Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Mel Ramos

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.ramos81
Creators:
Ramos, Mel, 1935-2018
Karlstrom, Paul J.
Dates:
1981 May 15
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
49 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Mel Ramos conducted 1981 May 15, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art. Ramos speaks of the human figure as subject matter; contemporary iconography; the continuity of themes throughout art history; his interest in celebrities; his female nudes; his response to feminist objections to his work; the influence of Willem de Kooning, Salvador Dali, George Miyasaki, Nathan Oliveira and Wayne Thiebaud; Leta, his wife and model; his use of photographs; photo-realism; his work as part of the "painterly tradition."

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Mel Ramos (1935-) is a painter and teacher in Oakland, Calif.

Administration

Sponsor
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
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 others.

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 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 45 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Nude in art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- California -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Philosophy Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hispanic American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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