Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Frank Romero

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.romero97
Creators:
Romero, Frank
Rangel, Jeffrey J.
Dates:
1997 January 17-March 2
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
99 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Frank Romero conducted 1997 January 17-March 2, by Jeffrey Rangel, for the Archives of American Art, in Romero's studio, in Los Angeles, Calif.
Scope and Contents
Romero discusses his growing up in East Los Angeles and his large extended family; his earliest art studies in the public schools; attending the Otis Art Institute where he studied with Joe Mugnaini and had contact with Millard Sheets and Peter Voulkos; the "very polyglut culture" of East Los Angeles; the influences of television, western movies, rock-and-roll, and rhythm and blues on his early musical/artistic taste; time spent in New York; returning to Los Angeles in 1969; and his marriage and family.
Scope and Contents
He describes his move into Carlos Almaraz's house which became the informal meeting place of the artist group Los Four (Almaraz, Romero, Gilbert Sanchez Lujan, and Roberto "Beto" de la Rocha); the Los Four show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1974; and the stylistic aesthetics of Los Four.
Scope and Contents
Romero describes the "boys club" nature of Chicano art centers; his contributions to the Chicano art movement; his relationship to the Chicano/Mexican culture and mainstream U.S. culture; murals done by members of Los Four for the Inner City Mural Program; his work for the Metropolitan Transit Authority; the Murals of Aztlan exhibit in 1981 at the Craft and Folk Art Museum; and his shows at the ARCO Center for the Visual Arts. He concludes with his assessment of the Chicano arts movement, the relationship between economic and art cycles, and the role of the more established artists to those of a younger generation.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Frank Romero (1941- ) is a painter from Los Angeles, Calif.

Administration

Sponsor
This interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funding for 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 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 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 27 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mexican American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Latino and Latin American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mexican American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Street art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- California -- Los Angeles Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Muralists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chicano art movement Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chicano artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Almaraz, Carlos Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mugnaini, Joseph A. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rocha, Roberto de la Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sanchez Luján, Gilbert Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sheets, Millard, 1907-1989 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Voulkos, Peter, 1924-2002 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Los Four (Art group) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Otis Art Institute -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oral History Interviews with Chicano artists in California and San Antonio, Texas Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions