All interviews in this collection are open.
All transcripts are located on-site. Box 7 (containing all audiocassettes) is located off-site.
The Research Center for Arts and Culture oral history collection documents the experiences of artists, craftspeople, painters, actors, and related professionals, particularly as they relate to the arts as a career.
The interview questions were designed around what the project members termed a "multistage validation sequence" that would trace the artists' experience from early childhood through mature careers. As a part of this model, the areas that the interviews address are education, training, preparation to career entry, peers and colleagues, marketplace judgments, critical evaluation and public response, and career satisfaction and maturity. The study strove to include diverse participants in terms of gender, ethnicity, age, and stage of career.
Other themes frequently discussed include the use of other jobs to supplement a career in the arts, aging, Actors' Equity, materials used in crafts, and the very meaning of having a career in the arts. Related professionals interviewed in the course of the project include museum curators, art historians, critics, dealers, managers, directors, producers, and union representatives.
Sixty-eight of the collection's 138 interviews have been transcribed.
Interviews are arranged in one series, alphabetically by last name of narrator.
All interviews in this collection are open.
All transcripts are located on-site. Box 7 (containing all audiocassettes) is located off-site.
For the majority of the interviews, copyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 1990-1993. Narrators who maintained copyright are noted at the interview level.
American Craftspeople Oral History Collection, Columbia Center for Oral History Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University.
Research Center for Arts and Culture, Gift, 1991-1993.
The interviews of this collection were donated to the Oral History Research Office by the Research Center for Arts and Culture in three segments between 1991 and 1993.
The first donation (1991) consisted of interviews with 34 craft artists and 14 related experts. The second donation (1992) was comprised of 35 interviews with painters and 15 related experts. The third donation (1993) contained 39 interviews related to acting.
Columbia University Libraries, Oral History Archives at Columbia
Collection processed 07/2015 DAO
2015-12-15 xml document instance created by David A. Olson.
2019-06-08 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
The interviews of the Research Center for Arts and Culture oral history collection were conducted by the Research Center for Arts and Culture at Columbia University from 1990 to 1993. The Artist Training and Career Project, of which the interviews were a part, sought to systematically analyze the career paths, training, and job satisfaction of people working in the arts. In addition to the interviews, the project's inquiry included a detailed survey was sent to 6,133 actors, 4,000 craftspeople, and 2,000 painters. Portions of interviews were published in three books, edited by Joan Jeffri, the Director of the Research Center for Arts and Culture:The Craftsperson Speaks,The Painter Speaks, andThe Actor Speaks. The project was supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Actors' Equity Association.
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Copyright held by Alan Alda.
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PART 1: Childhood in Cape Cod, parents, family, Swedish heritage; First experiences with art; Elementary school, first art teacher, art club; High school; Becoming an artist; Study at Massachusetts College of Arts, introduction to glassblowing, peers; Dale Chihooley; Role models; Trip to Sweden; First job in glass studio, Dan Dailey, finances; Glass blowing: materials, relationship, practice; Goals as artist; Showcasing work, Rhinebeck Crafts Fair (ACE Fair of Springfield); Art organizations, national and local; Professional recognition; Imporance of Pilchuk; Life as artist; Artistic peers. PART 2: Job history, creation of studio, supplementary work; Study in Sweden, hospital job; Factory work, Salamandre glass factory; Moving to Seattle; Building own studio; Retrospective view of career; Dick Weiss; Aspirations; Personal finances; Awards and grants; Physical location of work spaces; Effect of climate on work; Destiny as artist; Relation to public; Gallery work, William Traber Gallery; Teaching, Appalachia center for the Crafts, Haystack, Pilchuk; Feelings on successfulness as artist; Styles in work; Reflections on career, personal life; Effect of marketplace on work; Advice to young artists.
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Side A: First experiences with acting: roles in religious plays; work with theater as ministry; first work as composer; family and childhood: parents' occupation and religious beliefs; musical talent: meeting Fats Waller, music lessons; religious beliefs: becoming a devote fundamentalist, work in revivals; attending Swarthmore College; siblings: younger brother; early opposition to segregation, parents' thoughts on segregation; mentors in youth; early career aspirations; college education: hunger for learning, English and Philosophy studies, attending Union Theological Seminary at Columbia; recollections of the theater world in the 1960s: work at Judson, Cino, LaMama, work with people: Sam Shepherd, Irene Fornas, Paul Goodman; relationship of church and theater; influence of commercialism on theater work; work as an acting teacher/mentor; relationship to theater organizations; role in Theater for the Deaf: learning ASL; writing script for Theater for the Handicapped 'The Making of America', role as Gertrude Stein; artistic mentors and role models: Larry Kornfeld, Paul Tillich, Samuel Beckett; artistic and religious peers: Tom Driver, Bob Seever, Amos Wilder, Joe Chaikin, Jacques Levy; recognition from younger actors; gatekeepers in career: critics: Clive Barnes, Edith Oliver, Joe Papp; commission from Metropolitan Opera; relationship to money throughout career; effect of marketplace on theater; thoughts on making a career in theater. SIDE B: Receiving grants, importance of grants; influence on other actors' careers: making casting decisions; interaction with public; responding to social issues in artistic work; definition of success in career; next artistic goals: interest in writing an American opera; teaching work; greatest satisfaction and disappointment in career; thoughts on occupation versus career; occupation as minister; advice for young artists.
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SIDE A: Initial experiences with art; childhood: family, parents' occupations; education: art classes; first experiences with oil paints; drawing: drawing sessions; becoming an 'professional artist'; education at a junior college; early struggles with work; first marriage; influence of friends and colleagues; mentors and role models; discouragements in early career; discussion of painting materials: oil paints, printmaking; choosing to devote full-time to painting; relationship to artists' organizations: thoughts on unionization of artists. SIDE B: First professional recognition; artistic peers; thoughts on occupation versus career; work as writer; moving to Montana; patterns/periods in artistic work; barriers/setbacks in career; thoughts on success in the arts; major turning points in career: Tom McGuane; relationship to finances throughout career; costs of supporting yourself as an artist; thoughts on physical location and work space; interactions with public; criteria for success; ideas/themes in work: landscapes; critical review of work; opportunity to paint for the White House: George Bush; major frustrations in career; effect of marketplace on work; changes in materials during career: cadmium paints; advice for young artists.
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SIDE A: Early interest in art and artists; family: work with Bureau of Indian Affairs, life on reservations; grandmother: early experiences with pottery; attending College of Santa Fe: interest in arts; first work with pottery; family life; education in art; relationship to other artists; work with materials: painting, drawing, clay; role models: grandmother; reflections on career path; competition in the art world; reflections on English degree; involvement in artistic organizations; administration work; critical reflections on work; gatekeepers in career; major turning points in career; teaching on reservation: Head Start; Tough Cachina series; relationship to money throughout career; effect of marketplace on art world: competition between older and younger artists; awards in career: certificate of recognition for teaching pottery. SIDE B: Interaction with the public; critical review of work; reflections on success in career; themes throughout career; greatest satisfactions and disappointments in career; effect of marketplace on work; advice for young artists; wife's work as photographer; life in Albuquerque versus life on the reservation.
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Side A: Initial experiences in acting, growing up in Ireland, early education: elocution class, family: siblings, parents' occupation, decision to become an actress, joining the Gary Olden Players, Annie Doulton Players, MacMaster Company, working with other actors: Harold Pinter, Ken Haig, Barry Foster, playing Queen of Ireland in a pageant on Tara Hill, joining the actors' union, moving to United States: job with Shakespeare Under the Stars, work with Shakespeare, love for theater, difficulty finding work, thoughts on 'career', family life: children, working with children, moving back to Ireland, moving to New Jersey, most fulfilling experiences: 'Ulysses in Nighttime' with Burgess Meredith and Zero Mostel, Sean O'Casey, Antioch Shakespeare, advice for young actors.
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Copyright held by Peter Halley.
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SIDE A: Family and early childhood, parents' occupations, siblings, upbringing in the Bronx, NYC, attending High School of Music and Art, early interest in arts, early successes in the arts: Society of Illustrators competition, reflections on being an artist, marriage and children, attending Cooper Union, friends in college, artistic role models, influential teacher: Stefano Crusimano, relationship to artistic mediums and materials, first jobs in the arts, freelance illustration work, career goals, participation in artistic organizations: Artist Craftsmen of New York, Society of Connecticut Craftsmen, reflections on arts shows, work in exhibit in the American Craft Museum, beginning of professional recognition as an artist, work as jury in art shows, work in exhibit in Bellas Artes Gallery: curated by Jacklin Orlarson, reflections on unionization of artists, artistic peers: Ilene Richardson, Barbara Natoly-Wick, influence of mother's death on artwork, reflections on occupation and career. SIDE B: Freelance work, work in America House in NY, one-person show at Silvermine Artists Guild, work with commissions, reflections on career goals, reflections on turning point in career: transparent sculpture work, relationship to money, cost of artistic materials, work in slides and photography, artistic awards and honors: National Endowment for the Arts grant, work as teacher and lecturer, reflections on physical space and location on work, interaction with public, reflections on success as an artist, themes in artistic work, reflections on periods in artistic work, reflections on critical review of work, reflections on career, technical difficulties in working with artistic materials, reflections on being a 'crafts person', effect of marketplace on work, reflections on relationship to artistic materials over time, advice for young artists.
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SIDE A: First involvement in the arts, Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, family and childhood, first contact with the arts in university, reflections on lack of good arts education in primary and secondary schools, encouragement of children's art education, opinions of parents on art career, discouragement from pursuing an art career, undergraduate education in English literature, self-education in art, preferred artistic medium, experiences with weaving and calligraphy, role models, Yvonne Bianco, marriage, family life, sons' careers, artistic aspirations, reflections on competition in the art world, reflections on the arts and commercialism, work as judge in an art contest, work in arts organizations, Governor's Award for Art, National American Craft Council, work as arts patron, Oregon Symphony, work as spokeswoman for the crafts movement, reflections on arts collecting, artistic judgment as an arts collector, influence of outside opinions on art collecting, outside encouragement for involvement in crafts, relationship to husband, reflections on influence of outside people, reflections on major turning points in career as an artist and patron, relationship to finances, influence of the marketplace on the arts and crafts world, reflections on honors and awards, Hilda Morris, influence on other artists' careers, relationship to public, initiative for arts education, reflections on success, major concerns and interests in life: conservancy [National Board of the Nature Conservancy, Conservation International], art education in schools, classical music, children. SIDE B: reflections on greatest satisfaction and frustration in the arts world, influence of marketplace on art support work, self-description of occupation, advice for young artists.
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First experiences with theater, study at California School of Fine Arts; childhood, influence of Disney films, family, living in a lighthouse; High school, experiences with art; First work on displays, window displays, opera workshop, Henry Newbert; Work with Actors' Workshop, Herbert Blau, Jules Irving; Role models, Sacramento Music Circus, Peter Mass, Fred Lerner, Joel Grey; Work in off-Broadway productions, Arena Stage; Influence of literature, intellectual theatre; Work with directors, Gary Champion, Michael Bennet, Tom O'Horgan; Thoughts on relationship between set design and play; Relationship with actors; Retrospective on career, Hair; Involvement with theatre organizations; Thoughts on opera; Thoughts on own professional work; Being a part of the establishment; Financial considerations in career; Effect of marketplace on theatre; Thoughts on genuine/commercial theatre; Making a living in theatre; Work in film; Awards and grants, Rockefeller Fund; Thoughts on critical review of work; Thoughts on success; Thoughts on the importance of theatre, political theatre; Future aspirations in career, producing, writing; Future of theatre and audiences, theatre training, schools; Effect of AIDS on theatre; Advice to young actors.
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SIDE A: Childhood; Initial experiences with acting, high school theatre; Family, parents' support for career, brothers, School, study ethics, theatre work in high school, peers, involvement in speech and forensics, National Forensics League, influence on career; San Francisco State University, work at Golden Gate Theater; Move to New York; First Broadway work in La Cage aux Folles; Move to L.A.; First interest in TV and film; Acting classes, Donald Hotten, acting technique, thoughts on philosophy of acting; Racial barrier, treatment of Asian-American actors in industry; Play: M Butterfly, Goals for acting career; Involvement in acting organizations, Committee on Racial Equality, Equity Council; Miss Saigon controversy, Asian Pacific Alliance for Creative Equality; Non-traditional casting, influence of media on race. SIDE B: Thoughts on personal career, casting; Role in M. Butterfly, influence of role on career; Film roles after M. Butterfly, The Freshman, Father of the Bridge; Theatre roles, Bondage. Retrospective on career and roles; Crossover between theatre and film; Audition process, casting directors; Aspirations for future, new production company; Choice of roles, conflict of personal and financial considerations for roles, creative challenges; Financial considerations, awards or grants; Interaction with public; Work in Peter Pan; Thoughts on critical review of work, critics; Thoughts on success; Thoughts on most satisfying work in career; Advice to young actors.
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SIDE A: Childhood experiences in the arts, parents, brother's career as sculpture, grade school education, grade school art classes, preferred art materials and forms, becoming an artist, undergraduate education, graduate education, mentors, influential college professor, work habits and mental discipline, training and preparation for career as an artist, future goals, thoughts on the meaning of success, feelings on the unionization for artists, first professional recognition as an artist, Kathy Holbright, David Ross, Museum School, peers in the art world, occupation versus career, work as secretary, job history, reflections on career choices. SIDE B: Reflections on sexism and gender distinctions in undergraduate education, major turning points in career, relationship to work and finances, importance of work space and living space on career, happiness as an artist, criteria for success as an artist, central ideas in artistic work, satisfaction with artistic career, frustrations with work in the studio, reflections on greatest success and greatest disappoint in career, effect of marketplace on work, thoughts on art schools, advice for younger artists.
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