Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Kiki Smith

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.smith17
Creators:
Smith, Kiki, 1954-
Lyon, Christopher
Dates:
2017 July 20 and August 16
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
4 Items
sound files (3 hrs., 21 min.) Audio
digital, wav
33 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview with Kiki Smith conducted 2017 July 20 and August 16, by Christopher Lyon, for the Archives of American Art, at Smith's home and studio in New York, New York.
Scope and Contents
Smith speaks of her approach to art as a means of investigating form, scale, and technique; her first printmaking experiences; her childhood in South Orange, New Jersey; her fascination with the human body and religious iconography; early exposure to art and artists through her father, Tony Smith; her involvement in Collaborative Projects, Inc.; the effect of her father's death on her artwork; her experimental art-making process; her first exhibitions in her mid-30s and 40s; her work in glass painting; the role of animals and pets in her life and artwork; her experiences with puppet theatre; the influence of illustrated books on her artwork; the influence of other artists such as Eva Hesse, Lee Bontecou, Frida Kahlo, and Nancy Spero on her artwork; the role of her femininity in her representations of bodies; her formative period of living and working in Berlin during the early 1980s; differences she has observed in the American and European art worlds; her experiences making sculptures in foundries; her experiences working with different gallerists; and her experiences working with four "generations" of assistants. Smith also recalls Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne Westwood, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Tuttle, Tom Otterness, Charlie Ahearn, Cara Perlman, Walter Robinson, Amy Taubin, Leslie Tonkonow, Joe Fawbush, Raimund Kummer, Geneviève Cadieux, Hermann Pitz, Brooke Alexander, Bill Goldston, Chuck Close, Barbara Krakow, Anthony d'Offay, Susan Dunne, Lorcan O'Neill, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Kiki Smith (1954- ) is a sculptor, installation artist, and printmaker in New York, New York. Christopher Lyon (1949- ) is a writer in Brooklyn, New York.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
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

System Details
Recorded on Tascam DR-100MKII R00030.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Installations (Art) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women printmakers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women sculptors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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