An interview of Mary Lee Hu conducted 2009 March 18-19, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Hu's home and studio, in Seattle, Washington.
Hu speaks of growing up outside Cleveland, Ohio; her early interest in making objects; attending the Lawrence Art Center camp in Kansas at the age of 16 where she first experimented with metals; her like of working with tools in order to create something; taking metal smith classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art during high school; attending Miami University in Ohio for two years followed by two years an Cranbrook Academy of Art; working as a TA with L. Brent Kington at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale; her collaborative work in both textiles and metals while at Carbondale which lead to her first experimentation in weaving silver wire; creating a body of work for her Master's thesis in which all the pieces were woven wire; various works, their origins, when, where and why they were created, including her Neckpiece, Choker, Bracelet, Brooch and Ring series; her aesthetic interest in patterns, line and positive/negative space; a limited interest in and use of color in her work; the transition from silver to gold wire; a progressively larger interest in the history of jewelry and body adornment which eventually became a lecture at the University of Washington, where she taught for 26 years; numerous trips around the world to countries such as China, Tibet, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia; a strong interest in ethnic and native jewelry/body adornment practices; the various purposes which jewelry can serve in society; her involvement with the Society of North American Goldsmiths and the American Craft Council; her technique based teaching practices; the role that modern technology plays in teaching, learning, and making jewelry; the lack of support and funds for metals programs in universities around the country; her library, which includes aver 2,000 books about the history of jewelry and body adornment; her collection of jewelry from around the world; her want to create beautiful and functional jewelry; the public and private aspects to jewelry and it's role in museums; current projects and the importance to maintain interest of metals in younger generations. Hu also recalls Gary Turner, Hans Christensen, Otto Dingeldein, Heikki Seppä, Hero Kielman, Phil Fike, Patti Warashina, Gary Noffke, Elliott Pujol, Chonghi Choo, Daphne Farafo, Vicki Halper, Ron Ho, Miye Matsukata, Alma Eikermann, Mark Baldridge, Kurt Matzdorf, Eleanor Moty, Fred Fenster, John Marshall, James McMurray, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Mary Lee Hu (1943- ) is a metalsmith in Seattle, Washington. Smith was educated at Cranbrook Academy of Art and Southern Illinois University. She teaches at the University of Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 43 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Occupation:
Metal-workers -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Educators -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Miami University (Oxford, Ohio). Dept. of Art Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Marston Dean Hodgin, 1998 Aug. 25. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- North Truro -- Interviews Search this
Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) -- Exhibitions Search this
Extent:
0.4 Linear feet ((4 v. on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1962-1964
Scope and Contents:
Three photograph albums of Lewen's paintings and collages exhibited at The Museum of the George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tenn. (1962); The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, N.Y. (1963); and Miami University, Oxford, Ohio (1964). An album entitled "A Journey" contains photographs of 72 drawings (1964).
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and collagist, New Paltz, New York. Born in Lublin, Poland in 1918. Studed with Klaus Richter in Berlin, at the Ecole Vaucanson in Grenoble, France, at the National Academy of Art and Design and the Art Students League in New York, N. Y. Works in a style of serial progression.
Provenance:
Donated 1962-1965 by Si Lewen.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
An interview with Marston Dean Hodgin conducted 1998 Aug. 25, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art, in Hodgin's home, North Truro, Mass. The interview covers Hodgin's background and early career up to his trip to Europe in 1931.
Hodgin discusses settling in Richmond, Ind., his father's hometown; effect of his father's Quaker beliefs; great effect on him of art exhibitions staged by the Richmond Art Association at the local high school; first formal art lessons with Randolph Coats; freshman year at Indiana University; remaining college years at Earlham College; to Provincetown summer 1924 to study at a school run (for 2 years) by Indiana painters Coats and James P. Hopkins; to Miami University of Ohio in 1927 as an artist-in-residence; establishing ca. 1928 the School of Fine Arts at Miami University; marriage to childhood sweetheart, Lucy Loufborrow in 1929; summer 1931 trip to Europe to familiarize himself with leading art museums; his comprehensive definition of art as encompassing the visual arts, music and dance; and comparisons between painting and poetry.
Biographical / Historical:
Marston Dean Hodgin (1903-2003) was a painter and teacher of North Truro, Mass.
General:
Sound of hammering toward end of interview.
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 audio recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- North Truro -- Interviews Search this
