Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Neda Al-Hilali

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.alhila06
Creators:
Al-Hilali, Neda, 1938-
Riedel, Mija, 1958-
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Dates:
2006 July 18-19
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
116 Pages
Transcript
22 Items
Sound recording: 22 sound files (7 hr., 46 min.)
digital, wav
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Neda Al-Hilali conducted 2006 July 18-19, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home, in Los Angeles, California.
Scope and Contents
Al-Hilali speaks of her childhood in Czechoslovakia and Bavaria; studying language in London; her experience living in Baghdad, Iraq with her first husband; moving to California and completing her undergraduate and graduate degrees at UCLA; teaching experiences at Scripps College, Claremont Graduate University, California State University Los Angeles, and UCLA; the installation processes of Beach Occurrence with Tongues, Black Passage, the Cassiopeia series, and others; frustrations she encountered with commission work; the rich history of the fiber tradition; travels to Afghanistan, Japan, and Oaxaca, Mexico; achieving gestural and painterly qualities with fiber; the importance of color in textile work in the Middle East; experiences with galleries, including the Hunsaker/Schlesinger Gallery in Santa Monica, California; utilizing a Ouija board for reflection and creative guidance; issues such as global warming and over-development; the status of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule; the gratitude she feels at being a part of the fiber tradition; and plans for the future. Al-Hilali also recalls Bernard Kester, Jim Bassler, Fern Jacobs, Joyce Hunsaker, Alice Simsar, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Neda Al-Hilali (1938- ) is a fiber artist and weaver in Los Angeles, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer in San Francisco, California.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. 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 is available on the Archives of American Art's 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.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 22 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 46 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Fiber artists -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women textile artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women educators Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Decorative arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Climatic changes Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art commissions Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bassler, James W., 1933- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hunsaker, Joyce Badgley Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jacobs, Ferne K. (Ferne Kent), 1942- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kester, Bernard Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Simsar, Alice Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
California State University, Los Angeles -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Claremont Graduate University -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hunsaker/Schlesinger Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scripps College -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taliban Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of California, Los Angeles -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of California, Los Angeles -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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