Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Preston Singletary

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.single11
Creators:
Singletary, Preston, 1963-
Savig, Mary, 1982-
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Dates:
2011 March 23-24
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
8 Items
Sound recording: 8 sound files (3 hr., 48 min.)
digital, wav
55 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Preston Singletary conducted 2011 March 23-24, by Mary Savig, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Singletary's studio, in Seattle, Washington.
Scope and Contents
Singletary speaks of his family background, especially his Tlingit heritage and his grandmother; his early interest in music; his job at the Glass Eye Studio in Seattle; his formative years as a glass blower in Seattle and at Pilchuck Glass School; his early styles and processes in the modern Venetian tradition; his interest in Tlingit motifs; early mentors including David Svenson, Joe David, and Tony Jojola; collaboration in the studio with other glass artists and other native artists who work with various media; his interest in the modernist primitivist art movement; the character of significant exhibitions and commissions; his collaborative project with David Svenson and native Alaskans on the Pilchuck Founders' Totem; how he met his wife in Sweden; descriptions of his processes and techniques, including lighting techniques; his retrospective at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma and the Smithsonian's Gustave Heye Center in New York; current and future directions of his work; the character of his studio, including the contributions of his assistants; collaborations with other native artists including Tammy Garcia, Joe Feddersen, and Maori jade carver Lewis Gardiner; his interest in Jungian psychology and shamanism; his relationship with critics, collectors, and dealers; and his involvement with native communities. Singletary also recalls Dante Marioni, Paul Marioni, Benjamin Moore, Lino Tagliapietra, Dale Chihuly, Dan Dailey, Stanislav Libensky, Napoleone Martinuzzi, David Svenson, Keke Cribbs, Joe David, Tony Jojola, John Hauberg, Richard Royal, Tammy Garcia, Joe Feddersen, Brian Jungen, and James Luna.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Preston Singletary (1963- ) is a Tlingit glass artist in Seattle, Washington.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
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


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 3 memory cards as 8 digital sound files. Duration is 3 hr., 48 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Glass artists -- Washington (State) -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Modernism (Art) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Primitivism in art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tlingit art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tlingit Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tlingit sculpture Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists' studios Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Native American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Glass art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chihuly, Dale, 1941- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cribbs, Keke Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dailey, Dan, 1947- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
David, Joe, 1946- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Feddersen, Joe, 1958- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Garcia, Tammy Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gardiner, Lewis, 1972- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hauberg, John H. (John Henry), 1916- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jojola, Tony Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jungen, Brian Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Libenský, Stanislav, 1921-2002 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Luna, James Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marioni, Dante, 1964- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marioni, Paul Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Martinuzzi, Napoleone, 1892-1977 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Moore, Benjamin P. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Royal, Richard Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Svenson, David, 1953- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tagliapietra, Lino Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of the American Indian (U.S.). George Gustav Heye Center Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pilchuck Glass Center (Stanwood, Wash.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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