An interview with John Dugdale conducted 2017 January 17-18, by Theodore Kerr, for the Archives of American Art's Visual Arts and the AIDS Epidemic: An Oral History Project, at Dugdale's studio in New York, New York.
Dugdale speaks of finding great joy in his elementary school art teacher's classes; taking photographs of his siblings as a child; growing up in Stamford, Connecticut and remembering every detail of Little Italy; being bullied as a kid for being different; being a voracious reader; the impact of his parents' divorce at age 8; his interest in photography in high school taking him to the School of Visual Arts in New York City; being diagnosed HIV-positive; his first job photographing flowers for Mädderlake florists; the launch of his commercial photography career and the success that followed; caring for his friends who were sick and dying, thinking that would be his role in this epidemic; the stroke that left him almost completely blind and his extremely low T-cell count at the time of his hospitalization; spending a year in the hospital and ultimately checking himself out and recovering at home; the tremendous support of his family and community; having six weeks to prepare for a show at Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art upon returning home from the hospital; resurrecting the cyanotype process for the show; his surprise at the success of the show, and slow realization that people were moved by viewing their own experiences through his photographs; appreciation of the male body; being his own activist; creating art with the intention to draw people in and not scare them away; understanding and appreciating the power of the human body after experiencing multiple strokes and sight loss, and how these events brought more depth to his work; interacting with his models; a struggle with loneliness and desire for intimacy; the feeling of being awake and paying closer attention to the world around him; existing on borrowed time; experiencing a massive stroke as a result of long-term medication use; being HIV-positive for 10 years without showing symptoms; refusing to take AZT; his religious and spiritual beliefs; just as repaired Ming vases, feeling himself more powerful now in his "broken" state; his reaction to being represented in the Metropolitan Museum of Art; his love of being a gay man and feeling strongly that he would change nothing about his life; finding difficulty in being identified as an HIV-related artist; and the house fire that helped him realize that we own nothing in this life, not even our own bodies. Dugdale also recalls his partner Rey Clarke, Maurice Sendak, Louise Nevelson, Keith Haring. Karen Waltuck, Tom Pritchard, Billy Jarecki, Carla Grande, Cynthia O'Neal, and Karen Murphy.
Biographical / Historical:
John Dugdale (1960- ) is a photographer in New York, New York. 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:
The transcript and audio recording are open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Photographers with visual disabilities Search this
Letters; photographs; biographical material; research notes and writings; pen and ink illustrations; catalogs and announcements; clippings; and miscellany.
REELS 1002-1003: 630 letters, 1955-1961, from museums, galleries, libraries, historical societies, and others in response to King's requests for information and reproductions for her books. Two of the letters are from Andrew Wyeth, Sept. 22, 1964, and Nov. 28, 1964. Also included are 125 photographs and reproductions of paintings (mostly American); biographical material on various European and American painters; research notes and writings on subjects such as the mother and child theme in painting, self-portraits of artists; catalogs and annoucements; and clippings.
REEL 3090: An undated letter from Virginia Downes (daughter of Ethel Myers); a letter from William Zorach, May 28, 1960, concerning reproductions of his paintings; 7 pen and ink illustrations; and 12 Christmas cards from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt, President Harry S. Truman and Mrs. Truman, Herbert Hoover and Paul Mellon.
REEL 3483: A letter from Maurice Sendak explaining that a deadline has kept him from answering her letter. He talks about his admiration for Mary Cassatt's graphic works. He does work for other publishers but is taking a year off, and explains why.
REEL 3667: A 7 page typecript of an article on Robert Henri by Rose Henderson. The article was published in THE AMERICAN MAGAZINE OF ART, Vol 21, January, 1940, No. 1; and a 2 page typescript by "N.P.D." also on Robert Henri.
Biographical / Historical:
Writer; Washington, D.C. King wrote mainly books for children, and on art related subjects.
Provenance:
Donated 1958-1968 by Marian King.
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.
The Publishing archive of Lothar Meggendorfer : original drawings, hand-colored lithographs, and production files for his children's book illustrations : offered for sale by Justin G. Schiller, ltd. ... New York ... / with an appreciation by Maurice Sendak
