An interview of Jennifer Bartlett conducted 1987 June-September, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art.
Bartlett discusses her family background and the dynamics within the family; her childhood interest in art; growing up in suburban Long Beach, California; attending Mills College and Yale School of Fine Arts; and her teachers and co-students there. She remembers in particular Elizabeth Murray, Jack Tworkov, and Richard Serra. She speaks about themes and intentions in her work, especially "Rhapsody" and various commissions including works created for ISI, Saatchi, Volvo, and Battery Park. Bartlett speaks about her writings "Cleopatra" and "History of the Universe" and their relationship to her painting. She concludes the interview with philosophical musings about art and taste.
Biographical / Historical:
Jennifer Bartlett (1941- ) was a painter, writer, and art instructor in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 5 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.
Topic:
Women painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
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.
An interview with Walter Feldman conducted 1998 Aug. 10, by Robert Brown, for the the Archives of American Art, in Feldman's home, Providence, R.I.
Feldman discusses attending classes as a youth, 1939-1942, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; attending Yale's School of Fine Arts, 1942; service in combat infantry in the U.S. Army, Europe, 1943-1946; completing his BFA at Yale, 1946-1950 and MFA, 1951; working as an instructor in painting at Yale until his appointment at Brown University (1953; professor 1961) where he continues to teach; exhibitions and commissions; working in painting, printmaking, mosaics, and in fine book making.
He discusses working as the sole studio art teacher at Brown University until mid-1960s; hiring of additional artist-teachers and the subsequent split of the art department between studio art and art history; bringing book arts to Brown with his establishment of the Brown/Ziggurat Press, which he directs and which mostly publishes poetry; the many visiting arists at Brown; frequent commissions which have kept him young in spirit; and working in widely divergent media: medals, mosaics, and a huge mural commission in 1976; discussion of leading examples of his handmade books, including James Schevill's poetry, "Lager Lieder" (1991), a book of concentration camp songs, and Michael Harper's "Family Sequences" (1998); broadsides he's designed, sculptural "reliqueries" to memorialize the Jewish Holocaust; the current prospering of his artists books; and his success as a teacher.
Biographical / Historical:
Walter Feldman (1925-2017) was an artist and art educator of Providence, R.I. Established Ziggurat Press in 1984 and, as teaching adjunct at Brown University, the Brown/Ziggurat Press in 1990.
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:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire audio recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- Rhode Island -- Providence -- Interviews Search this
