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Oral history interview with John Cederquist

Interviewee:
Cederquist, John  Search this
Interviewer:
Riedel, Mija, 1958-  Search this
Creator:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Names:
California State University -- Students  Search this
Franklin Parrasch Gallery  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Oakland Museum  Search this
Saddleback College -- Faculty  Search this
Bennett, Garry Knox, 1934-  Search this
Clark, Garth, 1947-  Search this
Cooke, Edward S., 1954-  Search this
Danto, Arthur Coleman, 1924-  Search this
Gaines, Tom  Search this
Hughes, Robert, 1938-2012  Search this
Makepeace, John  Search this
Maruyama, Wendy, 1952-  Search this
Parrasch, Franklin  Search this
Smith, Roberta  Search this
Snidecor, John  Search this
Straight, Bob  Search this
Straight, Chris  Search this
Turnbull, George  Search this
Zuecher, Gary  Search this
Extent:
11 Items (Sound recording: 11 sound files (4 hr., 54 min.), digital, wav file)
111 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2009 April 14-15
Scope and Contents:
An interview of John Cederquist conducted 2009 April 14-15, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Cederquist's studio, in San Clemente, California.
John Cederquist speaks of his recent series Dollar Bill; his long-standing interest in perspective and use of tool imagery in his work; his childhood in Southern California; his early interest in art through custom car art; high school art instruction and focusing on craft; earning undergraduate and graduate degrees at California State University, Long Beach in the late 1960s and early 1970s; teaching at Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, California, starting in the early 1970s; work in wood and leather; other brief teaching jobs in Southern California universities; early exhibitions; exhibition and demonstrations at Parnham House, Beaminster, England, 1978; starting to teach perspective at Saddleback; Number One; the Egg and the Eye gallery/cafe, Los Angeles, California; Game Table [1982]; Auntie Macassar Goes West, 1987-88; philosophical and aesthetic differences between wood artists on the East and West coasts; exhibition: "Material Evidence: Master Craftsmen Explore ColorCore," Workbench: the Gallery, New York, New York, 1984; "California Woodworking," the Oakland Museum [of California, 1980; Thonet catalog as source material]; influence of animation in film and television; the perceptual and conceptual issues in translating two dimensions into three, and vice versa; the nature of illusion and perception; inclusion of work in an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1989; the influence of How to Wrap Five Eggs: Traditional Japanese Packaging, Hideyuki Oka, Trumbull, Connecticut: Weatherhill, 1967; use of the Thomas Chippendale book (1754) as source material; subtle influence of cubism on Ghost Boy [1992] piece; his choice of furniture as the vehicle for his aesthetic exploration; series Furniture That Builds Itself (1991-2007), and continued influence of cartoons and animation; his choice of different kinds of wood; series How to Wrap Five Crates; series Kimonos and the influence of Japanese aesthetics; When Machines Dream of Hokusai [1995]: Road to Dreamland; series Wave (early to mid-1990s), and Tubular [1990], the first in the series; series Kosode; series This Is Not Lunch; historical Japanese tattoos as a source of inspiration; "Furniture That Builds Itself," Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, New York, 2003; sense of humor and "goofiness" in his work; Flat Foot Floogie Builds a Bench. [2003]; influence of photography on his work; his pieces as functional furniture and the artistic potential therein; social commentary in his recent Kosode pieces; Heavenly Victory; how his pieces get named; "The Art of John Cederquist: Reality of Illusion," Oakland Museum of California, 1999-2000; Breakthrough series: Steamer, early 1990s; Top Drawer (1985); Space Age Wave Machine (1999); use of thick wood instead of veneer; strengths and weaknesses of a university setting for art studies; the importance of being part of the craft movement; the role of Garth Clark's gallery in the movement; the importance of working with the Franklin Parrasch gallery; his admiration for art critic Robert Hughes; the role of online media in art journalism and criticism and journalism. He also recalls Gary Zuercher, Franklin Parrasch, John Snidecor, George Turnbull, John Makepeace, Edward S. Cooke, Garry Knox Bennett, Wendy Maruyama, Tom Gaines, Bob and Chris Straight, Arthur Danto, and Roberta Smith.
Biographical / Historical:
John Cederquist (1946- ) creates fine art furniture and wood sculpture. Cederquist is known for using trompe l'oeil in his work. He was educated at Long Beach State University and teaches at Saddleback College.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 11 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 54 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:
Cabinetmakers -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Furniture designers -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Woodworkers -- California -- Interviews.  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.cederq09
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e6b8700a-8d69-4730-8c1b-fa580b376816
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-cederq09
Online Media:

Oral history interview with John Cederquist, 2009 April 14-15

Interviewee:
Cederquist, John, 1946-  Search this
Interviewer:
Riedel, Mija, 1958-  Search this
Subject:
Bennett, Garry Knox  Search this
Clark, Garth  Search this
Cooke, Edward S.  Search this
Danto, Arthur Coleman  Search this
Gaines, Tom  Search this
Hughes, Robert  Search this
Makepeace, John  Search this
Maruyama, Wendy  Search this
Parrasch, Franklin  Search this
Smith, Roberta  Search this
Snidecor, John  Search this
Straight, Bob  Search this
Straight, Chris  Search this
Turnbull, George  Search this
Zuecher, Gary  Search this
California State University  Search this
Franklin Parrasch Gallery  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Oakland Museum  Search this
Saddleback College  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with John Cederquist, 2009 April 14-15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Furniture designers -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Woodworkers -- California -- Interviews.  Search this
Theme:
Craft  Search this
Architecture & Design  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)15662
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)282437
AAA_collcode_cederq09
Theme:
Craft
Architecture & Design
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_282437
Online Media:

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