Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Larry Jordan

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.jordan95
Creators:
Jordan, Larry, 1934-
Karlstrom, Paul J.
Dates:
1995 Dec. 19 - 1996 July 30
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
6 Sound cassettes
Sound recording
analog
100 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Larry Jordan conducted 1995 Dec. 19-1996 July 30, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, at the artist's home, in Petaluma, Calif.
Scope and Contents
Jordan discusses his family background in Denver; his attraction to contemporary avant-garde; his brief time at Harvard, and his mental breakdown and return to Denver; his move to San Francisco in 1954 because of the artistic and literary atmosphere there; meeting Kenneth Rexroth, Robert Duncan and other poets and his initial introduction to the creative community in San Francisco; his friendships with Jordan Belsen, Michael McClure, Wally Hedrick and Jay DeFeo; the San Francisco Renaissance, the beat era, and what it means to be "beat;" the distinction in intensity between bohemianism and the resurrection of the self during the beat era, the social impact of the anti-establishment movement; and the difference between artists and political activists.
Scope and Contents
Jordan discusses his influences and important moments in his experimental film career; the surrealist methods for social changes as seen in film; the west coast filmmakers focus on the interior and mystical; the rivalry in the film world; his association with Bruce Conner and their founding a film society together in 1956 and establishing an experimental theater; meeting Joseph Cornell and his invitation to assist him with films, their time spent together, Cornell as a filmmaker, preparing Cornell boxes, and the influence of Cornell on is own art. He discusses his own art; his role as an artist in society; the religious aspect in his art; his place in the avant-garde film world; the major influences in his art; and the concept of death and the celebration of the mind as a major theme in his film and artwork.
Scope and Contents
He recalls Wallace Berman, Stan Brackage, Bruce Conner, Jay DeFeo, Maya Deren, Robert Duncan, Max Ernst, Allen Ginsberg, Wally Hedrick, George Herms, Jess, Patricia Jordan, Michael McClure, Bruce Nauman, and Kenneth Rexroth.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Larry Jordan (1934- ) is a filmmaker and collagist from Petaluma, Calif.

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.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript available online.
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. Funding for the transcription of this interview provided by the Pasadena Art Alliance.

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
Filmmakers -- California -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Collagists -- California -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Beat generation Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Berman, Wallace, 1926-1976 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brackage, Stan Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Conner, Bruce, 1933-2008 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cornell, Joseph Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Deren, Maya Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Duncan, Robert Edward, 1919- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ernst, Max, 1891-1976 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hedrick, Wally, 1928-2003 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Herms, George, 1935- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jess, 1923- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jordan, Patricia M., 1937-1989 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McClure, Michael Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nauman, Bruce, 1941- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rexroth, Kenneth, 1905-1982 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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