Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Scott Burton, 1987 May 22-September 25. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Correspondence, writings, photographs, and printed material regarding painter John Button.
Correspondence includes two letters from Fairfield Porter,1974, three letters from Button to Zara Cohan, 1964, and copies of personal and professional letters from Button to businesses, organizations, and friends regarding his artwork, political beliefs, and personal issues, and photocopies of a postcard and six letters from Fairfield Porter. Writings include a typescript poem by Frank O'Hara, a poem by Helen Weaver, a copy of a poem attributed to James Schuyler about Button, and copies of two poems by Katherine Porter.
Photographs are of Button, Allen Ginsberg, Alan Ansen, Peter Orlovsky, Bette Davis, Gerald. L. Fabian, Maxine Groffsky, Harry Matthews, Scott Burton, James Schuyler, Jane Freilicher, Hal Fondren, Joe LeSueur, Frank O'Hara, and three photographs of the mural created by John Button and Mario Dubsky at the Gay Activist Alliacne Firehouse, 99 Wooster Street, New York, 1971-1974. Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs, announcements, reviews, publications by Button and others, among them a book of poems, "If I Dream I Have You, I Have You," written by Richard Howard and illustrated by Button, 1997.
Biographical / Historical:
John Button (1930-1982) was a painter in San Francisco, Calif. and New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 2010 by Alvin Novak, longtime friend of Button's, and by John Button via Jaap van Liere, executor.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
11 Items (sound cassettes (270 p. transcript) + 1 cassette edited for educational tours)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
1984-1985
Scope and Contents:
Tape recording of a discussion on "The Artist as Social Designer" held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Participants include Maurice Tuchman (moderator), Maria de Herrera, Scott Burton, Siah Armajani, Nancy Holt, Mary Miss, Elyn Zimmerman, Alan Sonfist, and Calvin Tomkins. Also included is a transcript of the planing meeting, 1984.
Biographical / Historical:
Curator; Los Angeles, Calif. Born 1936. Tuchman, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and his fellow curator, Maria de Herrera, arranged the closed discussion in preparation for an exhibition on public art and the contemporary artist's impulse toward functionalism.
Provenance:
Donated 1985 by Maurice Tuchman.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Environmental artists -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Sculptors -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
An interview of Scott Burton conducted 1987 May 22-September 25, by Lewis Kachur, for the Archives of American Art.
Burton speaks of his upbringing in Alabama and Washington, D.C.; working for "Art News"; and his early work, including performance pieces. He discusses furniture, public projects, Brancusi, Joseph Epstein, and Eric Gill. He recalls Morris Louis and Leon Berkowitz.
Biographical / Historical:
Scott Burton (1939-1989) was a sculptor from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 22 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1959 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
An interview with Scott Burton (1 cassette; 21 p. transcript, incomplete) Mar. 1980, San Francisco, Calif., conducted by De Celle for publication in the newspaper, The Advocate; and two letters from Mark Thompson, 1980, editor for The Advocate, concerning the interview. Also included are exhibition announcements, clippings, an ArtWeek article on Burton by Robert McDonald, 1980; and reviews about Burton's artwork as well as his performance piece, "Individual Behavior Tableaux," at the University Art Museum, Berkeley, Calif., March 2, 1980.
In the interview, Burton discusses his work and that of several colleagues, including artists who have influenced him. Burton addresses the intereraction between gay culture and the art world establishment.
Biographical / Historical:
De Celle is an art dealer in San Francisco, Calif; Burton a sculptor (1939-1989), New York City.
Provenance:
Donated 1996 by Edward Brooks de Celle.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Scott Burton and Edward Brooks De Celle. Interview with Scott Burton, 1980 March. Edward Brooks de Celle papers relating to Scott Burton, 1980-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
