealist artist group, Dynaton, living and traveling in Mexico with Paalen, moving to San Francisco and her relationships with artists, collectors; influences on her painting; and Surrealism. Among those mentioned are Rufino and Olga Tamayo, Isamu Noguchi, Gordon Onslow Ford, Jacqueline Johnson, Frida Kahlo, Remedios Varos, Leonora Carrington, Edward James, Lucienne Bloch, Stephen Dimitroff, Grace McCann Morley, Sybil Moholy-Nagy, Jack and Frank Stauffacher, James Broughton, Rene d'Harnoncourt, Julius Karlebach, Herbert (Joe) Spinden, and Robert Motherwell.
April 13, 1995 session: Hurtado continues with a focus on the California years, discussing her reasons for settling there, the Dynaton group and her circle of friends; her third husband, Lee Mullican; the birth of her son Matthew Mullican; her work; California and Mexican imagery; importance of experience and senses, particularly smell, to her creativity and work; importance of her family; and difficulties of pursuing art as a career for a woman, wife and mother; and life in Taos, N.M. She recalls Jean Varda, Shiela and Giles Healey, Mary and Paul Wescher, and Joyce Kozloff.
Biographical / Historical:
Luchita Hurtado (1920-2020) was a painter from Santa Monica, Calif. and Arroyo Seco, N.M. She was born in Caracas, Venezuela.
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 was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Women artists -- California -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Carmen Lomas Garza conducted 1997 Apr. 10-May 27, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Lomas Garza discusses her working environment at Hunter Point Shipyard, a former naval facility on San Francisco Bay, near Candlestick Park, occupied by artists and small businesses; growing up in Kingsville, Tex., near Corpus Christi; her education at Texas A and I University (now Texas A and M) and graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in art education (1969); her activism in the Chicano movement during her college years; joining the farm workers march in Kingsville in 1965; installing an art show for MAYO (Mexican Workers Youth Organization) conference in 1969; the impact upon her of MAYO's walkout at Robstown High School, Tex., while she was a student teacher there, in protest of the lack of Mexican American teachers and curriculum; joining Galeria de La Raza in San Francisco, 1976, while a graduate student at Washington State University and the effect it had on the development of her career as an artist; the inspiration of her mother, who painted "lotteria tablas" (figures on boards; game cards); her interest in children's art; using family experiences for her "monitos" or "little figures" (cards painted with sets of fifteen numbers); and preserving her Mexican-American traditions as a basis for her identity.
Biographical / Historical:
Carmen Lomas Garza (1948-) is a painter from California.
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 the interview received from a donation to AAA from the Los Angeles women's art organization Double X.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Rights:
Carmen Lomas Garza has allowed the interview transcript to be placed online but is currently in the process of correcting errors in translation and identifying correct names. Researchers should contact Carmen Lomas Garza at: PO Box 881683, San Francisco Calif. 94188-1683; E-mail: lasecretaria@carmenlomasgarza
An interview of Elsa Flores conducted 1997 Feb. 18-Apr. 30, by Jeffrey Rangel, for the Archives of American Art.
The interviews took place in Flores' studio, in South Pasadena, Calif., over four sessions. Flores discusses her parents' diverse backgrounds and her difficult childhood and adolescence; the development of her political consciousness; her involvement with Chicanismo; her interests in art, photography, and music, including being a member of California State University, Los Angeles mariachi band; her art, which she considers more biographical and mystical than ethnic; her use, initially, of a dark palette to distinguish her work from that of her husband, Carlos Almaraz, and changing to a brighter, more optimistic palette after Almaraz's was diagnosed with AIDS. She recalls Almaraz's energy and genius; his struggles with AIDS and his search for alternative healing methods; finding solace in Kauai; and his request to have his ashes strewn around Kauai at his favorite places. Flores comments on the difficult period after Almaraz's death; her devotion to their daughter; keeping Almaraz's work at the forefront of public awareness; and her own art career.
Biographical / Historical:
Elsa Flores (1955-) is a painter from California. Married to painter Carlos Almaraz.
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 Smithsonian Institution Latino Pool Fund.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Search this
Women painters -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Mexican American artists -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Demi conducted 1997 November 20, by Juan A. Martínez, in Demi's home/studio, Miami, Florida, for the Archives of American Art.
Demi speaks of her birthplace, Camaguey, Cuba; the death of her father in 1960, and being sent to Puerto Rico in 1971; her move to New York, and arrival in Miami in 1978; her theater studies at Miami Dade Community College. She recalls an opening at the Meeting Point Gallery in Coral Gables in 1980, where she met her husband, painter Arturo Rodriguez. She talks about her first painting in 1984, the role Arturo plays in her life, her first exhibition at the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in 1987, and the importance of touching the human spirit.
Biographical / Historical:
Demi (1955- ) is a painter from Miami, Florida. Demi (who uses only her first name) is a self-taught artist born in Cuba. Her husband is the painter Arturo Rodriguez.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 9 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.
Topic:
Artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
Expatriate artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Barbara Carrasco conducted 1999 April 13 and 26, by Jeffrey Rangel, in two sessions, for the Archives of American Art.
Carrasco speaks of the roles played by her parents in her career as an artist, her experiences as a light-skinned Chicana, and the marginalization of women artists within the Chicano art movement; her relationship and marriage to fellow artist, Harry Gamboa, Jr., who has supported women artists; and her perception of Asco ("nausea" in Spanish), a group of artists and performers who joined together during the Chicano civil rights movement. She also discusses the influence of the art professors at UCLA and the quality of the training she received there; working with Carlos Almaraz and John Valadez on the "Zoot Suit" mural in Hollywood; meeting César Chávez and how he in part shaped her identity as a cultural worker; attending California School of Fine Arts, Valencia, California, and receiving her MFA there; other Chicana artists such as Carmen Lomas Garza; and the changes in her most recent work.
Biographical / Historical:
Barbara Carrasco (1955-) is a painter and muralist from Los Angeles, California. Carrasco was born in El Paso, Texas, and a resident of the Los Angeles area since 1956. She is best known for her work inspired by the United Farm Workers Union, by her experiences as a Chicana, by historical events, and by personal issues.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 41 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. Funding for the interview and transcription provided by the Smithsonian Institution Latino Initiatives Fund.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Hispanic American artists -- Interviews Search this
Mexican American artists -- Interviews Search this
Hispanic American women artists -- Interviews Search this
Women artists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
