Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Demi

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.demi97
Creators:
Demi, 1955-
Martínez, Juan A.
Dates:
1997 November 20
Languages:
Interview is in Spanish.
Physical Description:
22 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Demi conducted 1997 November 20, by Juan A. Martínez, in Demi's home/studio, Miami, Florida, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Demi speaks of her birthplace, Camaguey, Cuba; the death of her father in 1960, and being sent to Puerto Rico in 1971; her move to New York, and arrival in Miami in 1978; her theater studies at Miami Dade Community College. She recalls an opening at the Meeting Point Gallery in Coral Gables in 1980, where she met her husband, painter Arturo Rodriguez. She talks about her first painting in 1984, the role Arturo plays in her life, her first exhibition at the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in 1987, and the importance of touching the human spirit.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Demi (1955- ) is a painter from Miami, Florida. Demi (who uses only her first name) is a self-taught artist born in Cuba. Her husband is the painter Arturo Rodriguez.

Administration

Sponsor
This interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. The translation of this interview transcript was provided by Oksana Salamatina.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript 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 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 9 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painters -- Florida -- Miami Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Latino and Latin American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cuban American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cuban American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, Modern Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Self-taught artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rodríguez, Arturo, 1956- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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