San Francisco State University -- Students Search this
Extent:
97 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1996 Aug. 15-16
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Jacinto Quirarte conducted 1996 Aug. 15-16, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Quirarte discusses his professional and personal experience both as a Mexican-American growing up in the Southwest and in California, and as an art historian who was among the first to identify and study the Chicano art movement. He describes his family background, his attraction to figurative art as a student at San Francisco State University, his interest in Mexican muralists, and his fascination with pre-Columbian art which became his speciality. He further discusses his career in Latin America, particularly from the standpoint of multiculturalism and regionalism in his native country; the problem of overlapping political/cultural entities and the connection between pre-Columbian and Chicano situation; the notions of group identity, and shift from universalism to individual identity as part of the Chicano art evolution.
Biographical / Historical:
Jacinto Quirarte (1931-2012) is an art historian at the University of Texas, San Antonio. Quirarte is the author of several books on Latin American art, among them "Mexican American Artists" (1973), "Izapan-Style Art" (1973), and "Latin American Spirit: Art and Artists in the United States, 1920-1970" (1988).
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 7 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:
Art historians -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews Search this
This interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Mel Casas conducted 1996 August 14-16, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Casas discusses his current work - dipped acrylic paintings in which technique and material become the subject; his involvement with Chicano art political issues and his own experience as a Mexican-American; a discussion of his family background; art education; early Abstract Expressionist painting; a shift to figuration; thirty years teaching at San Antonio College; the Chicano "movimiento"; and Chicano art and key figures, including Carlos Almaraz and Carmen Lomas Garza.
Biographical / Historical:
Mel Casas (1929-) is a painter from San Antonio, Texas.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 5 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:
Painters -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews Search this
This interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of John Valadez conducted 1996 November 25-1997 May 12, by Jeffrey Rangel, in Valadez's studio, Los Angeles, California, for the Archives of American Art.
John Valadez, muralist and painter, was born in Lincoln Heights, a suburb of Los Angeles. Growing up in Huntington Park, he assimilated into the multi-cultural community and throughout his school years did not have any strong ethnic ties. His strong, hard-working mother, instilled in her son values of truth and fair play, and kept him from getting involved in gangs. After graduating from Hunting Park High School and attending East Los Angeles College, where his artistic talents were encouraged by his instructors, he became a part of the developing Chicano Art community. He went on to California State University, Long Beach, continuing his art studies there. During the summers, he directed the summer mural program at the Long Beach Community Center, where he executed his first murals (which have since been painted over). Valadez is a photo-realist, who gets his imagery or "Image Bank" from Mexican tabloids. He is one of the leading Chicano painters.
Biographical / Historical:
John Valadez (1951-) is a muralist and painter from Los Angeles, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 58 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.
Rights:
Authorization to quote or reproduce for the purposes of publication requires written permission from John Valadez. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Search this
This interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Elsa Flores conducted 1997 Feb. 18-Apr. 30, by Jeffrey Rangel, for the Archives of American Art.
The interviews took place in Flores' studio, in South Pasadena, Calif., over four sessions. Flores discusses her parents' diverse backgrounds and her difficult childhood and adolescence; the development of her political consciousness; her involvement with Chicanismo; her interests in art, photography, and music, including being a member of California State University, Los Angeles mariachi band; her art, which she considers more biographical and mystical than ethnic; her use, initially, of a dark palette to distinguish her work from that of her husband, Carlos Almaraz, and changing to a brighter, more optimistic palette after Almaraz's was diagnosed with AIDS. She recalls Almaraz's energy and genius; his struggles with AIDS and his search for alternative healing methods; finding solace in Kauai; and his request to have his ashes strewn around Kauai at his favorite places. Flores comments on the difficult period after Almaraz's death; her devotion to their daughter; keeping Almaraz's work at the forefront of public awareness; and her own art career.
Biographical / Historical:
Elsa Flores was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her mother was born in Sinaloa, Mexico, and her father was of Arab descent, born in Chile after his paretns fled the Middle East. Elsa studied at the Art Center College, California State University, and the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. Almaraz and Flores married in 1981 and their daughter Maya was born in 1983. They collaborated on California Dreamscape, a mural commissioned by the California Arts Council and is located in the Reagan State Building in Los Angeles.
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:
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Search this
Women painters -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
This interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Frank Romero conducted 1997 January 17-March 2, by Jeffrey Rangel, for the Archives of American Art, in Romero's studio, in Los Angeles, Calif.
Romero discusses his growing up in East Los Angeles and his large extended family; his earliest art studies in the public schools; attending the Otis Art Institute where he studied with Joe Mugnaini and had contact with Millard Sheets and Peter Voulkos; the "very polyglut culture" of East Los Angeles; the influences of television, western movies, rock-and-roll, and rhythm and blues on his early musical/artistic taste; time spent in New York; returning to Los Angeles in 1969; and his marriage and family.
He describes his move into Carlos Almaraz's house which became the informal meeting place of the artist group Los Four (Almaraz, Romero, Gilbert Sanchez Lujan, and Roberto "Beto" de la Rocha); the Los Four show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1974; and the stylistic aesthetics of Los Four.
Romero describes the "boys club" nature of Chicano art centers; his contributions to the Chicano art movement; his relationship to the Chicano/Mexican culture and mainstream U.S. culture; murals done by members of Los Four for the Inner City Mural Program; his work for the Metropolitan Transit Authority; the Murals of Aztlan exhibit in 1981 at the Craft and Folk Art Museum; and his shows at the ARCO Center for the Visual Arts. He concludes with his assessment of the Chicano arts movement, the relationship between economic and art cycles, and the role of the more established artists to those of a younger generation.
Biographical / Historical:
Frank Romero (1941- ) is a painter from Los Angeles, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 27 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:
Muralists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Search this
This interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
The Joe Lopez papers and Gallista Gallery records measure 1.7 linear feet and 32.93 GB and date from 1966 to 2016. The collection is comprised of biographical records that include interviews with Lopez, autobiographical writings by Lopez and writings by others, printed and digital materials, artwork, and photographic and moving image materials. Records for the Gallista Gallery include trademark files and legal records pertaining to the lawsuit against Lopez by E and J Gallo Winery over the use of the word "gallo."
Scope and Contents:
The Joe Lopez papers and Gallista Gallery records measure 1.7 linear feet and 32.93 GB and date from 1966 to 2016. The collection is comprised of biographical records that include interviews with Lopez, autobiographical writings by Lopez and writings by others, printed and digital materials, artwork, and photographic and moving image materials. Records for the Gallista Gallery include trademark files and legal records pertaining to the lawsuit against Lopez by E and J Gallo Winery over the use of the word "gallo."
Series 2: Writings, circa 1997-2002 (Box 1; 6 folders)
Series 3: Gallista Gallery Records, 1990-2016 (Boxes 1, 3; 0.8 linear feet, ER07; 7.53 GB)
Series 4: Printed Materials, circa 1975-2015 (Boxes 1-3; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 5: Artwork, circa 1990-2008 (Boxes 2-3; 5 folders)
Series 6: Photographic and Moving Image Materials, circa 1985-circa 2010 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet, ER08-10; 6.10 GB)
Biographical / Historical:
Joe Lopez (1945- ) is a painter and founder of the Gallista Gallery (1996-2016) in San Antonio, Texas.
Lopez grew up in El Barrio Escondido, a neighborhood in San Antonio. He was introduced to art through his Uncle Basilio, a folk artist. While a student at St. Anthony Shrine School, Lopez gained the attention of one of the nuns which led to a scholarship to attend the Witte Museum Art School. He also attended La Villita School of Art, the San Antonio School of Art, and was awarded a scholarship to McNay Art Museum school. Lopez trained with artists Warren Hunter, John Squire Adams, Finis Collins, and Jesus "Chista" Cantu. Because Lopez was born with one hand, artist Jesse Treviño was an inspiration to Lopez for his ability to paint with one hand.
Lopez's paintings often feature gallos, the Spanish word for roosters, because they symbolize strength and pride in Chicano and Mexican American culture. Lopez opened his own gallery in 1996 because he was having difficulty booking exhibitions at other galleries. The original name of the gallery was Puro Gallo, and he changed the name to Gallista Gallery in 1998. Gallista was coined by Lopez to describe those who supported him during a five year court battle with E and J Gallo Winery. The wine company initiated the lawsuit against Lopez over the use of the word "gallo." The gallery became a bedrock of the community, fostering the talents of local Latino artists long after the lawsuit ended.
Early in his career, Lopez worked in the art department for Dillard's and Centeno's supermarket before becoming employed in the graphics department at Fort Sam Houston, a U.S. Army post in San Antonio. He retired in 2007 from Fort Sam Houston after 22 years.
Lopez's work has been exhibited at the McNay Art Museum, Laguna Gloria Art Museum, and other museums throughout Texas. His paintings have been featured on posters and covers of music albums including Taquachito Nights: Conjunto Music from South Texas produced by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and Puro Gallo by Los Padrinos.
Provenance:
The Joe Lopez papers and Gallista Gallery records were donated by Joe Lopez in 2016.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that he or she may own.
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.
