Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Al Hansen

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.hansen73
Creators:
Hansen, Al, 1927-1995
Cummings, Paul
Dates:
1973 November 6-13
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2 Sound tape reels
Sound recording
5 in.
112 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Interview of Al Hansen conducted 1973 November 6-13, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Hansen traces his personal history, recalling his childhood and early education in Queens; his service in the armed forces; and jobs he held in social work, advertising, off-Broadway theater, and art galleries. He describes taking classes with John Groth at the Art Students League in the 1940s; with Reuben Nakian at Pratt in the 1950s; and with John Cage at the New School in 1958. He also discusses the rise of New York as an art center; his interest in film; his involvement in experimental sound and music; his approach to creating Happenings and that of other artists; organizing poetry readings at the Epitome Coffee Shop; his Hershey bar wrapper collages; the writing of his book, "A Primer of Happenings and Space Time Art," (New York: Something Else Press 1965); his interactions with Fluxus and George Maciunas; participating in the "Below Zero" show at the Reuben Gallery in 1959; attending the Destruction In Art symposium in London in 1966; and his recent exhibitions in Germany. People he recalls include Tony Smith; Pauline Goldfine [ph]; Dick Higgins; Wolf Vostell; Larry Poons; Allan Kaprow; Claes Oldenburg; Don McCarey [ph]; Jim Dine; George Brecht; Jackson Mac Low; James Waring; Marisol Escobar; Ivan Karp; Bob Watts; George Segal; Judith Dunn; Bob Dunn; Jan Müller; Nam June Paik; Raphael Ortiz; Charlotte Moorman; and Lettie Lou Eisenhauer.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Al Hansen (1927-1995) was an artist from New York, New York. Founder of Fluxus art movement and one of the first Happenings artists.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for the transcription of this interview provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Women's Committee.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These interviews are 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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Fluxus (Group of artists) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, American Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Study and teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Happenings (Art) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brecht, George Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Callahan, Harry M. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dine, Jim, 1935- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dunn, Bob Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dunn, Judith Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eisenhauer, Lette Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Goldfine, Pauline Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Groth, John, 1908-1988 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Higgins, Dick, 1938-1998 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kaprow, Allan Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Maciunas, George, 1931-1978 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mac Low, Jackson Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marisol, 1930-2016 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McCarey, Don Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Moorman, Charlotte Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Müller, Jan, 1922-1958 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nakian, Reuben, 1897-1986 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oldenburg, Claes, 1929- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ortiz, Rafael Montanez Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Paik, Nam June, 1932- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Poons, Larry Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Segal, George Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smith, Tony, 1912-1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Vostell, Wolf, 1932-1998 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Waring, James, 1922-1975 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Watts, Robert, 1923-1988 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y.) -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pratt Institute -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reuben Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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