Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Moira Roth

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.roth11
Creators:
Roth, Moira
Heinemann, Sue
Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project
Dates:
2011 April 22-24
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
5 Items
Sound recording, master: 5 memory cards (6 hr., 9 min.)
secure digital
1.25 in
81 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Moira Roth conducted 2011 April 22- 24, by Sue Heinemann, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History Project, at Roth's home, in Berkeley, California.
Scope and Contents
Roth discusses her childhood and family background; her "unconventional" mother attending the London School of Economics; her "romantic childhood" growing up in Cornwall, England; her family's move to Letchworth for her to attend St. Christopher, a Montessori school; taking in evacuees from London during the Battle of Britain in 1940; childhood colored with European culture, Jewish culture, and music; at 17 moving from England to Washington, D.C., to live with her Irish father who was working for the International Monetary Fund; her early "passion for travelling"; moving to New York City in 1952; meeting John Cage; her autobiographical writings; travels in Europe; studies at the University of Vienna and the London School of Economics; deciding to be a psychiatric social worker; majoring in sociology with a minor in art history; attending graduate school in art history; her interest in Duchamp; doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley; interviewing artists; her marriage to Bill Roth; teaching; early publications; performances at the Woman's Building in the late 1970s; editing the book "The Amazing Decade: Women & Performance Art in America, 1970-1980" (1983); traveling with Faith Ringgold; friendships with Linda Nochlin, May Stevens, Lucy Lippard and others; experimental theater; her interest in Noh theater; the Women's Caucus for Art at CAA; The Poor Farm contemporary art space; living in the Bay Area; "rethinking feminism in terms of Asian-American Women"; globalism; the fictional character she created, Rachel Marker; and other topics. She recalls Joyce Kozloff, Miriam Schapiro, Judy Chicago, Judy Baca, Claudia Bernardi, Eleanor Antin, Margo Machida, Mary Jane Jacob, Annika Marie, Whitney Chadwick, Suzanne Lacy, Allan Kaprow, Peter Selz, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Moira Roth (1933- ) is an art historian and writer in Berkeley, California.

Administration

Sponsor
This interview is part of the Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project, funded by the A G Foundation.
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.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
System Details
Recorded on Edirol R-09HR.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art historians -- California -- Interviews Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- History -- Study and teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American women Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Britain, Battle of, Great Britain, 1940 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Experimental theater Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Feminism and art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sociology -- Study and teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cornwall (England : County) -- Description and Travel Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Europe -- description and travel Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Authors -- California -- Berkeley Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
World War, 1939-1945 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women art historians Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women authors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Antin, Eleanor Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Baca, Judith Francisca Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bernardi, Claudia Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chadwick, Whitney Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chicago, Judy, 1939- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jacob, Mary Jane Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kaprow, Allan Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kozloff, Joyce Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lacy, Suzanne Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lippard, Lucy R. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Machida, Margo Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nochlin, Linda Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ringgold, Faith Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schapiro, Miriam, 1923-2015 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Selz, Peter Howard, 1919-2019 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stevens, May Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
London School of Economics and Political Science -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of California, Berkeley -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of Vienna -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women's Caucus for Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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