Interview of Al Hansen conducted 1973 November 6-13, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Hansen traces his personal history, recalling his childhood and early education in Queens; his service in the armed forces; and jobs he held in social work, advertising, off-Broadway theater, and art galleries. He describes taking classes with John Groth at the Art Students League in the 1940s; with Reuben Nakian at Pratt in the 1950s; and with John Cage at the New School in 1958. He also discusses the rise of New York as an art center; his interest in film; his involvement in experimental sound and music; his approach to creating Happenings and that of other artists; organizing poetry readings at the Epitome Coffee Shop; his Hershey bar wrapper collages; the writing of his book, "A Primer of Happenings and Space Time Art," (New York: Something Else Press 1965); his interactions with Fluxus and George Maciunas; participating in the "Below Zero" show at the Reuben Gallery in 1959; attending the Destruction In Art symposium in London in 1966; and his recent exhibitions in Germany. People he recalls include Tony Smith; Pauline Goldfine [ph]; Dick Higgins; Wolf Vostell; Larry Poons; Allan Kaprow; Claes Oldenburg; Don McCarey [ph]; Jim Dine; George Brecht; Jackson Mac Low; James Waring; Marisol Escobar; Ivan Karp; Bob Watts; George Segal; Judith Dunn; Bob Dunn; Jan Müller; Nam June Paik; Raphael Ortiz; Charlotte Moorman; and Lettie Lou Eisenhauer.
Biographical / Historical:
Al Hansen (1927-1995) was an artist from New York, New York. Founder of Fluxus art movement and one of the first Happenings artists.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview with Rosalyn Drexler conducted 2017 May 17 and June 2 by Christopher Lyon, for the Archives of American Art, at Garth Greenan Gallery in New York, New York.
Drexler discusses her childhood in the Bronx; her experiences studying dance and music; her higher education at Hunter College; attending films and the Yiddish Theater; meeting her husband Sherman Drexler; her time as a professional wrestler; her memories of traveling to the South and encountering Jim Crow segregation; she describes learning about art from Sherman Drexler and her joint exhibition with Sherman; her early work in sculpture; participating in Happenings with Jim Dine; joining Anita Reuben's gallery; her debut as a playwright; her experience writing "I am the Beautiful Stranger;" the changing public perception of her and being classified as an artist; her decision to become a painter and appropriating images for her work; the influence of S. J. Perelman on her plays; her play about Joseph Cornell and ballerina Allegra Kent, and interviewing Allegra Kent; her recent artwork and preparing for her 2017 show at Garth Greenan Gallery; her artwork from the 1980s and 1990s; her comedy writing and sense of humor. Drexler also recalls Chico Marx, Jack Newfield, Igor Youskevitch, Ivan Karp, Anita Reuben, Lucas Samaras, Richard Gilman, Al Carmines, Amiri Baraka, Barbara Ann Teer, Franz Kline, Elaine De Kooning, Bill de Kooning, Andy Warhol, Jack Kroll, Lawrence Alloway, Tom Hess, Barney Newman, Harold Rosenberg, Susan Sontag, Joe Hirshhorn, Henry Geldzahler, Donald Barthelme, Kornblee Gallery, Eva Hesse, Tom Doyle, William Klein, Marilyn Monroe, Alex Katz, Alice Neel, Basquiat, Saturday Night Live, and Lenny Bruce, among others.
Biographical / Historical:
Rosalyn Drexler (1926- ) is a sculptor, playwright, and novelist in New York, New York. Christopher Lyon (1949- ) is a writer in Brooklyn, 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.
Occupation:
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Playwrights -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Subject files consist primarily of printed material, such as announcements and catalogs, news clippings, and posters, collected by Solomon on a variety of art related subjects. Subject file headings are taken directly from the original files where possible. The largest subset of files documents painters and sculptors, arranged alphabetically by name. These files occasionally include artist biographies and résumés, scattered correspondence, and scattered photographs of artists and artwork. They include letters from Jim and Nancy Dine, Öyvind Fahlström, Robert Indiana, Barnett Newman, Claes Oldenburg, Charles Oster, and Ray Parker.
Subjects that reflect Solomon's wide-ranging interests in new and experimental art forms, include dance companies and programs, such as the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and Happenings, which documents events held by a group of artists, including Jim Dine, Alan Kaprow, and Claes Oldenburg, who presented their work in "evening exhibitions of art in a new dimension," particularly at the Reuben Gallery in New York City in the early 1960s. The Happenings were a forerunner to projects such as the First New York Theater Rally of the mid-1960s. Happenings material includes announcements for events, and a piece of paper with the word "Help" repeatedly painted on it used in Jim Dine's "Car Crash," circa 1960.
Material on the Jewish Museum includes press releases relating to the museum's mission from 1963, in regard to undertaking a general art program "emphasizing the work of younger or otherwise unrecognized artists who contribute to what is vital and influential in the contemporary art world," and the dedication of the Albert A. List building. Also found are reviews of 1963-1964 exhibitions at the museum, and an invitation to the preview of Jasper Johns (1964), at the Jewish Museum.
Arrangement:
Records are arranged alphabetically by folder title. Folder titles for the group of files relating to painters and sculptors indicate a range of artists, not all of whom will be mentioned in the folder title.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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:
Alan R. Solomon papers, 1907-1970, bulk 1944-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of the Alan R. Solomon papers is provided by the Lichtenstein Foundation.
Photographs are of Solomon, artists and others, exhibitions and events, and artwork, by photographers including Robert R. McElroy, Ugo Mulas, and Hans Namuth.
Photos of Solomon include snapshots, photo booth snapshots, portraits, photos taken at various events and with others, and a series of photos taken at a party by Ugo Mulas. Also found is one photograph taken by Robert Rauschenberg of Mulas, Solomon, and designer and illustrator, Michele Provinciali.
There are photographs of circa eighteen artists, including many studio shots, some of which were probably taken by Ugo Mulas for the book New York: The New Art Scene, but are not specifically identified as such.
Photos of Jim Dine include a series taken of a Happenings performance entitled "Car Crash" at Reuben gallery, circa 1960. Also found is a series of mounted photographs of Dine's artwork, some of which are signed by the artist.
Photos of Laura Grisi picture the artist with others, including Barnett Newman, Larry Poons, and Frank Stella.
Photographs of Robert Rauschenberg include many taken at the Venice Biennale by Ugo Mulas, and picture Rauschenberg at the ceremony, seated next to Alan Solomon, during which he received the Grand Prize. Also found are photographs of Rauschenberg beside his artwork, and at Biennale parties. Some photos show Rauschenberg's artwork arriving by canal in Venice and being transported to the Biennale exhibition space.
Two photos of Andy Warhol were taken by Nat Finkelstein at The Factory, circa 1964.
Photographs of others include Leo Castelli, and Robert and Ethel Scull in their home, surrounded by their art collection.
Also found here are photographs of the exhibition Toward a New Abstraction (1963) held at the Jewish Museum during Solomon's tenure as director; photographs of an unidentified performance; photos by Hans Namuth at an unidentified exhibition; and a series of black and white snapshots of building interiors in Venice, with other Venice buildings and canal scenes.
A group of negatives, originally housed in a cigar box with no identifying information, can be found at the end of the series. Subjects appear to be a combination of family and friends, travel, buildings, artwork, and exhibitions.
Arrangement:
Photographs are arranged by subject. Dates assigned to photos of artwork are for the years in which the pictured artwork was produced, where known.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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:
Alan R. Solomon papers, 1907-1970, bulk 1944-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of the Alan R. Solomon papers is provided by the Lichtenstein Foundation.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Al Hansen, 1973 November 6-13. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Charles Rapaport. Installation view of Claes Oldenburg's show The Street at the Reuben Gallery, 1960 May. Rudi Blesh papers, circa 1900-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Charles Rapaport. Claes Oldenburg and one of his works in his show The Street at the Reuben Gallery, 1960 May. Rudi Blesh papers, circa 1900-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Rosalyn Drexler, 2017 May 17-June 2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
We can make another future : Japanese art after 1989 / curator, Reuben Keehan ; contributing authors, Reuben Keehan, Shihoko Iida, David Burnett, Julie Ewington, Tarun Nagesh, Russell Storer, Kathryn Weir
