An interview of Mary Fuller McChesney conducted 1994 Sept. 28, by Susan Landauer, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project, at the artist's home, on Sonoma Mountain, Calif.
Fuller McChesney discusses her childhood and growing up during the Depression; her student days at the University of California, Berkeley; the political response on the campus to WWII and the Japanese interment; her experience working as a welder in the shipyards which she considers her introduction to sculpture; her introduction to the art community in San Francisco through the cooperative Artists' Guild Gallery; her association with the Abstract Expressionists at the California School of Fine Arts in the 1940s; her foray into writing fiction and her success as a mystery writer; her work on the Archives of American Art's oral history project documenting the WPA art project in California; her first significant publication on the San Francisco School of Abstract Expressionism, Period of Exploration, and the interviews she conducted in the mid-late 1960s for the project.
She describes her attitudes and philosphies about art; living at Point Richmond with her husband Robert McChesney, Edward Corbett, Hassel Smith, and poet Weldon Kees during the late 1940s; her impressions of the Cedar Bar and New York artists during the mid-late 1960s; her own artistic evolution and career as a sculptor; the intellectual and artistic sources of her work; her subjects and techniques; her public commissions; her audience and market; and her experiences and perspectives as a woman artist and feminist. She recalls Edward Corbett, Willem De Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Weldon Kees, Douglas MacAgy, Bea Mandelman, Conrad Marca-Relli, Agnes Martin, Robert McChesney, David Park, Ad Reinhardt, Louis Ribak, Hassel Smith, Clay Spohn, Clyfford Still, and Esteban Vicente.
Biographical / Historical:
Mary Fuller McChesney (1922- ) is a sculptor and art historian of San Francisco and Petaluma, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 58 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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art historians -- California -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Luchita Hurtado conducted 1994 May 1-1995 Apr. 13, by Amy Winter and Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project.
1994 May 1 session: The interview focuses on Hurtado's family background; years with her second husband, artist and collector Wolfgang Paalen; the surrealist artist group, Dynaton, living and traveling in Mexico with Paalen, moving to San Francisco and her relationships with artists, collectors; influences on her painting; and Surrealism. Among those mentioned are Rufino and Olga Tamayo, Isamu Noguchi, Gordon Onslow Ford, Jacqueline Johnson, Frida Kahlo, Remedios Varos, Leonora Carrington, Edward James, Lucienne Bloch, Stephen Dimitroff, Grace McCann Morley, Sybil Moholy-Nagy, Jack and Frank Stauffacher, James Broughton, Rene d'Harnoncourt, Julius Karlebach, Herbert (Joe) Spinden, and Robert Motherwell.
April 13, 1995 session: Hurtado continues with a focus on the California years, discussing her reasons for settling there, the Dynaton group and her circle of friends; her third husband, Lee Mullican; the birth of her son Matthew Mullican; her work; California and Mexican imagery; importance of experience and senses, particularly smell, to her creativity and work; importance of her family; and difficulties of pursuing art as a career for a woman, wife and mother; and life in Taos, N.M. She recalls Jean Varda, Shiela and Giles Healey, Mary and Paul Wescher, and Joyce Kozloff.
Biographical / Historical:
Luchita Hurtado (1920-2020) was a painter from Santa Monica, Calif. and Arroyo Seco, N.M. She was born in Caracas, Venezuela.
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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Women artists -- California -- Interviews Search this
Egg and Eye Gallery and Restaurant (Los Angeles, Calif.) Search this
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
153 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
1993 March 9-September 7
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Edith Wyle conducted 1993 March 9-September 7, by Sharon K. Emanuelli, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project.
Wyle speaks of her family background and her early education and interests; her studies at U.C. Berkeley and UCLA; her marriage to Frank Wyle; her friendship with Rico Lebrun; the cultural scene in Los Angeles between 1940 and 1970; the founding of the Egg and the Eye restaurant and gallery; and the founding of the Craft and Folk Art Museum and its development over the years.
Biographical / Historical:
Edith R. Wyle (1918-1999) was an arts administrator and painter from Los Angeles, California. Established Egg and the Eye Gallery and Restaurant in Los Angeles in 1964 and oversaw its transformation in 1973 into the Craft and Folk Art Museum, for which she was Director and then Program director until 1984. Wyle also is a painter, and had a close friendship with Rico Lebrun.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 16 digital wav files. Duration is 8 hrs., 8 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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Women artists -- California -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Sponsor:
Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
An interview of Beatrice Wood conducted 1992 March 2, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project.
Wood speaks of her memories of Gertrud & Otto Natzler and getting involved with ceramics; the future of art in America; and women in art.
Biographical / Historical:
Beatrice Wood (1893-1998) was a ceramist from Ojai, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 21 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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
3 Sound cassettes (Sound recording (60 min. each), analog)
51 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1995 Mar. 2-21
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Claire Falkenstein conducted 1995 Mar.2-21, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project, in Falkenstein's studio, Venice, Calif.
Falkenstein discusses the evolution of her work; the benefit of being alone to her personal and artistic growth; her "vocabulary of art" which she created while at the University of California at Berkeley; her largest commission at St. Basil's Cathedral in Los Angeles and her views on religion and art; the influence on her of George Lusk, a visiting artist and philosopher from Paris; studying the nude figure and how it taught her personal expression; her family background and introduction to art; teaching in the Bay Area at the California School of Fine Arts; her friendships with other artists there such as Clyfford Still; her reasons for leaving the Bay Area to go to Paris; and meeting Michel Tapie and the Stadler Gallery group. She recalls Karl Appel, Martha Jackson, Clyfford Still, Sam Francis, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Claire Falkenstein (1908-1997) was a sculptor of Venice, Calif.
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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Women artists -- California -- Interviews Search this
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Names:
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
28 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1989 September 10
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Miriam Schapiro conducted 1989 September 10, by Ruth Gurin Bowman, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project.
Biographical / Historical:
Miriam Schapiro (1923- ) is a painter and sculptor from New York, N.Y. and California.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 25 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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Women artists -- California -- Interviews Search this
Women artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Names:
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
120 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1989 September 2-3
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Rachel Rosenthal conducted 1989 September 2-3, by Moira Roth, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project, in Los Angeles, Calif. Rosenthal recounts growing up in Paris; her family; their flight from Paris in 1940; living in Brazil; moving to New York in 1941; her choice to go into theatre; involvement with Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Jasper Johns; dancing with Cunninham's Jr. Co.; early work in sculpture; moving to Los Angeles in 1955; working at the Pasadena Playhouse; the start of the Circle Workshop; King Moody and Instant Theatre; return to visual art in 1971; the 1972 Cal Arts conference on women artists; involvement with Womanspace and the feminist movement; interest in performance and its conceptual aspects; performance pieces; workshops; the founding of DBD; and her most recent performance and tours. She recalls Josine Ianco-Starrels, Barbara Smith, Betye Saar, June Wayne, Judy Chicago, and Mimi Jacobs. Also included is a 2 p. addendum prepared by Rosenthal, 1993, which briefly summarizes events in her life since the interview.
Biographical / Historical:
Rachel Rosenthal (1926- ) is a performance artist from California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 26 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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Performance artists -- California -- Interviews Search this
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Names:
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
90 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1990 Mar. 16-Sept. 27
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Suzanne Lacy conducted 1990 Mar. 16-Sept. 27, by Moira Roth, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project, in Berkeley, Calif.
Lacy discusses her childhood; early undergraduate work in zoology and medicine at California State University, Fresno; her decision to study in the feminist art program under Judy Chicago; her feminist activities at California Insitute for the Arts with Miriam Schapiro; her role in the women's art movement in Los Angeles; the evolution of her work as a performance artist and specific pieces performed in Los Angeles, La Jolla, Ithaca, N.Y., and Minneapolis.
Biographical / Historical:
Suzanne Lacy (1945- ) is performance artist from California.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 39 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. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
