Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Peter Hutchinson

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.hutchi67
Creators:
Hutchinson, Peter A., 1930-
Seckler, Dorothy Gees, 1910-1994
Dates:
1967 July 27
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Cassette
Sound recording (ca. 30 min.)
analog
17 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Peter Hutchinson conducted 1967 July 27, by Dorothy Seckler, for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Hutchinson speaks of his childhood and early education in the English countryside; his subsequent time spent in the army; his decision to move to the states and attend college in Illinois; his artistic destiny realized during his first year in college; his seven year experience working his way through college; his time spent in Italy in the early 60's; his early mathematic, Nevelson-like wood works; his relationship to the Jack Daniels Gallery and the "nucleus of thought" consisting of Sol LeWitt , Robert Smithson, Tadaaki Kuwayama; his feelings as to the blurred line between art and writing; the stimulation process involved in all art forms; his creative process consisting primarily of thought; his progression from construction, to painting, to painting on shaped canvas and wood; the requisite direct relationship between art and the artist; his position on the contemporary debate over the supremacy of painting or sculpture; his prediction that Judd and Morris are painting themselves into a corner; the importance of artistic dialogue; the possibility of a redefinition of humanism; his interest in Science Fiction and his recent publication of "Is there Life on Earth;" the importance of "thinking in reverse;" his decision in recent years to replace personal references with personal shapes; his opposition to the term creativity; his similar position to McLuhan with his belief in every man as an artist; his foresight of an eventual "devaluation of monetary attainment;" and his belief that art (self-expression) will always exist in one form or another. Hutchinson discusses his work and its development, and he comments upon the aesthetic climate of the day. He discourses on science fiction.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Peter A. Hutchinson (1930- ) is a sculptor from Provincetown, Mass.

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 administrators.

Digital Content


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Humanism in art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kuwayama, Tadaaki, 1932- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Judd, Donald, 1928-1994 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Morris, Robert, 1931-2018 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithson, Robert Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McLuhan, Marshall, 1911-1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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