Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Robert David Brady

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.brady08
Creators:
Brady, Robert, 1946-
Riedel, Mija, 1958-
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Dates:
2008 March 10-12
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
4 Sound discs
Sound recording (6 hr., 47 min.)
digital
2 5/8 in.
107 Pages
Transcipt
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Robert David Brady conducted 2008 March 10-12, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Berkeley, California.
Scope and Contents
Brady speaks of growing up in Reno, Nevada and developing a fondness for the desert and mountain environment around him; his first discovery and fascination with clay during junior high; a deep interest in symbols and the abstraction of language and how he has incorporated that into his work; studying art at California College of Arts and Crafts; continuing on to Mills College for graduate school; being drafted into the war and having to postpone his attendance to Mills College; finishing a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Davis; wanting to become a college professor; teaching at California State University in Sacramento; wanting to depart from dependency on the vessel; exploring with figurative objects; abandoning the vessel and adapting an interest in object making and mixed media; the influence of Mexico, in particular, the imagery of the Day of the Dead, on his work; firing techniques he learned in Mexico; the influence from Hal Riegger toward his education and development; specific works and the inspiration and process behind them; his departure from clay and experimenting with wood; various shows and his experiences working with different galleries and curators; his trip to Guatemala and the emergence of angels and other religious motif in his work; other traveling experiences and the influence each had on his work; his desire to return to clay and continue making pots; the craft community; the influence of Japanese pots; his personal beliefs toward academically trained and non-academically trained artists; and his opinion toward various art and craft magazines. Brady also recalls Vernon Coykendall, Robert Arneson, William Wiley, Manuel Neri, Debbie Butterfield, John Buck, Dick Notkin, Nancy Rubins, Roy de Forest, Hal Riegger, Dale Chihuly, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Robert David Brady (1946- ) is a sculptor of wood and ceramics and a teacher from Berkeley, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer from 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.
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 14 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 47 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sculptors -- California -- Berkeley -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Guatemala -- Description and Travel Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ceramics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arneson, Robert, 1930-1992 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Buck, John, 1946- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Butterfield, Deborah, 1949- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chihuly, Dale, 1941- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coykendall, Vernon Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Forest, Roy, 1930-2007 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Neri, Manuel, 1930- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notkin, Richard Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Riegger, Hal, 1921- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rubins, Nancy, 1952- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wiley, William T., 1937-2021 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
California College of Arts and Crafts (San Francisco, Calif.) -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
California State University, Sacramento -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mills College -- Students Corporate 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
University of California, Davis -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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