Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Henry Halem

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.halem05
Creators:
Halem, Henry
Warmus, William, 1953-
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Dates:
2005 May 14
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
81 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Henry Halem conducted 2005 May 14, by William Warmus, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Kent, Ohio.
Scope and Contents
Halem speaks of his family background and growing up in the Bronx; learning to throw pots; taking art classes as a child; attending the Rhode Island School of Design and studying ceramics; joining the National Guard; his interest in music; working as resident craftsman at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; attending George Washington University; exhibiting at the Renwick Gallery; opening a gallery and studio in Alexandria, Virginia.; transferring to the University of Wisconsin for his graduate degree; and becoming Harvey Littleton's glass studio assistant. Halem also speaks of Harvey Littleton's teaching methods; teaching at Kent State University; learning the glass making process; making goblets and glass castings; making political pieces; selling work to the Corning Museum of Glass; forming the Glass Art Society; the studio glass community; getting color into glass; how the Glass Art Society has changed; his teaching method; exhibiting his artwork; how his technique changed during his career; writing his book, "Glass Notes"; visiting glass studios in Europe; his friendship with artists Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova; influences on his artwork; and working with enamel. Halem also recalls Peter Voulkos, Don Reitz, Fritz Dreisbach, Erwin Eisch, Dominick Labino, Marvin Lipofsky, Mark Peiser, Audrey Handler, Dale Chihuly, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Henry Halem (1938- ) is a glass artist from Kent, Ohio. William Warmus is a writer and curator.

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 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 12 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Decorative arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glass artists -- Ohio Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glass art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glass Art Society 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

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