Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Val Laigo

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.laigo89
Creators:
Laigo, Val M., 1930-1992
Lau, Alan Chong
Nakane, Kazuko
Dates:
1989 July 12
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
42 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Val Laigo conducted 1989 July 12, by Alan Lau and Kazuko Nakane, for the Archives of American Art Northwest Asian American Project, in Laigo's home, Seattle, Wash.
Scope and Contents
Laigo speaks of learning how to paint at age eleven with watercolors; growing up with a heart condition known as Eisenmenger's Complex; teaching at Highline High School and creating a wolverine as the school's mascot; the inclusion of his life story in a Filipino oral history project; singing for an orchestra called the Gentlemen of Rhythm, at the Filipino Catholic Youth Activities events and other venues; Doug Bennett as an influence in composition and design; being a student at Seattle University and joining Art Equity in approximately 1951; remembering his painting, "Madonna" being shown at the Seattle Art Museum; his first show at the People's Furniture Store and later with Fay Chong at the Hathaway House; Zoe Dusanne became his agent; his introduction to the MacPaint software program and his first piece of computer art; his desire to study Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera, Jose Orozco, David Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo and becoming at student at Mexico City College; his life in Mexico with the woman who would become his wife; the strong influence of Nick Damascus on his painting; how his palette changed to brighter colors after living in Mexico; his health crisis there that lead him to abandon his work towards a master's degree and return to Seattle in 1959; having to start over from the beginning at the University of Washington; Tommy Kwazume hiring him at Boing as an artist in 1960; Lee Nordness and the RCA Victor album cover; his negative experience with Margaret Reed while showing at the Panaca Gallery; his exhibit at the Frye Art Museum in 1969 and criticism by Clark Voorhees; his Mexican experience having influenced his vigor and scale; the Lost Generation series; his comment about Picasso not being able to paint; encouragement from his family to pursue art training; the murder of his father in 1936; his mother's success as a new painter; and his work, "Dilemma of the Atom" featured on the cover of an RCA Victor record album. Laigo also recalls Perry Acker, Foster White Gallery, David Mendoza, Fred Mendoza, Tom Tooley, Ray Sadirius, Quincy Jones, Oscar Holden's Orchestra, Fred Cordova, Mits Katayama, Rudy Bundis, Kal Chin, Paul Horiuchi, James Washington, Dick Kirsten, Frank Okada, John Matsudaira, Walter Froelich, Bill Ritchie, John Counts, Don Fenton, Kenneth Callahan, Fred Run, Barry Ferrell, Ken Harms, Andrew Chin, Ben Dar, Ruth Mora, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Val Laigo (1930-1992) was a Filipino American painter based in Seattle, Washington. Val Laigo was born in Naguilian, La Union, in the Phillipines. His family moved to the United States in 1931 and to Seattle in 1941. Laigo's full name Valeriano Emerenciano Montante Laigo.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the transcription of this interview provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Women's Committee.
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


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 48 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Asian American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Computer Art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Filipino American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Filipino American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American muralists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Muralists -- Mexico Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bennett, Doug Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Callahan, Kenneth, 1905-1986 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chong, Fay Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dusanne, Zoe, 1884-1977 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Horiuchi, Paul, 1906- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jones, Quincy, 1933- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Katayama, Mits Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nordness, Lee Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Okada, Frank S. (Frank Sumio), 1931-2000 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Orozco, José Clemente, 1883-1949 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ritchie, Bill Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Siqueiros, David Alfaro, 1896-1974 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tamayo, Rufino, 1899-1991 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Voorhees, Clark G. (Clark Greenwood), 1871-1933 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Washington, James W., 1911-2000 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Charles and Emma Frye Art Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Foster/White Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mexico City College -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seattle University -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of Washington -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Northwest Asian American Project Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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