An interview with Minoru Yamasaki conducted by Virginia Harriman.
Yamasaki discusses his philosophy of architecture; his belief that architecture should be based on human experience; and his design of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Using architectural models present at the interview, Yamasaki discusses several of his architectural projects, including the Conservatory of Music for Oberlin College; the Michigan Consolidated Gas Company, it being the first high building built in Detroit in some years, building to convey a sense of upwardness; World Agricultural Fair for India (temporary) opening December 11, 1959, participating with other countries, Trade Fair Building, exhibit entitled "Mala U.S.A." [Mala means fair in Indian], showing a series of different experiences at a country fair; St. Louis Air Terminal; Benjamin Franklin Junior High School; Wayne Education Building; McGregor Building; Daran Air Terminal (Arabia); trying to be consistent in buildings; Gothic arch; learning from the past about qualities one seeks in architecture; being true to technology; Japanese architecture; serene buildings; machine-made buildings; and limiting himself to public buildings.
Biographical / Historical:
Minoru Yamasaki (1912-1986) was a Japanese American architect based in Detroit, Michigan.
Personal and business correspondence, 1958-1972; a curriclum vitae and other biographical data; commission files containing correspondence, photos, and blueprints; files on competitions, speaking engagements, teaching assignments, and seminars; sketches, drawings, and illustrations for publications; photographs; exhibition catalogs and announcements; clippings; and articles. Among the correspondents are sculptor Jan Peter Sterne, architect Minoru Yamasaki, weavers Lee Naiman, Marie Mouliniere and Claire Rado, the Little Gallery (Birmingham, Mich.), Lee Nordness Galleries, Bertha Schaefer Gallery, and the Ann Jacobs Gallery.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor, assemblage artist and art instructor, Birmingham, Mich. Born Spokane, Wash. Studied at Yale University School of Music, Eastern Washington University and the Cranbrook Academy under Zoltan Sepeshy. Taught at Cranbrook, Wayne State University and University of Windsor.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1974 by Glen Michaels.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- Michigan -- Birmingham Search this
Assemblage artists -- Michigan -- Birmingham Search this
1.2 Linear feet ((ca. 700 items partially microfilmed on two reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1968-1977 and [undated]
Scope and Contents:
Photographs by Roxanne Everett, of artists fabricating and installing their sculpture at Lippincott, Inc., and other sites.
REEL 1400: 23 photographs including: Robert Breer, Ellsworth Kelly, Donald Lippincott, Clement Meadmore, Robert Morris, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Claes Oldenburg, Lucas Samaras, George Sugarman, and Minoru Yamasaki.
REEL 1875: 79 photographs including: Robert McIntyre Doty, Jean Dubuffet, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, David McKee, Clement L. Meadmore, Robert Murray, Forest Warden Myers, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosati, Lucas Samaras, George Sugarman, and others.
UNMICROFILMED: 593 photographs, among them ca. 300 of Claus Oldenburg, and many of Robert Murray, George Sugarman, Louise Nevelson, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosati, Ellsworth Kelly, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
North Haven, Ct. Founded in 1966 by Donald B. Lippincott as a place for artists to create large sculptures and receive help in transportation and installation of their work.
Provenance:
Photographs on reel 1400 donated 1974 by Roxanne Everett and Donald B. Lippincott; those on reel 1875 donated 1978 by Everett. Unmicrofilmed photographs donated by Roxanne Everett, October 4, 1983.
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.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Jonathan Lippincott. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.
![view Minoru Yamasaki interview, [ca. 1959 Aug.] digital asset number 1](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=170&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/thbtrans.gif)
![view Minoru Yamasaki interview digital asset: Minoru Yamasaki interview, [ca. 1959 Aug.], Transcript](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=170&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/electronicresource.gif "Minoru Yamasaki interview, [ca. 1959 Aug.], Transcript")
![View Minoru Yamasaki interview digital asset: Minoru Yamasaki interview, [ca. 1959 Aug.], Transcript](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=120&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/electronicresource.gif "Minoru Yamasaki interview, [ca. 1959 Aug.], Transcript")
