Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Bruce Conner

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.conner74mar
Creators:
Conner, Bruce, 1933-2008
Karlstrom, Paul J.
Guilbaut, Serge
Dates:
1974 March 29
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
37 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Bruce Conner conducted 1974 March 29, by Paul Karlstrom and Serge Guilbaut, for the Archives of American Art, in San Francisco, California.
Scope and Contents
Interview of Bruce Conner, conducted by Paul Karlstrom and Serge Guilbaut for the Archives of American Art, in San Francisco, on March 29, 1974. Conner speaks of his education and move to San Francisco; the art scene in California in the 1960s; the development and theory behind much of his work; his early paintings and collages; his assemblages; the sculpture A Child [1959] and its showing at the de Young Museum in 1959-60; his interaction with Beat writers; about the coining of the words "beatnik" and "hippie" and subsequent commercial exploitation of the Beat generation; and his attitude towards political protest. He also recalls Michael McClure, Wallace Berman, Ed Kienholz, Jay DeFeo, Wally Hedrick, Allen Ginsberg and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Bruce Conner (1933-2008) was a painter and filmmaker from San Francisco, 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.
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 others.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

More Information

General

General
Poor sound quality due to loud background noise.
General
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 26 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art -- California -- San Francisco Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Beat generation Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bohemianism -- California -- San Francisco Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Experimental films Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Filmmakers -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Berman, Wallace, 1926-1976 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hedrick, Wally, 1928-2003 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kienholz, Edward, 1927- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McClure, Michael Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
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