An interview with Allan Sekula conducted 2011 August 20-2012 February 14, by Mary Panzer, for the Archives of American Art at Sekula's studio and home in Los Angeles, California and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York.
Sekula speaks of his career and some of the mediums he works in; language and contemporary art; Roland Barthes; his relation to contemporary art; west coast conceptualism; genre switches; realism; documentary photography; Belgium and the industrial revolution; Meunier; minor figures; art history and marginalism; Roberto Matta; World War I; Homer Folks; Fish Story; historic cinema; economic factors of art shows and publication; galleries and the art world; growing up and his family; his father and moving; Ohio; his brothers and sisters; San Pedro; demographics of students at school; sports at school; Vietnam; protests; cross country and swimming; California; fishing; college; U.C. system; declaring a major; John Altoon; Ed Kienholz; exposure to art; visiting museums; Marcuse's classes; Baldessari's classes; course work and student life; student demonstrations; working in a library and exposure to books; father losing his job; science and working as a chemical technician; politics; his uncle committing suicide; moving away from his father; the draft; John Birch; Students for a Democratic Society; his mother; politics of his parents; Aerospace Folk Tales, autodidacts and scholarship; San Diego and Mexico; obtaining a camera and starting to use it; art school; CalArts; UCSD; Meditations on a Triptych; David Salle; Fred Lonidier; Phel Steinmetz; MFA and art training; poets; story of Allen Ginsberg and one of Sekula's sculptures; production and the audience; A Photograph is Worth a Thousand Questions, photography and the burden of tradition; pictorialism; moving to New York; Artforum; October; New York music scene; Captain Beefheart; Bo Diddley; Little Richard; Steichen and aerial photography; origins of October; New Criterion; Art Critic's Grant; teaching at Ohio State; television; technological historians; New York subway and getting a ticket for using French money; RISD lectures; Long Beach; photography; collages; Metro Pictures; New Topographics; School as a Factory; moral choice and the viewer; work method and the audience; Social Criticism and Art Practice; east and west coasts; Ed Ruscha; documentary; film, Los Angeles; cinema and social history; Ohio State Department of Photography and Cinema; Los Angeles Plays Itself; Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador; Ohio State campus, anti-Semitism; Ronald Reagan and protest; influences and colleagues; intellectual genealogy; Michael Graves and Ohio State architecture; Bad Ohio; tenure; University Exposed; AIDS issue of October; The Body and the Archive; making film; Korean War; collectors and images. Sekula also recalls Eleanor Antin, Jeff Wall, Terry Fox, Lewis Hine, Walker Evans, Paul Saltman, Marcuse, Baldessari, Sacvan Bercovitch, Stanley Miller, Jef Raskin, Paul Brach, David Antin, Howard Fried, Peter Van Riper, Alison Knowles, Dick Higgins, Manny Farber, Ihab Hassan, Diane Wakoski, Jackson Mac Low, Martha Rosler, Lenny Neufeld, Joshua Neufeld, David Wing, Brian Connell, Max Kozloff, Ian Burn, Mel Ramsden, Carole Conde, Karl Beveridge, Barry Rosens, Tom Crow, John Copeland, Harry Lunn, Hilton Kramer, Grace Mayer, Carol Duncan, Eva Cockroft, Richard Pommer, Rosalind Krauss, Sally Stein, Paddy Chayefsky, John Hanhardt, Mel Ramsden, Sarah Charlesworth, Jospeh Kosuth, Baruch Kirschenbaum, Robert Heinecken, Brian O'Doherty, Howard Becker, Jay Ruby, Jerry Liebling, Anna Wilkie, Ronald Feldman, John Gibson, David Ross, Britt Salvesen, Larry Sultan, Mike Mandel, Roy Ascott, Ilene Segalove, Paul Schimmel, DeeDee Halleck, Noel Burch, Joan Braderman, Woody Hayes, Thom Andersen, John Quigley, Ron Green, Kasper Koenig, Dan Graham, Jonathan Green, Christa Wolf, Catherine Lord, Ben Lifson, and Annette Michelson.
Biographical / Historical:
Allan Sekula (1951-2013) was a photographer, filmmaker, and writer, based at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. Mary Panzer (1955- ) is a historian from New York, New York.
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 Alison Knowles conducted 2010 June 1-2, by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project, at Knowles' home and studio, in New York, N.Y.
Knowles speaks of her family background; her father's (an English professor) influence on her education; her love of nature and isolation as a young girl; her French studies at Middlebury College; her transfer to Pratt Institute to study art; the social and academic environment at Pratt; her inclinations towards abstraction; her first marriage to Jim Ericson; her first studio at 423 Broadway; her early jobs as a commercial artist; her first gallery show at Nonagon, in 1958, and how she subsequently burned the paintings in that show; her second marriage to Dick Higgins in 1960; her Judson Gallery Show in 1962 and how she subsequently discarded those works; her involvement in the Fluxus group; her involvement with the "Cage class," and its early performances; her collaboration with John Cage on the book, "Notations" (1968); her collaboration with Marcel Duchamp on a print (1967); the circumstances surrounding her performance piece, "Make a Salad" (1962), her travels through Europe with Higgins; the birth of her twins; her computerized poetic piece and installation, "House of Dust" (1967) and how it was later vandalized; her move to Los Angeles to teach at CalArts; the rebuilding of "House of Dust" at CalArts; her move back to New York; the processes leading up to several projects and collaborations including "Loose Pages," "Big Book," "Bread and Water," and more; where she finds her inspiration; her thoughts on performance art; her studio environment in Barrytown, N.Y.; the influence and support of Germany on her work and Fluxus in general; her recent work, including "Identical Lunch"; and current challenges she faces as an artist.
She recalls Richard Lindner, Adolph Gottlieb, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Judy Chicago, Josef Albers, Dorothy Podber, Ray Johnson, Dick Higgins, Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage, Klaus Schöning, Jon Hendricks, Gilbert Silverman, George Maciunas, George Brecht, Jack Mac Low, Yoko Ono, Mieko Shiomi, Takako Saito, Joe Jones, Marcel Duchamp, Daniel Spoerri, Richard Hamilton, Nam June Paik, Charlotte Moorman, Helmut Becker, Coco Gordon, Jim Tenney, Cornelia Lauf, Rirkrit Tirvanija, Allan Kaprow, Simone Forte, Carolee Schneemann, Richard Teitelbaum, Miriam Schapiro, Miguel Abrau, James Fuentes, Cyrilla Wozenter, Kathy Kuehn, Ryszard Wasko.
Biographical / Historical:
Alison Knowles (1933- ) is an artist and a founding member of Fluxus in New York, N.Y. Judith Olch Richards (1947- ) is a former director of iCI in New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 mini discs. Duration is 5 hr., 45 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.
Occupation:
Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
California Institute of the Arts -- Faculty Search this
Extent:
83 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1992 April 4-5
Scope and Contents:
An interview of John Baldessari conducted 1992 April 4-5, by Christopher Knight, for the Archives of American Art
This interview was conducted at the artist's studio in Santa Monica, California, 1992 April 4. Baldessari discusses his education; his teaching career; twenty years of teaching at the California Institute of the Arts from its inception in 1970; the development of his work; photo-emulsion pieces and text and image pieces; the art scene in Los Angeles during the 1960's; exhibitions; and his relationship with various dealers.
Biographical / Historical:
John Baldessari (1931- ) is a conceptual artist of Los Angeles, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 3 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' 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 others. Funding for this interview was provided by the Lannan Foundation.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Conceptual artists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Search this
The papers of Los Angeles conceptual sculptor, painter, and photographer Doug Edge measure 2.9 linear feet and date from circa 1951 to 2017. The collection includes exhibition and project files, illustrated journals, writings, printed material, photographic material, and artwork. There is a 0.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes a self published book and notes, dating from 1969-2020.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Los Angeles conceptual sculptor, painter, and photographer Doug Edge measure 2.9 linear feet and date from circa 1951 to 2020. The collection includes exhibition and project files, illustrated journals, writings, printed material, photographic material, and artwork. There is a 0.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes a self published book and notes. Materials date from 1969-2020.
Exhibition and project files include correspondence, photographs, slides, transparencies, sketches, writing, clippings, and other printed material related to Edge's exhibitions, projects, and work. This series also includes some biographical material and material related to his student work. Also included in this series are digital videos related to Edge's artwork and exhibitions.
Illustrated journals contain drawings, sketches, writings, plans for work and exhibitions, photographs, etc. Some in the series are primarily image-based, while others have more text.
Writings include a statement written by Doug Edge in 2017 and a transcript, in scroll format, of a lecture by Robert Irwin at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1974.
Printed material includes exhibition announcements; exhibition catalogs; the magazines Eclipse and Forum; clippings; posters; and a copy of James Turrell's syllabus and course materials for a course taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Photographic material includes photographs Edge took on a trip with James Turrell to Monument Valley and Lake Powell; photographs and digital photographs of works of art; and oversized photographs related to his exhibitions.
Artwork includes sketches, drawings, watercolors, silk screen prints, paintings, and other works of art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in seven series.
Series 1: Exhibition and Project Files, circa 1951-2017 (Box 1; 1 linear foot, ER01; 10 files, 4.36 GB)
Series 2: Illustrated Journals, 1968-2010 (Box 2; 1 linear foot)
Series 3: Writings, 1974, 2017 (Box 3; 2 folders)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1963-1997, 2009-2016 (Boxes 3-4; 0.3 linear feet, OV 5)
Series 5: Photographic Material, 1962-1987, 2003-2017 (Box 4; 2 folders, OV 5, ER02; 138 files, 0.44 GB)
Series 6: Artwork, 1962-1984, 2002, 2007 (Box 4; 1 folder, OV 5)
Series 7: Unprocessed Addition, 1969-2020 (Box 6; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Doug Edge (1942- ) is a conceptual sculptor, painter, and photographer in Los Angeles, California. Edge was a member of the acrylic movement in the late 1960s. He was an original faculty member at the California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts) from 1969 to 1971, and taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1974 to 1985.
Edge began showing his work in the late 1960s and continues to produce and exhibit work. He has shown at Mizuno, Cirrus, Earl McGrath, and Track 16 Galleries, among many others.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Doug Edge in 2017 and 2021.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.) Search this
Container:
Box 8, Folder 54
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1981
Collection Citation:
Woman's Building records, 1970-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and Joyce F. Menschel, Vital Projects Fund, Inc.
Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.) Search this
Container:
Box 10, Folder 11
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1975
Collection Citation:
Woman's Building records, 1970-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and Joyce F. Menschel, Vital Projects Fund, Inc.
Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.) Search this
Container:
Box 12, Folder 15
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1975-1978
Collection Citation:
Woman's Building records, 1970-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and Joyce F. Menschel, Vital Projects Fund, Inc.
