Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Peter Alexander

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.alexan95
Creators:
Alexander, Peter, 1939-
Karlstrom, Paul J.
Dates:
1995 December 13-1996 May 8
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
117 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Peter Alexander conducted 1995 December 13-1996 May 8, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
This interview begins with an account of Alexander's family and educational background, including his study of architecture with Richard Neutra and further study in Philadelphia, London, and at USC, Los Angeles. He recalls working for architect William Pereira; his first New York exhibition; Robert Elkon and Leo Castelli, Los Angeles artists, the Hollywood connection; and Los Angeles in the 1960s. Alexander discusses the differences between New York and Los Angeles art worlds; his attachment to southern California; his arrogance in resisting the New York system and all it implied. He goes on to describe himself as a pagan, senusualist, and voyeur, qualities that inform his work, as does entertainment and popular culture.
Scope and Contents
Autobiographical in quality, his work embodies the notion of personality and character in determining his expression. He further discusses lessons learned from the old masters, the idea of artists as manipulators and art as voyeurism. Alexander considers his possible placement as a contemporary symbolist, contrasting his work to other current art which he sees as cynical. Finally, he claimed to see a new context and position for his art as a result of the interview, providing fresh insight into his activity as an artist.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Peter Alexander (1939- ) is a sculptor from Los Angeles, California.

Administration

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.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
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 the transcription provided by the Pasadena Art Alliance.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Funding for this interveiw provided by Pasadena Art Alliance

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 7 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 12 digital wav file. Duration is 6 hrs., 7 minutes.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sculptors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pereira, William L., 1909-1985 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Elkon, Robert, 1928-1983 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Alexander, Peter, 1939- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Castelli, Leo Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Neutra, Richard Joseph, 1892-1970 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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