Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Peter Cramer and Jack Waters

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.cramer07
Creators:
Cramer, Peter Francis
Kirwin, Liza
Waters, Jack
Dates:
2007 September 6-October 9
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
73 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Peter Cramer and Jack Waters conducted 2007 September 6 and October 9, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art, in conjunction with the Artists' Spaces Archives Project, at Allied Productions, Inc. Studio in New York, New York.
Scope and Contents
Cramer and Waters, former co-directors of ABC No Rio, speak of their family and educational backgrounds; dance studies; forming their own company POOL (Performance On One Leg) and their "umbrella" non-profit group Allied Productions; their performance "Seven Days of Creation" at ABC No Rio; "crisis management" of ABC No Rio's building at 156 Rivington Street; Colab [Collaborative Projects]; residents in the building including Bobby G and the Acosta family; programs located at ABC No Rio's including the Naked Eye Cinema, Open Mike, Z Club, hardcore Matinee (punk music), and others; seeking grants; incorporating as a non-profit organization; fostering a queer aesthetic; AIDS and the art community; ABC No Rio's traveling exhibitions and performances; gentrification on the Lower East Side; ongoing conflicts with New York City's Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (owner of the building); management of ABC No Rio's Board; community outreach; NEA funding and the "culture wars"; and the "burnout factor" of running ABC No Rio. They also recall Lou Acierno, Charas/El Bohio Cultural and Community Center, Christa Gamper, Carl George, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Becky Howland, Joan Karlen, Michael Keane, George Kurtti, Alan Moore, The Pyramid Club, Arlene Schloss, Kiki Smith, Brad Taylor, Brian Taylor, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Peter Cramer is an interactivist artist from New York, New York. Jack Waters is a media artist from New York, New York. Liza Kirwin is the curator of manuscripts at the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for the interview was provided by Artists' Spaces Archives, New York, New York. 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


Using the Collection

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

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 22 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Multimedia artists -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American societies Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gonzalez-Torres, Felix, 1957-1996 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Moore, Alan Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Acierno, Lou Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gamper, Christa Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
George, Carl Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Karlen, Joan Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Howland, Becky Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Keene, Michael Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kurtti, George Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schloss, Arlene Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smith, Kiki, 1954- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taylor, Brad Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taylor, Brian Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Collaborative Projects, Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
ABC No Rio (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New York (N.Y.). Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artist's Spaces Archives Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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