African American women artists talked about their artwork in-detail, including technique and meaning of work; the various types of media and tools they use to produce their work; their creative and work processes; and when and how they became interested in the media they are working. Additionally, Gail Shaw-Clemons spoke of her Anacostia roots. Most of the interviews took place in the artists' studios; and some of the artists, such as printmaker Stephanie Pogue, demonstrated part of their work process. All interviews included samples of the artists' work. The painters, sculptors, printmakers, mixed media, and performance artists included Viola Burley Leak (7-25-90), Erlena Chisolm Bland (7-27-90), Joyce Wellman (7-31-90 and 9-22-90), Malkia Roberts (8-1-90), Stephanie Pogue (8-3-90), Renee Stout (8-6-90 and 9-5-90), Gail Shaw-Clemons (8-7-90), Lilian Thomas Burwell (8-8-90), Adell Westbrook (8-10-90), Margo Humphrey (8-15-90), Yvonne Pickering Carter (8-17-90), Martha Jackson Jarvis (8-20-90), Denise Ward-Brown (9-7-90), and Sylvia Snowden (9-22-90).
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Deborah Roberts the evolution of Mimi edited by Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, PhD ; with contributions by Kirsten Pai Buick, PhD; Erin Jenoia Gilbert; Beverly Guy-Sheftall, PhD; Antwaun Sargent; and Franklin Sirmans ; a foreword by Mary Schmidt Campbell, PhD ; and an interview between Deborah Roberts and Valerie Cassel Oliver
Oral history interview with Jim Hodges, conducted 2017 March 9 and May 25, by Cynthia Carr, for the Archives of American Art's Visual Arts and the AIDS Epidemic: An Oral History Project, at Hodges' studio in Queens, New York.
Hodges speaks of his childhood in Spokane, Washington; exposure to art-making in high school and at Fort Wright College; attending Pratt Institute in 1983; his first New York gallery job in 1984; discovering his sexuality and becoming interested in queer life and history; the early years of the AIDS crisis; taking a studio with the Dannheisser Foundation; his body of work in mixed media; his gallery exhibitions in the late 1980s and early '90s; becoming sober in 1990; and the influence of the AIDS crisis on his artwork and art-making process. Hodges also recalls Karen Kaiser, Scott Smith, Marnie Fuller, Davie Nyzio, Lynn McCarty, Robert Vallenciano, Bob Morris, Linda Montano, Joseph Nechvatal, Rhys Chatham, Nancy Hoffman, Hunter Reynolds, Tony Feher, Bill Arning, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Doug Safranek, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Jim Hodges (1957- ) is an installation artist in New York, New York. Cynthia Carr (1950- ) is a writer in New York, New York.
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.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Jaime Davidovich papers, 1949-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of this collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Additional funding for the digitization of the papers was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Interview of Liliana Porter, conducted by Judith Richards for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution in Rhinebeck, NY, on June 27-28, 2012.
Porter speaks of how her grandparents immigrated from Romania to Argentina; how her parents met; her father, the film director Julio Porter, and his relationship with her mother; going to art school in Mexico; learning printmaking; her earlier exhibitions in Mexico City; visiting New York City and deciding to stay; making prints at the Pratt Graphics Center; the community of Latin American artists in New York; opening a studio with her first husband, Luis Camnitzer; her early exhibitions, including at the Van Bovenkamp gallery and in MoMA's Information show; her influences, including Arte Povera and Pop art; her first trip to Europe; moving back to New York and opening another workshop there; her second husband, Alan Wiener; teaching at Queens College; beginning to collect and use toys in her work; her transition from Cibachrome to digital photography; her galleries; her collaborations with Ana Tiscornia; and her print, photography, video, and public works, including Alice in Wonderland, the Wrinkle works, the Dialogues series, the Forced Labor series, the Corrections series; the Reconstructions series, For You, Fox in the Mirror, The Traveler. Porter also recalls Juan José Arreola, José Emilio Pacheco, Luis Felipe Noé, José Castillo, Fritz Eichenberg, Kynaston McShine, Barbara Toll, Ana Mendieta, Inés Katzenstein, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Liliana Porter (1941- ) is a mixed media artist working in printmaking, works on canvas, photography, video, installations and public art projects in Rhinebeck, N.Y. Interviewer Judith Olch Richards (1947- ) is the former executive director for iCI in New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 41 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.
Occupation:
Mixed-media artists -- New York (State) Search this
An interview with Eric Rhein conducted 2017 February 26-April 16, by Theodore Kerr, for the Archives of American Art's Visual Arts and the AIDS Epidemic: An Oral History Project, at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Rhein speaks of his youth in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and New York State's Hudson Valley; as a child, creating within the immersive educational community experience of his father's university art teaching, including a focus on ceramics; the personal influence of his uncle Lige Clarke, a gay rights pioneer; early sexual experiences; formative experiences in art making and theatrical endeavors in high school; attending the School of Visual Arts in New York City, while simultaneously being immersed in New York's East Village art scene; early work in puppetry, including work for George Balanchine; significant romantic relationships; the shifts of his studio from the East Village, to Long Island City, and most recently to Jersey City; his devoted carrying of memories of friends who died of complications from AIDS; artwork made in response to the AIDS crisis; receiving his HIV diagnosis in 1987, and its implications for his life and artwork; finding support through groups like The Healing Circle and Friends In Deed; the relationship between creativity, nature, and spirituality; initial and ongoing work with Visual AIDS; HIV stigmatization in relation to body image and appearance; his extreme bodily fragility, near-death expereince, and subsequent return to physical vitality; resiliency; medical care he received for HIV-related illnesses and the lifesaving effect of protease inhibitors; the genesis, forms, and evolution of his AIDS memorial, "Leaves;" art-making as a form of AIDS activism, as well as emotional evolution; his body of work as a memoir to his life's experience; the use & significance of salvaged and recycled materials; the genesis and significance of his "Lazarus" photographic self-portrait; the realities of long-term HIV survivorship, psychological vulnerability, and his commitment to continue healing; art-making as a way of isolating from the world; the sense of community among artists touched by HIV/AIDS; returning to the School of Visual Arts from1998 to 2000, and receiving a Master's Degree; immersing himself in spirituality, including Native American and Eastern belief systems and healing arts; transformative experiences on Fire Island; the global reach of his art; different understandings of HIV/AIDS among younger generations; the showing of his work, and achieving recognition, in a context outside of HIV; the art world's market-driven mechanisms; his recent exhibitions, including internationally; torsos as a motif in his work; and the genesis and significance of his 2015 work, "The Order." Rhein also recalls: Philip Mullen, Jack Nichols, Steve Yates, Randy Wicker, Peter Cusack, Rika Burnham, Peter Lewton-Brain, Kermit Love, Abby Krey, Greer Lankton, Richard Hunt, Lincoln Kirstein, Steven Lonsdale, Billy Wonder, Bill Stelling, Ann Craig, Douglas Ferguson, David Salle, Jackie Winsor, Petah Coyne, Mats Gustafson, Ted Muehling, Huck Snyder, Antonio Lopez, Ross Bleckner, Annie Sprinkle, John Dugdale, Dr. Paul Bellman, David Hirsch, Frank Moore, Connie Butler, Robert Mapplethorpe, Edward Albee, Hugh Steers, Roland Waden, Russell Sharon, Luis Frangella, Wilfredo Vela, Arnie Zane, Carlos Rodriguez, John Sex, Joe Piazza, Ken Davis, William Weichert, Ramsey McPhillips, Hannah Wilke, David Nelson, Nancy Brooks Brody, Joy Episalla, Hunter Reynolds, Stephen Vider, Gail Thacker, Rafael Sanchez, Mark Isaacson, Ralph Cutler, Michael Von Uchtrup, Chrys Skleros, Bruce Bergman, Jim Pepper, Bill Olander, Barbara Hunt McLanahan, Andrew Zobler, Pavel Zoubok, Richard Anderson, Kris Nuzzi, Seth Joseph Weine, Walt Cessna, Spencer Cox, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Eric Rhein (1961- ) is a mixed-media artist living and working in New York, New York. Interviewer Theodore Kerr (1979- ) is a writer and organizer in New York, New York.
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 interview is access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview with Juan Sánchez conducted 2018 October 1-2, by Josh T. Franco, for the Archives of American Art, at Sánchez studio, in Brooklyn, New York.
Sanchez speaks of his childhood in Puerto Rican enclaves of Brooklyn; formative experiences with Nuyorican poets; early memories of Puerto Rico; his earliest interest in drawing from comic books; early art-making and art education experiences, including the Pratt Saturday program; encountering Taller Boricua during the time he studied at Cooper Union; drawing formative inspiration from En Foco's photography; flourishing after initial difficulties at Cooper Union; his graduate studies at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University; his early exhibition experiences; his negative experience of participating in Group Material's exhibition Americana; reflections on political art; his friendship with Ana Mendieta; his collaborations with MoCHA , INTAR gallery, and Exit Art; the development of his painting, photography, and collage aesthetics through graduate school; the personal and emotional dimension of his art-making process; his use of circles and photographs of heroic historical figures in his paintings; the development and execution of his public art commissions; the development of his teaching career; his experiences working at the Queens Museum education department and Cooper Union admissions department; specific controversies over the content of his work being shown at Princeton University and SUNY Stony Brook; the development and execution of his printmaking practice; and his reflections on the experience and importance of participating in an oral history interview. Sanchez also recalls Amiri Baraka, Sandra María Esteves, Louis Reyes Rivera, Pedro Pietri, Gilbert Hernandez, Jorge Soto, Hans Haacke, Reuben Kadish, Eugene Tulchin, Charles Biasiny, Leon Golub, Larry Fink, Robert Blackburn, Mel Edwards, Doug Ashford, Jimmie Durham, Nancy Spero, Lucy Lippard, Geno Rodriguez, Papo Colo, Jayne Cortez, Carl Andre, Ana Mendieta, Raquelín Mendieta, Noah Jemison, Inverna Lockpez, Nilda Peraza, James Luna, Julia Hirschberg, Susana Leval, Miguel Algarín, Jeanetter Ingberman, Jolie Guy, Susan Bloodworth, Zachary Fabri, Gilbert Cardenas, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Michael Brathwaite, Alfredo Jaar, Tomie Arai, Lorenzo Clayton, Joan Hall, Pepe Coronado, Maryanne Simmons, and Melquiades Rosario Sastre.
Biographical / Historical:
Juan Sánchez (1954- ) is a printmaker, muralist, painter, and teacher in Brooklyn, New York. Josh T. Franco (1985- ) is the National Collector, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
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:
The transcript and recording are open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
