Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Denise Scott Brown, 1990 October 25-1991 November 9. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Denise Scott Brown conducted 1990 October 25-1991 November 9, by Peter Reed, for the Archives of American Art.
Scott Brown discusses her family background and growing up in South Africa; her education at the University of Witwatersrand, the Architectural Association, London, a summer school in Venice, sponsored by Congres Internationale d'Architecture Moderne, and the University of Pennsylvania, recalling some of her teachers (including Arthur Korn and Louis Kahn); her first husband, Robert Scott Brown, and their travels throughout Europe and experiences in Pennsylvania; her teaching philosophy and experiences at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Harvard, UCLA, and Berkeley; the architecture program at Penn from her perspective as a student and as a member of the faculty; meeting Robert Venturi, their work together, the firm and the difficulties encountered in the 1970s and 1980s, some of their projects such as the National Gallery, London, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and planning work; publications such as "Complexity and Contradiction," "Urban concepts," "Worm's Eye View," and "Learning from Las Vegas;" postmodern architecture; critics; and her experiences as a woman in the field.
Biographical / Historical:
Denise Scott Brown (1931- ) is an architect of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
General:
Originally recorded on 10 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 19 digital wav files. Duration is 13 hr., 45 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.
An interview of Robert Venturi conducted 1991 June 1-1991 July 20, by Peter Reed, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project.
Venturi discusses his childhood, education and early career; travelling to Rome; his relationships with Louis Kahn and Vincent Scully; writing "Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture"; teaching at Yale University; his partnership with Denise Scott Brown; projects such as the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery in London, the house he built for his mother, the Guild House and the Seattle Art Museum; and architect/client, architect/contractor relationships in contemporary practice.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Venturi (1925- ) is an architect from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 50 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.
Out of the ordinary : Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates : architecture, urbanism, design / David B. Brownlee, David G. DeLong, and Kathryn B. Hiesinger ; checklist of projects and buildings by William Whitaker ; chronology by Diane L. Minnite
Las Vegas studio : images from the archive of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown / edited by Hilar Stadler and Martino Stierli in collaboration with Peter Fischli
