Search Results

Interviewee:

Metcalf, Bruce, 1949-  Search this

Interviewer:

Cooke, Edward S., 1954-  Search this

Creator:

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Names:

Colorado State University -- Faculty  Search this

Kent State University -- Faculty  Search this

Montana State University (Bozeman, Mont.)  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Society of North American Goldsmiths  Search this

State University of New York at New Paltz -- Students  Search this

Syracuse University -- Students  Search this

Tyler School of Art -- Students  Search this

University of the Arts (Philadelphia, Pa.) -- Faculty  Search this

Adamson, Glenn  Search this

Arneson, Robert, 1930-1992  Search this

Bauer, Fred  Search this

Bennett, Jamie, 1948-  Search this

Burns, Mark, 1950-  Search this

Church, Sharon, 1948-  Search this

Clark, Garth, 1947-  Search this

Craig, Gabriel  Search this

Cummins, Susan  Search this

Daley, William, 1925-2002  Search this

Ebendorf, Robert, 1938-  Search this

Eidelberg, Martin P.  Search this

Flynn, Pat, 1954-  Search this

Getty, Nilda  Search this

Gill, John, 1949-  Search this

Griffin, Gary, 1945-  Search this

Halem, Henry  Search this

Hammer, Wayne  Search this

Hash, Arthur, 1976-  Search this

Jerry, Michael John, 1937-  Search this

Kington, L. Brent (Louis Brent), 1934-2013  Search this

Koplos, Janet  Search this

Koss, Gene  Search this

Kumata, Carol  Search this

La Plantz, David  Search this

Lechtzin, Stanley, 1936-  Search this

Long, Randy  Search this

Matzdorf, Kurt  Search this

Mawdsley, Richard, 1945-  Search this

Moran, Lois  Search this

Morris, William, 1834-1896  Search this

Pritchard, Marian  Search this

Rogers, Harriet  Search this

Rogers, Steve  Search this

Ruskin, John, 1819-1900  Search this

Schaechter, Judith, 1961-  Search this

Shaw, Richard, 1941 Sept. 12-  Search this

Slivka, Rose  Search this

Slosberg, Jill  Search this

Wilson, Anne, 1949-  Search this

Woell, J. Fred, 1934-  Search this

Extent:

96 Pages (Transcript)

5 Items (Sound recording: 5 sound files (4 hr., 10 min.), digital, wav)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Place:

California -- description and travel

Seoul (Korea) -- Description and Travel

Date:

2009 June 10

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Bruce Metcalf conducted 2009 June 10, by Edward S. Cooke, Jr., for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Metcalf's home, in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Mr. Metcalf discusses his early years in Amherst, Massachusetts; beginnings as a maker with modeling clay and plastic airplane models; undergraduate years at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York in the late 1960s; early interest in architecture; early disenchantment with modernist discourse and theory; introduction to Marxist theory and idealism of the 1960s; summer trip to California in 1970; return to the East Coast upon the death of his father; return to college, transferring into jewelry in his senior year; influence of his teacher Michael Jerry; seeing the work in "Objects: USA" exhibition (1969) and influence of the work of J. Fred Woell, Richard Mawdsley, L. Brent Kington; rejection of current trends in art, including conceptual art and formalism; his affinity for the medium of metal, and hammersmithing; influence of funk ceramics, including work by Fred Bauer and Richard Shaw; brief stint at Montana State University, Bozeman; working in cardboard and wood; graduate school at the State University of New York, New Paltz; working with Robert Ebendorf and Kurt Matzdorf at New Paltz; work as a production artist/craftsperson; attending Rhinebeck, New York, craft fair in the mid-1970s; the influence of writings by William Morris and John Ruskin and the notion of "dignified labor"; graduate school at Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; formulating his aesthetic of narrative symbolism; publication of his first article in 1977 as a response to review of the exhibition "Forms in Metal: 275 Years of Metalsmithing in America" (1975); yearlong teaching position at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado; taking a teaching position at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio (1986-1991); publication of his article "Crafts: Second-Class Citizens?" in the first issue of Metalsmith, 1980; growing involvement with the Society of North American Goldsmiths; development of his notion of "social utility" and the role and function of crafts and making; expansion of his writing on craft; rejection of the deconstructivist school of thought in the 1980s; abandonment of sculptural objects for jewelry in the early 1990s; return to Philadelphia in 1991; early teaching of history of craft, first at Kent, then on a Fulbright scholarship in Seoul, South Korea (1990), later at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, in the early 1990s; influence of Martin Eidelberg; development of his vision for a history of craft course; collaboration with Janet Koplos on "Makers: A History of American Studio Craft"; use of his medium and craft to explore issues of nurturing and anxiety; the psychological/social effect and aesthetic importance of wearing jewelry (for the wearer and the artist); the pros and cons of craft collectors; the problematics of installation work by craft artists; recent trends in craft, including Anne Wilson's notion of "sloppy craft" and an "anti-craft" attitude; recent artists, including Arthur Hash and Gabriel Craig; lack of exhibition opportunities for younger/emerging artists; influential recent texts, including "Shards," by Garth Clark. He also recalls Robert Arneson, Randy Long, Carol Kumata, Jamie Bennett, Steve and Harriet Rogers, Wayne Hammer, Stanley Lechtzin, Gene Koss, Henry Halem, Mark Burns, Rose Slivka, Nilda Getty, Jill Slosberg, Sharon Church, John Gill, David La Plantz, Lois Moran; Gary Griffin; William Daley, Marian Pritchard, Glenn Adamson, Pat Flynn, Susan Cummins, and Judith Schaechter.

The following oral history transcript is the result of a recorded interview with Bruce Metcalf on June 10, 2009. The interview took place in Bala Cynwyd, Penn., and was conducted by Edward S. Cooke, Jr. for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. This interview is part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Bruce Metcalf has reviewed the transcript. His corrections and emendations appear below in brackets with initials. This transcript has been lightly edited for readability by the Archives of American Art. The reader should bear in mind that they are reading a transcript of spoken, rather than written, prose.

Biographical / Historical:

Bruce Metcalf (1949- ) is a jeweler and writer in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

General:

Originally recorded as 5 sound files. Duration is 4 hr., 10 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:

This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Topic:

Ceramics  Search this

Communism  Search this

Deconstructivism (Architecture)  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Formalism (Art)  Search this

Jewelers -- Pennsylvania -- Interviews  Search this

Metal-work  Search this

Jewelry making  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.

Identifier:

AAA.metcal09

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw974054f15-9dfd-4aea-98f7-707fd609918e

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-metcal09

Interviewee:

Metcalf, Bruce, 1949-  Search this

Interviewer:

Cooke, Edward S., 1954-  Search this

Subject:

Adamson, Glenn  Search this

Arneson, Robert  Search this

Bauer, Fred  Search this

Bennett, Jamie  Search this

Burns, Mark  Search this

Church, Sharon  Search this

Clark, Garth  Search this

Craig, Gabriel  Search this

Cummins, Susan  Search this

Daley, William  Search this

Ebendorf, Robert  Search this

Eidelberg, Martin P.  Search this

Flynn, Pat  Search this

Getty, Nilda  Search this

Gill, John  Search this

Griffin, Gary  Search this

Halem, Henry  Search this

Hammer, Wayne  Search this

Hash, Arthur  Search this

Jerry, Michael John  Search this

Long, Randy  Search this

Kington, L. Brent (Louis Brent)  Search this

Koplos, Janet  Search this

Koss, Gene  Search this

Kumata, Carol  Search this

La Plantz, David  Search this

Lechtzin, Stanley  Search this

Matzdorf, Kurt  Search this

Mawdsley, Richard  Search this

Moran, Lois  Search this

Morris, William  Search this

Pritchard, Marian  Search this

Rogers, Harriet  Search this

Rogers, Steve  Search this

Ruskin, John  Search this

Schaechter, Judith  Search this

Shaw, Richard  Search this

Slivka, Rose  Search this

Slosberg, Jill  Search this

Wilson, Anne  Search this

Woell, J. Fred  Search this

Colorado State University  Search this

Kent State University  Search this

Montana State University (Bozeman, Mont.)  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Society of North American Goldsmiths  Search this

State University of New York at New Paltz  Search this

Syracuse University  Search this

Tyler School of Art  Search this

University of the Arts (Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Place:

California -- description and travel

Seoul (Korea) -- Description and travel

Citation:

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Bruce Metcalf, 2009 June 10. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Ceramics  Search this

Communism  Search this

Deconstructivism (Architecture)  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Formalism (Art)  Search this

Jewelers -- Pennsylvania -- Interviews  Search this

Metal-work  Search this

Jewelry making  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)16051

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)310185

AAA_collcode_metcal09

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_310185

Artist:

Gabriel Craig, born Detroit, MI 1983  Search this

Medium:

polymer clay and porphyry

Dimensions:

1 3/8 x 7/8 x 3/4 in. (3.5 x 2.2 x 1.9 cm)

Type:

Decorative Arts-Jewelry

Crafts

Date:

2008

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lloyd E. Herman, founding director and director emeritus of the Renwick Gallery (1971-1986) in honor of the fortieth anniversary of the Renwick Gallery

Copyright:

© 2008, Gabriel Craig

Object number:

2012.6.1

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Renwick Gallery

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7d20da83c-c83b-4da2-8a4f-b76dc4b4c41d

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_2012.6.1

Artist:

Gabriel Craig, born Detroit, MI 1983  Search this

Medium:

polymer clay and granite

Dimensions:

1 1/2 x 7/8 x 3/4 in. (3.8 x 2.2 x 1.9 cm)

Type:

Decorative Arts-Jewelry

Crafts

Date:

2008

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lloyd E. Herman, founding director and director emeritus of the Renwick Gallery (1971-1986) in honor of the fortieth anniversary of the Renwick Gallery

Copyright:

© 2008, Gabriel Craig

Object number:

2012.6.2

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Renwick Gallery

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7a3fdb803-e9f7-4a7b-b42a-c8c7bd9e65c3

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_2012.6.2

Artist:

Gabriel Craig, born Detroit, MI 1983  Search this

Medium:

polymer clay and cubic zirconia

Dimensions:

1 3/4 x 1 1/4 x 1/2 in. (4.4 x 3.2 x 1.3 cm)

Type:

Decorative Arts-Jewelry

Crafts

Date:

2008

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lloyd E. Herman, founding director and director emeritus of the Renwick Gallery (1971-1986) in honor of the fortieth anniversary of the Renwick Gallery

Copyright:

© 2008, Gabriel Craig

Object number:

2012.6.3

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Renwick Gallery

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk77b074f62-40da-4bdb-8bef-baac53787c28

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_2012.6.3

Artist:

Gabriel Craig, born Detroit, MI 1983  Search this

Medium:

digital video, color, sound; 6:23 minutes

Type:

Decorative Arts-Jewelry

Crafts

Date:

2008

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lloyd E. Herman, founding director and director emeritus of the Renwick Gallery (1971-1986) in honor of the fortieth anniversary of the Renwick Gallery

Copyright:

© 2008, Gabriel Craig

Object number:

2012.6.4

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Renwick Gallery

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk794ac45c9-ca52-46c0-b67b-6d8abb9d3512

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_2012.6.4