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Oral history interview with Fred Martin

Archives of American Art

Object Details

General
Originally recorded on 8 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hrs., 9 min.
Interviewee
Martin, Fred, 1927-
Interviewer
St. John, Terry
Names
San Francisco Art Institute
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970
Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980
Topic
Abstract expressionism
Collagists -- California -- Interviews
Painters -- California -- Interviews
Provenance
These interviews are 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 others.
Interviewee
Martin, Fred, 1927-
Interviewer
St. John, Terry
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.
Biographical / Historical
Fred Martin (1927- ) is a painter, teacher, and collagist from Oakland, Calif.
Extent
202 Pages (Transcript)
Date
1980 Aug. 27-Sept. 19
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.martin80
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript: 35mm microfilm reel 3417 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Genre/Form
Sound recordings
Interviews
Scope and Contents
An interview of Fred Martin conducted 1980 Aug. 27-Sept. 19, by Terry St. John, for the Archives of American Art.
Martin speaks of his childhood and early artistic influences; his education at the University of California, Berkeley; his rebellion as a student; studying under Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still; teaching art in elementary and high schools; going to work for the Oakland Art Museum; his lack of an identifiable style and its negative impact on his early career; teaching at and becoming director of the San Francisco Art Institute; leaving there and teaching at the University of California, Berkeley; the influence of abstract expressionism on his work; his work in collage; his travels; the influence of "dynamic symmetry"; the current art market.
Restrictions
Transcript: Use requires an appointment.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1596267075116-1596267075118-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw920704751-a0d1-4f44-9b7c-13c08d4dcaf9
Oral history interview with Fred Martin, 1980 Aug. 27-Sept. 19, Digital Sound Recording (Excerpt)
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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