An interview of Fong Chow conducted February 6, 2002, by Margaret Carney, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Chow's home, in New York, N.Y.
Chow speaks of his family, specifically, his grandfather who was sent to Hartford, Connecticutt, in 1874, for schooling, then studied at Columbia University and returned to China, working as general manager of one of the earliest railroads in north China; the schools Chow attended in Hong Kong; working in different media, including painting and photography; attending the Boston Museum School and then Alfred University; his relationship with Charles Harder, the head of the ceramic design department at Alfred; the "wonderful" teachers at Alfred in the early 1950s, including Katharine Nelson in painting, Marion Fosdick in sculpture, Daniel Rhodes and Ted Randall; learning production methods, as well as "studio potters work"; developing forms, new glazes, and decorations at Glidden Pottery; his "famous" pieces for Glidden Pottery, such as "New Equations" and "Charcoal and Rice"; how he became involved with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and his relationship with Alan Priest, curator of Far Eastern art; working at the Met as a curator for more than 20 years; changes at the Met during his tenure there; and his hiatus from making ceramics while working at the Met. He discusses his return to clay in 1983 and his studio near Cooper Union; he describes visiting his best friend from childhood, Pan He, a sculptor in China. He also discusses his health; his wife Chao-Ling and how they met; his current focus on photography. Chow also recalls Glidden Parker, James Romer, Bo Gyllensvard, Sergio Dello Strologo, Theodore Hobby, Paul Bollardo, Norman Arsenault, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Fong Chow (1923- ) is a Chinese American ceramicist, curator, and photographer from New York, N.Y. Margaret Carney (1949- ) is the director of the Schein Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art in Alfred, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 2 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Ceramicists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Carlos Villa conducted 1995 June 20-July 10, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Villa discusses his "progress" from Filipino background to his art world identity; the phenomena and individuals who contributed to the new awareness in the mid-1970s: "El Movimiento," Chicano "Rasquache," Rupert Garcia, Amalia Mesa-Baines; the idea of "recuperation," and the sense of Asian-American identity and community as a basis for his art. Villa recalls growing up in San Francisco; his early life; living in the Tenderloin district and his exposure to racism; the influence of his cousin, artist Leo Valledor; growing up Filipino in California and the difficulties that accompanied it. Villa discusses popular (black) culture, jazz "guapo," zoot-suit style as role models and basis for aesthetic/art; his admiration for black self-esteem; his aesthetics; viewing art as a way out of the ghetto and an escape from racism.
Villa discusses his introduction to the California School of Fine Arts (soon thereafter the San Francisco Art Institute); his need to be part of the artist community; CSFA and other students and teachers; and his self-conception as a modernist. He discusses the technical aspects of his art; the influence of various Bay Area artists on his work; his investigation of Filipino art history and his role models; the role of the women at the CSFA and women as role models. Villa recalls his first show at Pointdexter in New York; his associations with minimalists and the Park Place Gallery group; his New York minimalist phase and his need to escape the New York environment after six years. He discusses his return to the Bay Area and his use of identity/politics as subjects for his art.
Villa recalls or mentions Rupert Garcia, Leo Valledor, Manuel Neri, Joan Brown, Bill Morehouse, David Stone Martin, Wallace Berman, William Wiley, Bob and Dona Hudson, Bill Allen, Elmer Bischoff, Richard Diebenkorn, Ralph DuCass, Walter Kuhlman, Wally Hedrick, Bruce Conner, Alvin Light, Claire Falkenstein, Bob McFarlane, Hayter, Tapies, Fred Martin, Nathan Oliveira, Jennifer Bartlett, Dick Maclean, Elizabeth Murray, Alfred Neumeyer, Mark Rothko, Kenneth Noland, Sol Lewitt, Mark di Suvero, Robert Grovesnor, Tom Seligman, Kurt Schwitters, Robert Rauschenberg, Angela Davis, and Moira Roth.
Biographical / Historical:
Carlos Villa (1936-2013) was a Filipino American painter, curator, and educator in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 8 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 15 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 40 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:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco Search this
United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Names:
United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
58 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
2010 May 10-11
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Xiaoze Xie conducted 2010 May 10 and 11, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's U.S. General Services Administration, Design for Excellence and the Arts oral history project at Xie's studio in Stanford, California.
Xie speaks of growing up in a rural area of southern China; the incorporation of historical events into his work; the development of his series Library in the US and China; his education, including attending graduate school for architecture at the Central Academy of Art and Design in Beijing and at the University of North Texas for painting; the outbreak of the pro-democracy student movement in China in 1989; his first big artwork in the US, Duet; the incorporation of Photorealism in his work; his piece Flags and Banners, which used existing photographs as source images; the process of making his paintings using newspapers as source images; his GSA commission, Iowa Reports; the urgency he felt to create political work after September 11, 2001; comparisons of his work with that of other contemporary American and Chinese artists; and his influences including Gerhard Richter. Xie also recalls Vincent Falsetta, Vernon Fisher, Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian, Liu Haisu, Wu Zuoren, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Xiaoze Xie (1966- ) is a Chinese American visual artist and professor based in Palo Alto, California. Interviewer Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a writer and independent scholar in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 6 memory cards. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 8 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 with Carlos Villa conducted 1989 July 11, by Moira Roth, for the Archives of American Art, at Villa's studio in Oakland, California.
Biographical / Historical:
Carlos Villa (1936- 2013) was a Filipino American painter, curator, and educator based in San Francisco, California. Moira Roth (1933- ) is an art historian and writer in Berkeley, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 U-matic videocasettes.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview with Carlos Villa, 1995 June 20-July 10.
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 interview is not transcribed. The video recording is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art teachers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
An interview with Nancy Hom conducted 2020 August 30, by Melissa Ho, for the Archives of American Art's Pandemic Oral History Project at Hom's home in San Francisco, California.
Biographical / Historical:
Nancy Hom (1949 - ) is a Chinese American artist, curator, illustrator and non-profit arts consultant in San Francisco, California. Hom was executive director of the Kearny Street Workshop, San Francisco, 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.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the audio is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the audio recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Artists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Arts administrators -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Illustrators -- California -- San Francisco Search this
