The papers of California ceramicist Beatrice Wood measure 32.5 linear feet and date from 1906 to 1998, with the bulk dating from 1930-1990. There is extensive correspondence with gallery owners, fellow artists, clients, friends, and family. The collection also contains biograpical materials, personal business records, writings, printed materials, photographs, and works of art. Of particular interest are the 28 diaries that Wood maintained from 1916 until her death in 1998 and 42 glazing formula notebooks dating from 1934-1997. Also found are documents of Steven Hoag and Esther Rosencranz, her husband and aunt respectively, that consist of correspondence, business records, and photographs given to the Archives of American Art as part of the Beatrice Wood papers.
There is a 5.9 linear foot unprocessed addition donated in 2022 and in 2023 that includes address books, biographical material, artwork including sketchbooks and two sketches of Henri-Pierre Roche by Wood, scrapbooks, personal business records, printed material, personal and professional correspondence, notebooks and journals by Wood, writings by Wood, personal photographs, glaze recipes, and one pin "Beato for President". Also included are Beatrice Wood's scrapbooks and photograph albums. Four scrapbooks include scrapbook B, 1940-1955; scrapbook F, 1945; Wood's inspirational scrapbook, circa 1940s; and a scrapbook from the 1960s. Eight photograph albums include photograph album #1, 1908; photograph album #2 (Steve Hoag) 1911-1917; photograph album of Wood with friends and fellow theosophists, 1920s-1940s; photograph album #6 of Wood, others, events, 1920s-1960; Wood's pottery photograph album, 1955; photograph album I-3 (Indian trip) 1972; photograph album I-4, photographs for the 33rd wife of the Maharajah, undated; and photograph album # I-5 (India) compiled 1973. Also included are photographs of people, places and events in India, undated. Materials in this addition date from 1908-1996.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of California ceramicist Beatrice Wood measure 32.5 linear feet and date from 1906 to 1998, with the bulk dating from 1930-1990. There is extensive correspondence with gallery owners, fellow artists, clients, friends, and family. The collection also contains biographical materials, personal business records, writings, printed materials, photographs, and works of art. Of particular interest are the 28 diaries that Wood maintained from 1916 until her death in 1998 and 42 glazing formula notebooks dating from 1934-1997. Also found are documents of Steven Hoag and Esther Rosencranz, her husband and aunt respectively, that consist of correspondence, business records, and photographs given to the Archives of American Art as part of the Beatrice Wood papers.
Biographical material contains certificates, licenses, degrees, legal documents, and extensive interview transcripts, which describe her philosophy on art and her development as a ceramic artist.
Correspondence is particularly rich in documenting Wood's passion and dedication to her work as a writer and artist. The records reflect Wood's close professional and personal relationships with many friends and colleagues, including Henri-Pierre Roche, Marcel Duchamp, Anais Nin, Elizabeth Hapgood, and Walter and Lou Arensberg. Additional correspondence with editors and publishers is also included. Wood enjoyed illustrating her letters, as did many of her correspondents.
Personal business records include financial material, sales and consignment records, and correspondence with gallery owners, including Garth Clark Gallery, John Waller Gallery, and Zachary Waller Gallery.
Notes and writings extensively document Wood's second career as a writer. Edited drafts of her monographs and short stories are available, as well as her journal writings and notes. Drafts of I Shock Myself: The Autobiography of Beatrice Wood, Angel Who Wore Black Tights, 33rd Wife of a Maharajah, among others are included. Also found here are the illustrations that Wood created for her monographs. She often did a series of drawings for each illustration and these copies are included as well.
Twenty-eight detailed diaries contain information about studio sales, clients, and the economic uncertainties of being a self-employed artist. The diaries, arranged in one-year and five-year volumes, begin in 1916 and end just a few days before her death in 1998.
Forty-two glaze books record the formulas for the pottery glazes Wood developed throughout her career.
Printed material includes copies of Wood's published monographs as well as exhibition announcements and brochures. Also found are clippings about Wood, including numerous articles about her trips to India.
Photographic material includes photographs and slides of Wood, her friends, travels, and other events. Many of the photographs are identified by Wood.
Artwork includes original sketches, drawings, watercolors, lithographs and designs by Wood. The original illustrations from her books are included in this series.
The last two series contain records generated by her husband, Stephen Hoag and her maternal aunt, Esther Rosencrantz. Wood was married to Hoag from 1937 until his death in 1960. The bulk of the material contains Hoag's financial records, mostly receipts, from his early years as a engineer in the Pacific Northwest. Esther Rosencranz, a physician in San Francisco, collected book plates that are included in this series.
There is a 5.9 linear foot unprocessed addition donated in 2022 and in 2023 that includes address books, biographical material, artwork including sketchbooks and two sketches of Henri-Pierre Roche by Wood, scrapbooks, personal business records, printed material, personal and professional correspondence, notebooks and journals by Wood, writings by Wood, personal photographs, glaze recipes, and one pin "Beato for President". Also included are Beatrice Wood's scrapbooks and photograph albums. Four scrapbooks include scrapbook B, 1940-1955; scrapbook F, 1945; Wood's inspirational scrapbook, circa 1940s; and a scrapbook from the 1960s. Eight photograph albums include photograph album #1, 1908; photograph album #2 (Steve Hoag) 1911-1917; photograph album of Wood with friends and fellow theosophists, 1920s-1940s; photograph album #6 of Wood, others, events, 1920s-1960; Wood's pottery photograph album, 1955; photograph album I-3 (Indian trip) 1972; photograph album I-4, photographs for the 33rd wife of the Maharajah, undated; and photograph album # I-5 (India) compiled 1973. Also included are photographs of people, places and events in India, undated. Materials in this addition date from 1908-1996.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 12 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1924-1993 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1910-1998 (Box 1-8; 7.7 linear feet)
Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1909-1988 (Box 9-11, 26, OV 31; 3.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Notes and Writings, circa 1912-1997 (Box 11-16, 27; 5.5 linear feet)
Series 5: Diaries, 1915-1998 (Box 17-20; 4 linear feet)
Series 6: Glaze Books, circa 1930-1997 (Box 21-22, 27-30; 2.5 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1940-1997 (Box 23, OV 31; 1.1 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographic Material, 1913-1997 (Box 24, 30; 1 linear foot)
Series 9: Artwork, 1917-1991 (Box 24-25, 30; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 10: Stephen Hoag papers, 1906-1960 (Box 25; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 11: Esther Rosencranz papers, 1894-1959 (Box 25; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 12: Unprocessed Addition, 1908 circa 1996 (Box 32-36, OV 37; Box 38-43; 5.9 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Beatrice Wood (1893-1998) was a ceramicist, painter, and writer who relocated to Ojai, California in 1948.
Beatrice Wood was born on March 3, 1893 in San Francisco to socially prominent and wealthy parents. In the late 1890s, the family moved to New York City where Wood was expected to begin the process of "coming out" in New York society. This process included boarding schools, a convent school in Paris, and frequent summer trips to Europe where she was exposed to museums, galleries, and the theater. Wood studied acting and dance in Paris until the outbreak of the war in 1914. She returned to New York and soon joined the company of the French National Repertory Theatre. From 1914 through 1916, Wood played over 60 parts as a stage actress.
In 1917, Wood met the writer Henri Pierre Roche, with whom she had a brief affair and a long friendship. Roche introduced her to the New York world of artists and writers and encouraged her interest in drawing and painting. During a visit to see the composer Edgard Varese in the hospital, Wood met Marcel Duchamp, with whom she had a love affair and who also had a strong influence in her development as an artist. Their long discussions about modern art encouraged Wood to show Duchamp a recent drawing entitled "Marriage of a Friend." Duchamp liked the drawing so much that he published it in Rogue, a magazine partly financed by Walter and Louise Arensberg, friends of Duchamp. The Arensbergs were pioneering collectors of modern art and soon became friends of Wood as well. She became a frequent guest at their evening gatherings, forming friendships with Walter Pach, Francis Picabia, Joseph Stella, Myrna Loy, Galka Scheyer, and others.
Through Duchamp and the Arensbergs, Wood was introduced to the world of the New York Dada. Following the formation of the Society of Independent Artists in 1917, Wood exhibited work in their Independents exhibition. Together with Duchamp and Roche, she published a short-lived avant-garde journal, called Blind Man, in which the Alfred Steiglitz photograph of Duchamp's famous ready-made "Fountain" appeared. She also designed the poster for the Dada event, The Blind Man's Ball.
Throughout the 1920s, Wood continued to draw and paint, especially watercolors. Late in 1927, she moved to California to join the Arensbergs, who had been there since 1921. She also developed an interest in clay and took her first ceramics classes with Glen Lukens at the University of Southern California in the late 1930s. In 1940 Wood studied with Otto and Gertrud Natzler, Austrian potters who were known for their technical mastery and ability to throw almost perfectly formed pots. The Natzlers taught her how to throw pots and calculate glaze formulas.
Museums and galleries began to take an interest in her pottery and she held several shows in New York, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Several department stores, including Nieman Marcus and Gumps, also began to feature her pottery. During the 1940s, Wood began making figurative art in addition to more traditional pots. In 1947, for example, she included a large blue fish with white spots in an exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science, and Art. As her skills developed, Wood moved to a new home and studio in Ojai, California. By 1950, Wood was experimenting with luster surfaces, pottery with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. These lusterware plates, in addition to her decorative figures and traditional ceramics, were sold at her studio, advertised with a sign out front that read "Beatrice Wood: Fine Pottery, Reasonable and Unreasonable."
In 1961, Wood visited India as a cultural ambassador, sponsored by the State Department. She toured the country and showed her work in fourteen cities. She became enamoured with Indian decorative arts and began to weave shimmering gold and silver threads into her palatte. Wood returned a second time in 1965 at the invitation of the Indian government. It was during this trip that she decided to adopt the sari as her style of dress, a style she continued until her death in 1998. She made her third and last trip to India in 1971. Her book, 33rd Wife of a Maharajah is about her adventures in India.
Wood always enjoyed writing, recording her daily activities in a diary and creating stories about her experiences with friends and colleagues. She published her first book, Angel Who Wore Black Tights in 1982, followed by her autobiography, I Shock Myself, in 1985.
Wood considered her last 25 years as her most productive. In addition to her literary publications, Wood also had several successful exhibitions, including Intimate Appeal: The Figurative Art of Beatrice Wood at the Oakland Museum in 1990 and Beatrice Wood: A Centennial Tribute at New York's American Craft Museum in 1997. The film, Beatrice Wood: The Mama of Dada, was filmed on the occasion of her 100th birthday in 1993. She died in Ojai, California in 1998, nine days after her 105th birthday.
Related Archival Materials note:
The Archives of American Art holds two oral history interviews with Beatrice Wood completed by Paul Karlstrom in 1976 and 1992.
Provenance:
Beatrice Wood donated her papers in several accretions between 1976 and 2002. Additional material was donated by Francis Naumann in 1993 and the Beatrice Wood Personal Property Trust in 1999. Material from a 1977 loan was included in Wood's later donations. Additional papers were donated in 2022 by the Oceanside Museum of Art and by Wood's former studio manager, David VanGilder, in memory of his husband, Kevin Carey Settles. A final donation of Wood's scrapbooks and photograph albums was made in 2023 by the Beatrice Wood CEnter for the Arts via Kevin Wallace, Director.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
The unprocessed addtion to this collection is currently closed for processing and digitization. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The papers of ceramicist, educator, and arts administrator James Melchert measure 7 linear feet and 12.28 Gigabytes, and date from circa 1949 to 2021. The collection documents Melchert's career through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, professional files documenting Melchert's teaching, residences, exhibitions, and other professional activities, writings, printed material documenting exhibitions and more, photographic material including images of Melchert and his artwork, and artwork comprising slide projection works.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of ceramicist, educator, and arts administrator James Melchert measure 7 linear feet and 12.28 Gigabytes, and date from circa 1949 to 2021.
Biographical material includes biographies and résumés, travel documents, and student records. Correspondence is professional and personal in nature and includes letters from artists such as Lawrence Weiner, Adrian Piper, Sol Lewitt, Hetty Huisman, and Peter Voulkos; gallerists and curators including Holly Solomon, Paul Kotula, Marcia Tucker, Lucy Lippard, and Harald Szemann; and notable former students including Paul Cotton and Theresa Cha. Professional files include records and correspondence from Melchert's tenures at the American Academy in Rome, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the University of California Berkeley, in addition to documenting other professional activities.
The writings series includes interviews, talks, panels, symposia, notes, artist statements, and autobiographical texts. Printed material includes clippings and exhibition documentation. Photographic material includes images of Melchert and his artwork from various stages of his career. Artwork includes Melchert's slide projection works represented by slides, and an artist multiple by Nam June Paik.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in seven series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1949-2019 (0.1 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1953-2021 (3.1 Linear feet: Boxes 1-4; 3.93 Gigabytes: ER01-ER02)
Series 3: Professional Files, circa 1965-2020 (0.8 Linear feet: Box 4)
Series 4: Writings, circa 1960s-2020 (0.7 Linear feet: Box 5; 8.35 Gigabytes: ER03-ER05)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1960s-2020 (1.4 Linear feet: Boxes 5-7)
Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1952-2017 (0.6 Linear feet: Box 7)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1968-1990 (0.3 Linear feet: Box 7)
Biographical / Historical:
James Melchert (1930-) is a ceramicist and educator living in Oakland, California, known for his uniquely conceptualist approach to ceramics which draws from other disciplines including painting and performance art.
Born in New Bremen, Ohio, Melchert's education followed an unorthodox path: upon finishing his undergraduate degree in Art History in 1952, he spent four years in Japan teaching English at a high school, during which time he met his wife to be, a missionary and collage artist named Mary Ann Hostetler, with whom he would have three children. Melchert received a first master's degree from the University of Chicago in 1957 in painting, followed by a second master's degree in ceramics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1961. He shifted his focus to ceramics while completing his painting degree and attended a five-day workshop with the highly innovative and influential Peter Voulkos, with whom he would study at Berkeley and for whom he would serve as studio assistant. Melchert's career as a ceramicist began with a close association to Voulkos and the California Funk art movement.
Melchert's evolving interests led to his work including performance art and slide projection works, one of which was exhibited at Documenta 5 curated by Harald Szeemann in Kassel, Germany. After a trip to Europe in the eighties, Melchert began his experimental investigations with ceramic tile, working with cracks and imperfections in tiles and painting on the resulting works, a theme that would be an occupation of his studio practice to this day. Melchert taught fairly steadily throughout the early stages of his career and is known as a dedicated instructor to artists of various disciplines, including Paul Cotton and Theresa Cha.
Notably Melchert served as a faculty member at University of California at Berkeley from 1964-1994, with a stint living in Washington D.C. serving as the Director of Visual Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1977 to 1981, and in Rome, Italy as the Director of American Academy, Rome from 1984 to 1988. As an artist, in addition to being exhibited around the world, Melchert's ceramic works including commissions are held in numerous collections such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Yale University Museum of Art.
Related Materials:
Related materials include Archives of American Art's Oral history interview with James Melchert, 1991 Apr. 4-5, and Oral history interview with James Melchert, 2002 September 18-October 19.
Provenance:
Donated 2004 and 2019-2021 by James Melchert as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
63 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2004 March 1
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Susan Peterson conducted 2004 March 1, by Paul J. Smith, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Carefree, Arizona.
Peterson speaks of her parents; being raised in McPherson, Kansas; spending summers in California and taking art classes there; attending Monticello College in Godfrey, Illinois; studying art and education at Mills College in Oakland, California; teaching art at the Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii and at the Wichita Art Association; studying ceramics at Alfred University in New York; moving to Southern California with her husband, Jack Peterson; working at the Chouinard Art Institute and building the kilns there; teaching at the University of Southern California and meeting Peter Voulkos; and teaching summers at the Idyllwild School of Music and Arts. Peterson also speaks of moving to New York City to teach at Hunter College; opening the Clayworks Studio Workshop; creating the craft program at the Joe L. Evins Appalachian Center for Crafts in Smithville, Tennessee; doing the television series "All You Ever Wanted to Know About Ceramics;" traveling around the world, including Shoji Hamada's studio in Mashiko, Japan; attending the first American Crafts Council conference and the First World Congress of Craftsmen; publishing her first book, "Shoji Hamada: A Potter's Way and Work" and how that led to writing several other books; maintaining her own studio outside of teaching; receiving various awards; changes she sees in the craft movement and education since the 1940s; studying Native American ceramic traditions; traveling cross-country with Joan Mondale; donating her archives and ceramic collection to the Arizona State University Ceramic Research Center; and her plans for the future. Peterson also recalls Roi Partridge, Carlton Ball, Marguerite Wildenhain, Aileen Osborn Webb, Maria Martinez, Bernard Leach, Michael Cardew, Armi Ratia, John Mason, Ken Price, Françoise Gilot, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Susan Peterson (1925-2009) was a ceramicist and author from Carefree, Arizona. Interviewer Paul J. Smith is a curator and art historian from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 59 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.
An interview of Marilyn Levine conducted 2002 May 15, by Glenn Adamson, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Oakland, California.
Levine speaks of growing up in Alberta, Canada; going to the University of Alberta for her undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemistry; being an analytical inorganic chemist; meeting her husband at the university; her husband's work at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan and how rules about nepotism prevented her from teaching; auditing a drawing and painting art class when she could not find a job; taking evening pottery classes taught by Beth Hone; teaching chemistry at Campion College during the school year and pottery during the summers at the University of Regina; meeting Jack Sures at the Western Potters' Association and his influence on her career; helping Sures get a pottery position at the University of Regina; teaching with him from 1966-1969; using a travel grant from the Canada Council to meet American artists such as Peter Voulkos, Ron Nagle, James Melchert, and Robert Arneson; applying to graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley and being rejected; a James Melchert workshop at Beth Hone's studio; getting into Berkeley's graduate program with Melchert's help; receiving an M.F.A.; separating from her husband; experimenting with Funk art; seeing a pair of worn down shoes and becoming inspired to specialize in super-realist ceramic sculptures; her work as "timeless" and not of a particular fashion; showing her art in a New York gallery and being ripped off; having her M.F.A., one person show, at the Hansen Fuller Gallery and at the University Art Museum; letting the galleries price her work; exhibiting at OK Harris in New York; the long, slow process of making pieces; her work being accepted in America, but not in Canada; teaching ceramics to non-art majors at the University of Utah; developing a studio building, The West Coast Macaroni Factory, with Peter Voulkos; her methods, techniques, and materials including her experiments with fiberglass, nylon, and Dacron; avoiding big conferences, such as the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts [NCECA]; her first museum retrospective in 1974 at the Norman McKenzie Art Gallery; her exhibition at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo, Ontario, in conjunction with the University of Waterloo; her exhibition, "Sharp Focus Realism," at the Sidney Janis Gallery; her involvement in the exhibition, "Clayworks: 20 Americans," at the American Craft Museum; her work in museum collections; having a commission to make ceramic sculptures of sporting gear for Pacific Enterprises; her studio assistants and feeling a lack of privacy; titling her work with human names for identification purposes but not having specific references to anyone. Levine also recalls Robert Bechtle, Ruth Braunstein, Joan Brown, Stephen DeStaebler, Ivan Karp, Bella Feldman, Duane Hanson, Clay Jensen, John Mason, Joan Mondale, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Marilyn Levine (1935-2005) was a ceramist from Oakland, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound disc. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 29 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.
Correspondence (143 letters, 1952-1988, many addressed to Jason and Virginia) includes 85 letters from Schoener's uncle, William Zorach and his wife Marguerite, discussing daily events, family matters, and offering advice on Schoener's carreer. There is also a letter from Max Weber thanking Schoener for the handmade cufflinks "that were made by one who loves and creates beauty." Also found is the 1996 publication "An American Artist in World War II: Jason Schoener at Eniwetak" by Nancy Arbuthnot, which recounts the Schoener's experiences and reproduces his paintings from his navy commission during the last year of WWII.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor, ceramist, painter, educator; Oakland, California. Born 1919. Schoener graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art and also studied at Case Western Reserve, the Art Students League of New York, and Columbia University. He and his wife, Virginia, settled in the San Francisco Bay area in 1953. Schoener was a longtime professor at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. During his Navy service in WWII, Schoener produced a series of watercolors which became the subject of a publication by Nancy Prothro Arbuthnot in 1996. He exhibited widely in the U.S. and abroad.
Provenance:
Donated 1996 by Jason and Virginia Schoener.
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:
Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
Ceramicists -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
An interview of John Roloff conducted 2009 August 17-18, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Roloff's studio, in Oakland, California.
Roloff speaks primarily about the intersection of art and science; his desire to look at these disciplines from multiple perspectives in his work; the relationship between materials and their geological histories; his exploration and exposure of the physical processes associated with the making of art objects; Roloff talks at length about ceramics; the chemical properties of the clays and glazes; their connection to geological landscapes; and their transformation through the firing process; moreover, he discusses site specific works; the importance of location in giving context to a piece; as well as referencing a site through site based materials; furthermore, he expounds his theory of anthroturbation; discusses the parallels between man-made and natural structures; and ruminates about his work's visual engagement with ecological systems; Additionally, Roloff converses about several formative childhood experiences; how they shaped his later artistic interest and evolved into thematic elements in his work; studying marine geology at University of California-Davis; taking a ceramics class with Robert Arneson; becoming a dual art and science major; the spirit of experimentation at UC-Davis, which led to his early ceramic discoveries; pursuing graduate work at Humboldt University; teaching at the University of Kentucky-Lexington; developing his Exile and Rower series; showing his sculptures at Lester Gallery and Fuller Goldeen Gallery in California; his shift from studio work to landscape/installations; the development of his Ship and Kiln series; as well as his later photographic work; Roloff also recalls Stephen Kaltenbach, Deborah Butterfield, Peter Voulkos, Jim Melchert, Dennis Oppenheim, Joseph Beuys, Kenneth Baker, in addition to the following galleries: Lance Fang, Paule Anglim and Reese Paley.
Biographical / Historical:
John S. Roloff (1947- ) is a sculptor and ceramicist and lives and works in Oakland, California. Roloff also taught at the San Francisco Art Institute and Mills College.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 13 digital wav files. Duration is 8 hr., 50 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.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
0.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Video recordings
Date:
1947-1967
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, artists' statements, resumes, newspaper clippings, photographs, and a VHS video.
Biographical / Historical:
Ceramicist; Oakland, Calif.; b. 1912; d. 1967.
Provenance:
Donated 2004 by Esteban, Mark, Peter, and Paco Prieto, sons of Antonio Prieto, and Eunice Damron, widow of Prieto, as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
46 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2002 September 18-October 19
Scope and Contents:
An interview of James Melchert conducted 2002 September 18-2002 October 19, by Renny Pritikin, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Oakland, California.
Melchert speaks of his decision to pursue painting instead of educational psychology; his introduction to ceramics while learning to teach it at a small college in Illinois; taking a summer course with Pete Voulkos; moving to California and working as Voulkos' studio assistant at the University of California, Berkeley; his friendship with John Mason, another potter; the difference between the philosophies of Mason and Voulkos; teaching at the Art Institute in San Francisco; and the book Exercises in Style [Raymond Queneau], upon which he based his series of "a"s.
Melchert also discusses several of the group exhibitions he has been involved with; John Cage and the influence of Silence; his interest in photography; the similarities and differences between his early work and more recent work; working with tiles; his teaching techniques and how he engaged his students; the is craft art question; the Milwaukee Art Museum; and the function of pottery. Blunk also recalls Steve DeStaebler, Manuel Neri, Nate Olivera, Joan Brown, Henry Takemoto, Michael Frimkiss, Richard Koshalek, Bob Irwin, Bob Arneson, Bruce Nauman, Russell Lynes, Garth Clark, Suzanne Foley, Richard Shaw, Marilyn Levine, Theresa Cha, Jim Pomeroy, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
James Melchert (1930- ) is a ceramist from Oakland, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 47 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:
Ceramicists -- California -- Oakland -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Viola Frey conducted 1995 Feb. 27-1995 June 19, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project, at the artist's studio, in Oakland, Calif.
FEB. 27, 1995 SESSION: Family background in the Midwest; Huguenot ancestry; importance of grandmother in her life; living in Central Valley, Calif.; father's collecting junk; early plans to become a writer; declining her acceptance to UC Berkeley and attending community college to study art; attending California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, majoring in ceramics; winning a first prize at City of Paris contest; attending Tulane University; moving to New York; working at the Museum of Modern Art; returning to San Francisco in 1960 and community there. She recalls Richard Diebenkorn, Mark Rothko, Peter Voulkos, and Robert Arneson.
MAY 15, 1995 SESSION: Influence of Robert Arneson; comparison of her work to Voulkos, Arneson and Manuel Neri; effect of gender on art subjects; Frey's theme of man in suit as power to do good or bad; interest in archeology; influence of National Geographic magazine on her work, especially as a source for images of grandmothers; production of her large-scale ceramic sculpture; her preference for electric kiln; modular production; studio spaces in Oakland and San Francisco and effect of varying light; working on a piece over a long period of time, which is unusual for sculpture; and the importance of space in the creation of work.
JUNE 19, 1995 SESSION: Influence of television and radio; attitude toward Japanese-influenced ceramics; use of color; overglaze painting; china painting in France; relationships between her figure drawing and sculpture; New York period; funk; plate art; autobiographical and personal qualities in her work; move from house to studio; personal relationship with Charles Fiske; her private art library; interest in artist's monographs; social life; image of man in suit; influence of AIDS in her work; art-brute; and response to critics Donald Kuspit and Susan Larsen.
Biographical / Historical:
Viola Frey (1933-2004) was a ceramist and sculptor of Oakland, Calif.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History, 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.
The papers of enamelist and sculptor, Fred Uhl Ball, measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1936 to 2002. The collection provides scattered documentation of Ball's career through biographical material, family photographs, photographs of artwork, and printed material. The collection also includes a small group of papers concerning Ball's father, ceramicist F. Carlton Ball, his mother, illustrator and enamelist Kathryn Uhl Ball, and his grandfather, silversmith George Uhl.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of enamelist and sculptor, Fred Uhl Ball, measure 1.0 linear feet and date from 1936 to 2002. The collection provides scattered documentation of Ball's career through biographical material, family photographs, photographs of artwork, and printed material. The collection also includes a small group of papers concerning Ball's father, ceramicist F. Carlton Ball, his mother, illustrator and enamelist Kathryn Uhl Ball, and his grandfather, silversmith George Uhl.The collection consists primarily of photographs and slide transparencies of Ball's artwork, but also includes photographs of Ball, his studio and some of his exhibitions. Papers and printed material include a vita compiled after Ball's death, news clippings providing an overview of his career, a folder of writings, and several items commemorating him.
Arrangement:
The collection was assembled by Lois and David Warren after Ball's death and their original arrangement has been retained.
The papers are arranged into two series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Papers and Printed Material, 1936-2002, undated (box 1; 0.3 linear ft.)
Series 2: Photographs, 1945-1987, undated (box 1; 0.7 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Fred Uhl Ball was born in Oakland, California, in 1945. Ball's interest in enameling began in childhood, and was fostered by his mother, Kathryn Uhl, an illustrator and enamelist who taught life drawing at Mills College, and his father, a ceramicist, who was head of the art department at Mills.
Ball received his bachelor's and master's degrees in art from Sacramento State University. His first exhibition was a two-man show with Gerald Silva at the Barrios Gallery. His first national exhibition was held the same year, and his work was shown in Stuttgart, Germany, two years later. In the early 1970s Ball began experimenting with test tiles and assembling torch-fired enamels on thin copper foil into collage-like panels. He also experimented with using brass as a surface and with exposing white enamel to varying degrees of heat to produce a range of hues. In 1972, he published Experimental Techniques in Enameling (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold), which has since been considered the definitive text on enameling.
Ball was best known in Sacramento, where he lived and had his studio, for his large-scale public murals. In 1976 he joined the city's federally funded Comprehensive Employment and Training program (CETA) and created his first truly large-scale mural for the Sacramento Community Center. The mural won him critical acclaim and for the remainder of his career Ball would combine his personal work with additional commissions, and would continue to experiment with innovative enameling techniques and material in his sculptural collages. His Sacramento parking garage mural is one of the largest enameled murals ever attempted.
During the last decade of his life Ball was commissioned to create a number of large, site-specific works for corporate clients in the Sacramento area. In September of 1985 he was working on a fifty-foot copper mural, The Great Sacramento Valley, when he was assaulted at his studio. Ball died three months later at the age of forty from injuries sustained during the attack. The mural was completed by his mother and his associate, Bruce Beck, and was unveiled at Sacramento's Sutter General Hospital in December, 1986. A memorial retrospective of Ball's work, organized by the Creative Arts League, was held at the Crocker Art Museum from March to April of 1987.
Provenance:
At his death, Fred Uhl Ball's art passed to his mother, Kathryn, who died in 2000 without any heirs. Susan J. Willoughby, a close family friend, served as Trustee of the Kathryn Uhl Ball Trust. Unfortunately, most of Ball's papers were discarded after his death. The remainder of the collection was assembled by Lois and David Warren, and given to the Archives of American Art by Susan J. Willoughby in 2001. Several 2002 news clippings were added to the collection in 2002.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
0.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Date:
1969-2004
Summary:
The papers of San Francisco ceramicist Ron Nagle measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1969 to 2004. The collection consists of original pencil drawings by Nagle, exhibition announcements and catalogs, a few miscellaneous printed materials, and slides of artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of San Francisco ceramicist Ron Nagle measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1969 to 2004. The collection consists of original pencil drawings by Nagle, exhibition announcements and catalogs, a few miscellaneous printed materials, and slides of artwork.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Ron Nagle (1938- ) is a ceramicist in San Francisco, California.
Nagle received his Bachelor of Arts degree from San Francisco State College in 1961. Following graduation, he worked as a studio assistant for Peter Voulkos, who had carried the California ceramics revolution up from Los Angeles to the University of California at Berkeley. Nagle was equally inspired by Ken Price's use of bright, low fire glazes and Giorgio Morandi's expressive paintings of common objects. Nagle decided to focus on small ceramic cups as a format for conceptual and formal concerns. Over the past thirty years, the cup has remained the primary departure point for his work. In the sixties and seventies, Nagle taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, the University of California at Berkeley, the California College of Arts, and Mills College in Oakland, California.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives of American Art is an interview of Ron Nagle conducted July 8-9, 2003 by Bill Berkson, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in San Francisco, C.A.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2003 by Ron Nagle and Rena Bransten as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Sixteen drawings were donated by Rena Bransten of the Rena Bransten Gallery which represented Nagle.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Ceramicists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The United States has always been a country of immigrants and, thus, the proud inheritor of the artistic styles of many different peoples. The section of the Festival that focused on this particular feature of American culture was called "Old Ways in the New World". Here were brought together the sons and daughters of people who immigrated to the United States from various parts of the world and their cultural cousins who stayed at home. These two groups joined together at the Festival in the practice of their traditional artistic and creative behavior; thus they could celebrate a kind of family reunion while they examined together the changes that their different experiences had brought about.
Where possible, participants were invited from the same region or even the same village - both those who migrated and those who stayed at home. Where this was impossible or impractical, attention focused on behavior or style, tracing parallels in all aspects of tradition from cooking to dance. As in past years of the Festival, this program stimulated a healthy kind of self-examination for domestic communities that drew strength from discovering their relationship with older cultures as well as for the foreign guests, who could return to their homelands proud of the vitality of their own art forms that remained clearly identifiable, although removed by oceans of time and space.
June 16-20, Israeli and American Jewish, Romanian
June 23-27, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Swedish, Finnish, Faroese
July 1-5, French, Canadian, Polish
July 7-11, British, Canadian, Portuguese
July 14-18, Yugoslav, Irish
July 21-25, Belgian, Egyptian
July 28-August 1, German, Pakistani
August 4-8, Spanish, Mexican
August 11-15, Japanese, Greek
August 18-22, Austrian, Indian
August 25-29, Swiss, Hungarian
September 2-6, Italian
Program Coordinator for the Old Ways in the New World was Shirley Cherkasky, with Assistant Program Coordinators Suzanne Cox, Jeffrey LaRiche, Genie Kitlaus, and Larisa Lucaci. An advisory group included Conrad Arensberg, Svatava Pirkova Jakobson, Alan Lomax, and David McAIIester.
Fieldworkers and presenters:
Héctor Aguíñiga, Richard González, Antony Hellenberg, Nazir Jairazbhoy, Anna Lomax, John McDowell, Daniel Sheehy, Gordon Thompson, Roger Welsch, Maria Behr, David Bjork, Calogero Cascio, Svatava Pirkova Jakobson
Participants:
Israeli
Mord'chai Abrahamov, 1945-, singer, dancer, instrumentalist, Tel Aviv, Israel
David Levi, 1934-, dancer
Mord'chai 'Aziz, 1935-, dancer
Yosef Gum'ah, 1923-, drummer, Tel Lachish, Israel
Elijahu Israel Lassa, 1932-, zurna player, Tel Lachish, Israel
Mord'chai 'Ezra, 1935-, singer, dancer, Tel Lachish, Israel
Yosef Rahamim, 1937-, dancer, Kiryat Malakhi, Israel
Rivka Levi, 1945-, singer, dancer, Kiryat Malakhi, Israel
Bathia Rahamim, 1947-, singer, dancer, Kiryat Malakhi, Israel
Bathia Levi, 1919-, dancer, instrumentalist, Kiryat Ono, Israel
Shoshana Danukh, 1920-, singer, instrumentalist, Kiryat Ono, Israel
Zehava Gedasi, 1957-, dancer, singer, Tel Aviv, Israel
Ahuva Gedasi, 1948-, dancer, singer, Givatayim, Israel
Moshe 'Oved, 1953-, singer, dancer, Amka, Israel
Amnon 'Oved, singer, dancer, Amka, Israel
Avraham Daniel 'Arussi, 1968-, singer, dancer, Kiryat Ono, Israel
Menachem 'Arussi, 1930-, dancer, singer, drummer, Kiryat Ono, Israel
Saadia Gur-Esh, 1928-, singer, drummer, dancer, Midrakh Oz, Israel
Ziona Nagar, 1951-, dancer
Binyamin Hershkowitz, 1946-, accordion, singer, drummer, Netanya, Israel
Arie Polak, 1956-, drummer, Herzlia, Israel
Moshe Choen, 1929-, singer, dancer, Bnei Brak, Israel
Yosef Pinchas Reimer, 1955-, dancer, drummer, Jerusalem, Israel
Yitzhak Meier Tritel, 1951-, dancer, clarinetist, Jerusalem, Israel
Levi 'Ochayom, 1927-, singer, drummer, Jerusalem, Israel
Yosef Ben-Nun, 1927-, singer, Jerusalem, Israel
David Weissman, 1933-, 'ud player, Jerusalem, Israel
Dr. Daniel Ronen, leader
Itimar Gurevitch, tour administrator
Uri Sharvit, folklorist
Jewish American
Ira Axelrod, badkhn, Brooklyn, New York
Nechama Biderman, succah maker, Flushing, New York
Avram Dahari, 1923-1999, singer, Brooklyn, New York
Naomi Dahari, 1924-1988, singer, food demonstrator, Brooklyn, New York
Ray Faust, 1900-1993, painter, New York, New York
Miriam Haymie, singer, food demonstrator, Brooklyn, New York
Shlomo Hymie, singer, Brooklyn, New York
Meyer Kirshenblatt, 1916-2009, toy maker, immigrant narrator, Downsview, Ontario
Rivka Kirshenblatt, food demonstrator
Lillian Klempner, 1897-1984, Yiddish folksinger, Brooklyn, New York
Tuvia Mekhabar, scribe, New York, New York
Mazel Nagar, singer, dancer, cook, Brooklyn, New York
Nissim Nagar, singer, dancer, Brooklyn, New York
Arie Ovagia, cantor, singer, Brooklyn, New York
Jerold Roschwalb, shofar demonstrator
William Shuster, 1904-2002, tailor, New York, New York
Tsirl Waletsky, paper cutter, Bronx, New York
Workmen's Circle Mandolin Orchestra -- Workmen's Circle Mandolin OrchestraRosario Carcione, 1909-1984, mandolinist, Bronx, New YorkFrances Darvick, mandolinist, Brooklyn, New YorkSophie Fuchs, mandolinist, Jamaica, New YorkBeverly Frierman, mandolinist, New York, New YorkMuriel Isbitts, mandolinist, New Milford, New JerseyFani Jacobson, mandolinist, leader, New York, New YorkNorman Levine, mandolinist, Brooklyn, New YorkTessie Nerenberg, mandolinist, Yonkers, New YorkMeyer Schein, mandolinist, Bronx, New YorkCharles Slater, mandolinist, Brooklyn, New YorkHenry Wurman, 1900-1981, mandolinist, Bronx, New York
Walter Pardon, 1914-, singer, North Walsham, Norfolk, England
Anne Rosetta Springfield, 1911-, Pearlie Queen, London, England
The Watersons and Martin Carthy -- The Watersons and Martin CarthyLal Waterson, 1943-1998, singerMike Waterson, 1941-2011, singer, Robin Hoods Bay, Yorkshire, EnglandNorma Waterson, 1939-, singer, Robin Hoods Bay, EnglandMartin Carthy, 1941-, singer, Robin Hoods Bay, England
A. L. (Albert Lancaster) Lloyd, 1908-1982, folklorist
S. A. Matthews, folk dance specialist, London, England
British-American
United States
John Ashby, 1915-1979, fiddler
Dillard Chandler, 1907-1992, ballad singer, Rosedale, New York
Lloyd Chandler, 1896-1978, ballad singer, Marshall, North Carolina
Nell Fernandez, singer, Summer Shade, Kentucky
Ray Hicks, 1922-2003, storyteller, Banner Elk, North Carolina
Wiktor Mikolajski, 1910-, tour administrator, Warsaw, Poland
Ludwik Bielawski, 1929-, folklorist, Warsaw, Poland
Polish American
The Gromada Family -- The Gromada FamilyAniela Gromada, 1908-1984, cellist, singer, Elmwood Park, New JerseyAnn Gromada, 1965-, dancer, Wyckoff, New JerseyJan Gromada, 1905-1996, fiddler, embroiderer, Elmwood Park, New JerseyJohn Gromada, 1964-, dancer, Wyckoff, New JerseyTadeusz Gromada, 1929-, second fiddler, dancer, Wyckoff, New JerseyTeresa Gromada, 1930-, dancer, singer, Wyckoff, New JerseyHenryk Kedron, 1926-, dancer, singer, metal worker, Hasbrouck Heights, New JerseyJanina Kedron, 1931-, fiddler, singer, dancer, Hasbrouck Heights, New JerseyTadeusz Koziek, 1930-1979, fiddle, bass player, singer, Garfield, New JerseyEdward Nowobielski, 1924-2006, singer, dancer, Garfield, New Jersey
Stephanie Batory, 1913-1994, decorative paper cuttings, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Portuguese
Grupo Coral da Aldeia Nova de São Bento -- Grupo Coral da Aldeia Nova de São BentoManuel de Mira Monge, 1925-, singer, São Bento, PortugalSilvestre Charraz Morais, 1945-, singer, São Bento, PortugalJosé Candeias Rosa, 1935-, singer, São Bento, PortugalManuel Carrasco Valadas, 1949-, singer, São Bento, PortugalManuel Toira Varela, 1934-, singer, São Bento, PortugalBento Charraz Calvinho, 1922-, singer, São Bento, PortugalJosé Francisco Esparteiro Serrano, 1951-, singer, São Bento, PortugalJosé Lopes Carrilho, 1919-, singer, São Bento, PortugalBento Brito Coelho, 1937-, singer, São Bento, PortugalJosé Valadas Mata-Setam, 1936-, singer, São Bento, Portugal
Grupo Folclórico Mirandes de Duas Igrejas -- Grupo Folclórico Mirandes de Duas IgrejasAntonio Maria Moorinho, 1917-, director, Duas Igrejas, PortugalJosé Pires Martins, 1912-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalAlexandre Feio, 1914-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalAlfredo Augusto Ventura, 1912-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalDelmiro Braz Antão, 1915-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalDomingos Augusto Ruano, 1955-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalLuciano de São Pedro Martins, 1953-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalAdão Dos Santos Moreira, 1926-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalClemente de Jésus Amaro Dias, 1957-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalMateus Augusto Martins Fidalgo, 1927-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalArtur Raposo Alves Galego, 1956-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalManuel João Alves, 1927-, musician, Duas Igrejas, PortugalManuel Baltazar Fernandes Aires, 1959-, musician, Duas Igrejas, Portugal
Maria Ernestina Costa Rodrigues, interpreter, Murtal São Pedro Do Estoril, Portugal
Portuguese American
Odete Amarelo, 1950-, food demonstrator, Fall River, Massachusetts
Manuel Azuvedo, 1917-2004, singer, dancer, Sacramento, California
Maria Alice Cordeiro, 1961-, singer, Fall River, Massachusetts
Elaine C. Oliveira, 1938-, singer, musician, Somerset, Massachusetts
Armindo I. Paira, 1963-, singer, Fall River, Massachusetts
Scheeseler Beekschepers -- Scheeseler BeekschepersWilhelm Leuenroth, 1906-, clarinet player, Wittkopsbostel, GermanyBernd Meyer, accordion player, Visselhoevede, GermanySiegfried Johann Karl Lott, 1933-, friction drum, flute, jaws harp player, Rohr, GermanyHans Johannes Almering, 1941-, clarinet player, Ahaus-Wüllen, GermanyUrsula Christina Wassing Almering, 1942-, accordion player, Ahaus-Wüllen, GermanyUrsula Blomeier, 1920-, street organ player, Berlin, GermanyKonrad Koestlin, 1940-, folklorist and presenter, Hoffeld über Bordesholm, Germany
German American
Albert Fahlbusch, 1925-2005, hackbrett player and maker, Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Mary Fahlbusch, 1932-2013, food demonstrator, Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Roger Fahlbusch, 1958-, hackbrett player and maker, Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Ray Stahla German-Russian Band -- Ray Stahla German-Russian BandRay Stahla, 1929-, accordion player, Grand Island, NebraskaPhil Stahla, 1949-, trombone player, Gillette, WyomingRandy Stahla, 1952-, drummer, Greeley, ColoradoJohn Klein, 1919-1982, hackbrett player, Lincoln, Nebraska
Dorf Musikanten -- Dorf MusikantenJohn Braun, 1938-, accordion player, Mequon, WisconsinRoland A. Braun, 1923-2004, clarinet and zither player, Milwaukee, WisconsinEarl Hilgendorf, 1934-, trumpet and fluegel horn player, Mequon, WisconsinHarold Pipkorn, 1927-, baritone player, Mequon, WisconsinJacob Skocir, 1913-2008, guitar and mandolin player, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Die Tiefen Keller-Kinder -- Die Tiefen Keller-KinderLarry Bobe, 1955-, trombone player, Amana, IowaJeff Ehrmann, 1956-, cornet player, Amana, IowaPatrick H. Kellenberger, 1951-, tuba player, South Amana, IowaDennis Kraus, 1955-, cornet player, Middle Amana, IowaMark H. Rettig, 1951-, baritone player, Middle Amana, IowaCarol Schuerer, 1958-, clarinet player, Amana, IowaPaul R. Staman, 1958-, cornet player, Amana, IowaAlan J. Trumpold, 1953-, tuba player, South Amana, IowaGuy H. Wendler, baritone and cornet player, Amana, IowaBrad Zuber, 1956-, manager, Amana, IowaRobert Zuber, 1957-, trombone player, Homestead, Iowa
Spanish American
Andalusian
Manuel "Agujetas" De Los Santos, flamenco singer, New York, New York
Tibulina De Los Santos, flamenco dancer, New York, New York
Asturian
Sixto Alonso, singer, Kearney, New Jersey
Basque
Elisa Vidasolo, dancer, Brooklyn, New York
Luis Vidasolo, dancer, Brooklyn, New York
Maria Luisa Vidasolo, cook, Brooklyn, New York
Alys Viña, 1914-1993, tambourine player, Cranford, New Jersey
Angelo Viña, 1914-2003, drummer and fife player, Cranford, New Jersey
Galician
Domingo Casais, bombo player, Bayonne, New Jersey
Francisco Castineira, dancer, Kearny, New Jersey
Manuel Galan, bagpiper, Seaford, New York
Manolo Garcia, dancer, North Tarrytown, New York
Fina Meizoso, dancer, Woodside, New York
Kim Munoz, dancer, Queens, New York
Manuel Pena, tambor player, Corona, New York
Carlos Rodriguez, bagpiper, Elizabeth, New Jersey
Old Spanish
Cleofes Vigil, 1917-1992, singer, San Cristobal, New Mexico
Puerto Rican
Cuarteto Isabelino, instrumental ensemble -- Cuarteto Isabelino, instrumental ensembleWilfredo Cordero, Isabela, Puerto RicoJoaquin Rivera, 1910-1995, Isabela, Puerto RicoMatildo Rosado Santiago, Isabela, Puerto RicoDomingo Ruiz, Isabela, Puerto Rico
Mexican
Los Caporales -- Los CaporalesRicardo Gutierrez Villa, violin, Apatzingán, Michoacán, MexicoRubén Cuevas Maldonado, harp, Apatzingán, Michoacán, MexicoCarlos Cervantes Mora, guitarra de golpe, Michoacán, MexicoOvaldo Ríos Yañez, five string guitar, Tomatlán, Michoacán, MexicoJesús Espinoza Mendoza, violin, Apatzingán, Michoacán, Mexico
Pokar de Ases -- Pokar de AsesMartín Ruíz Luciano, small drum, San Juan, Guerrero, MexicoZacarías Salmerón Daza, violin, Tlapehuala, Guerrero, MexicoJuan Taviera Simón, violin, Ajuchitlán, Guerrero, MexicoSalomón Echeverría de la Paz, bass guitar, Tlapehuala, Guerrero, MexicoNicolas G. Salmerón, guitar and lead singer, Tlapehuala, Guerrero, Mexico
Grupo de Musica Azteca – Puebla -- Grupo de Musica Azteca – PueblaJulio Ocelo Abrajan, huehuetl playerFrancisco García, redoblante, Tlacopac, San Angel, MexicoCrescenciano Chantes Misnáhuatl, chirimia, Tlacopac, San Angel, Mexico
Los Gavilanes -- Los GavilanesAlberto Hernández Carmona, Veracruz, MexicoFortino Hoz Chávez, jarana, Boca del Rio, Veracruz, New MexicoRamon Hoz Chávez, arpa, Boca del Rio, Veracruz, MexicoEvaristo Silva Reyes, pandero, Tlacotlalpan, Veracruz, MexicoJosé Aguirre Vera, requinto, Tlacotlalpan, Veracruz, Mexico
Banda Sinaloense -- Banda SinaloenseJuventino Cruz, bass drum, Los Angeles, CaliforniaFrancisco Garcia, trombone, Los Angeles, CaliforniaPascual Garxiola, trombone, Los Angeles, CaliforniaAntonio Ibarra, snare drum, Los Angeles, CaliforniaManuel Luna, clarinet, Los Angeles, CaliforniaMiguel Nuñez, clarinet, tuba, Los Angeles, California
Isabella Ortega, 1926-2000, food demonstrator, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Ben Ortega, 1923-1998, wood carver, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Luis Eligio Tapia, 1950-, wood carver, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Conjunto Jarocho -- Conjunto JarochoRoberto Murillo, 1941-2001, Vera Cruz harp player, La Mirada, CaliforniaHarry González, 1932-, guitar and requinto jarocho player, Walnut Creek, CaliforniaSteve Luévano, 1939-, jarana jarocho player, Los Angeles, CaliforniaCarlos Gonzalez, 1936-, jarana jarocho player
José Mariano Ortega, 1921-, corrido singer, guitar player, Los Angeles, California
María Elena Villarreal, corrido singer, guitar player, Los Angeles, California
The Tyrolers -- The TyrolersEmery Wechselberger, 1933-, zither player, yodeler, Leavenworth, WashingtonEric Wechselberger, 1961-, trumpet player, Leavenworth, WashingtonRoy Wechselberger, 1963-, trumpet and bells player, schuhplatt dancer, Leavenworth, WashingtonFranz Schauer, drummer, Seattle, Washington
The Alpiners -- The AlpinersDick Theml, 1922-2003, violin player, singer, Glenview, IllinoisJohn Weber, 1945-, tuba player, Chicago, IllinoisMiles G. Soumar, 1933-2013, clarinet player, Chicago, IllinoisEdward C. Richter, 1917-1998, accordion player, Chicago, IllinoisRichard A. Jenson, 1942-, trumpet player, Palatine, IllinoisJerome C. Olson, 1934-1991, drummer, Chicago, IllinoisHeidi Siewert, 1938-, singer, yodeler, Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Sara Schwarz, 1912-1992, embroiderer, Chicago, Illinois
Rosegger Steirer Group -- Rosegger Steirer GroupBeryl Rossner, 1925-2010, folk dancer, Highland, IndianaCarl Rossner, 1921-1993, folk dancer, Highland, IndianaBarbara Rossner, 1958-, folk dancer, Highland, IndianaMichael Rossner, 1955-, folk dancer, Highland, IndianaBetty Wagner, 1930-, folk dancer, Chicago, IllinoisEdward Wagner, 1958-, folk dancer, Chicago, IllinoisAdolph Wagner, 1924-1982, accordion player, Chicago, IllinoisSharon Schuch, folk dancerMary Schuch, 1928-, folk dancer, Oak Lawn, IllinoisRoberta Schuch, 1961-, folk dancer, Oak Lawn, IllinoisAnthony Schuch, 1928-, folk dancer, Oak Lawn, IllinoisEllen Guenther, 1962-, folk dancer, Oak Lawn, IllinoisHedwig Guenther, folk dancer, Oak Lawn, IllinoisPaul Coglianese, 1957-, folk dancer, Oak Lawn, IllinoisFred Semmler, 1939-, folk dancer, Chicago, Illinois
Indian
The Chetana Indian Women's Organization, traditional food preparation
Dancers & singers from Manipur
Dancers & singers from Rajasthan and Gujarat
Dancers & singers from the Punjab and Haryana
Mrs. Battobai, folk doll maker
Surya Dev, madhubani painter
Bindeshwari Devi, sikki grass work
Sita Devi, madhubani painter
Mohan Mehar, ikat weaving from Orissa
Shantantra Prakash, craft program coordinator, New Delhi, India
Raghunath Singha, loin loom weaving of Manipur
Indian American
Arun Agrawal, 1945-, singer, dancer, musician, Fall River, Massachusetts
Paul Anderson, 1935-, singer, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Brigitte Geiser, 1941-, field researcher and presenter, Bern, Switzerland
Swiss American
Kapelle Werner Blaser -- Kapelle Werner BlaserWerner Blaser, 1926-, clarinet and saxophone player, Chehalis, WashingtonJoe Blaser, 1956-, clarinet and saxophone player, Chehalis, WashingtonDon Blaser, 1961-, accordion player, Chehalis, WashingtonMary Ann Ackerman, piano player, Orting, WashingtonJoe Burgi, 1906-1990, bass and accordion player, Tacoma, WashingtonRandy Grab, 1953-, bass player, Tacoma, Washington
Young Swiss Musicians -- Young Swiss MusiciansHelen Rast, 1961-, accordion player, San Jose, CaliforniaFrank Rast, 1959-, trumpet and alphorn player, San Jose, CaliforniaFred Rast, 1958-, clarinet, saxophone and alphorn player, San Jose, CaliforniaChristine Anderson, 1961-, bass player, Newark, CaliforniaKaren Anderson, 1959-, clarinet and alto saxophone player, Newark, CaliforniaSonja Ruckli, 1958-, piano player and singer, Newark, CaliforniaMichael Imhof, 1959-, accordion player, Fremont, California
Aelplergruppe -- AelplergruppeSergio Sartori, 1927-1978, accordion player and singer, San Francisco, CaliforniaDennis Sartori, 1954-, accordion player and singer, San Francisco, CaliforniaConrad Grass, 1954-, wrestler, San Bruno, CaliforniaRobert Wipfli, 1953-, wrestler, Fremont, California
Kaspar Hunkeler, flag thrower, Chevy Chase, Maryland
Robbi Hunkeler, flag thrower and alphorn player, Chevy Chase, Maryland
Italian
Calabria
Francesco Crudo, 1933-, piffero (oboe) player, Rombiolo, Italy
Michele Monteleone, 1918-, zampogna player (bagpiper), Rombiolo, Italy
Liguiria
Squadra Nuova Pontedecima, polyphonic chorus
Alessandro Anzini, 1940-, escort, Rome, Italy
Italian American
Basilicata
Antonio Davida, singer, drum player
Calabria
Anunziata Chimento, 1917-2006, singer, masker in Carnevale
Anunziato Chimento, singer, dancer, castanets player, "Doctor" in Carnevale
Franco Cofone, singer, dancer, quadrille caller, "Pulcinella" and master of ceremonies in Carnevale
Giuseppe DeFranco, 1933-, musician, singer, dancer
Raffaela DeFranco, 1935-, singer, dancer
Antonio DiGiacomo, tambourine player, singer, dancer
Carmine Ferraro, singer, dancer, masker in Carnevale
Francesco Feraco, singer, dancer, tambourine player
Angelo Gabriele, 1921-2006, singer, tambourine player, dancer, masker in Carnevale
Angelo Gencarelli, 1920-2004, singer, dancer, "La Quaresima" (Lent) in Carnevale
Federico Gencarelli, singer, tambourine player
Giuglio Gencarelli, singer, "Carnevale" in Carnevale
Maria Melito, dancer, masker in Carnevale
Molise
Vincenzo Deluca, 1933-1983, bagpiper
Sicily
Vincent Ancona, 1915-2000, chanty singer
Nino Curatolo, 1928-1980, singer of chanties, carittiere and fish vendors' songs, jaws harp player
Gaetano D'Angelo, 1906-1996, chanty singer
Giovanni Pellitteri, friscalettu (cane flute) player
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1976 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Marilyn Levine, 2002 May 15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with John Roloff, 2009 August 17-18. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Viola Frey, 1995 Feb. 27-June 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Susan Peterson, 2004 March 1. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with James Melchert, 2002 September 18-October 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Ceramicists -- California -- Oakland -- Interviews Search this
