Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with George Condo

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.condo17
Creators:
Condo, George
Lyon, Christopher
Dates:
2017 May 5-June 20
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
5 Items
sound files (3 hr., 19 min.) Audio
digital, wav
88 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview with George Condo conducted 2017 May 5 and June 20, by Christopher Lyon, for the Archives of American Art, at Condo's studio in New York, New York.
Scope and Contents
Condo speaks of his childhood and adolescence in New England; his Italian grandparents and heritage; his early obsession with drawing; the mathematical dimension of his mind; his Catholic upbringing and its influence on his art; exposure to literature, art, and music through his family; his decision to pursue visual art rather than music; the influence of jazz on his approach to making art; his understanding of tradition and originality; the influence of a wide range of literature on his approach to making art; dropping out of Mass College of Art; playing in a Boston punk rock band called The Girls in the late 1970s; moving to New York in 1981; working on Andy Warhol's silk-screening assembly line; moving to Los Angeles in 1982; being shown in Ulrike Kantor's gallery with Roger Herman's help; formative trips to Europe in the 1980s; important romantic relationships; changes in the New York art world in the 1990s; developing the concept of Artificial Realism; and his appreciation for the old masters of painting. Condo also recalls Dawn Clements, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Devo, Mark Dagley, Rupert Smith, Fred Hughes, Susan Tyrrell, Gene Kelly, Willoughby Sharp, Walter Dahn, Bruno Bischofberger, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
George Condo (1957- ) is a contemporary visual artist working in New York, New York. Christopher Lyon (1949- ) is a publisher and writer in Brooklyn, New York.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Lichtenberg Family Foundation.
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


Using the Collection

System Details
Recorded on Tascam DR-100MKII R000330.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jazz Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Music Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photo-realism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Punk rock music Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Europe -- 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
Basquiat, Jean-Michel, 1960-1988 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bishofberger, Bruno Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clements, Dawn Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dagley, Mark Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dahn, Walter, 1954- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Haring, Keith Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Herman, Roger Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hughes, Frederick W., 1943-2001 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kantor, Ulrike Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kelly, Gene, 1912-1996 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sharp, Willoughby Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smith, Rupert Jasen Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tyrrell, Susan Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Warhol, Andy, 1928-1987 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Devo (Musical group) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Massachusetts College of Art -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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