Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Chuzo Tamotzu

Summary

(Sound Recording)

Oral history interview with Chuzo Tamotzu, 1964 September 3, Digital Sound Recording (Excerpt)
Collection ID:
AAA.tamots64
Creators:
Tamotsu, Chūzō, 1888-1975
Loomis, Sylvia Glidden
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project
Dates:
1964 September 3
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
11 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Chuzo Tamotzu (Tamotsu) conducted 1964 September 3 by Sylvia Loomis for the Archives of American Art.
Scope and Contents
Tamotzu discusses studying Occidental, Oriental art in Japan; traveling to Korea, Manchuria and China, South Sea Islands, Singapore, then Europe for a year; coming to New York in 1920; his involvement with An American Group; Juliana Force recruiting him for the Federal Art Project; being on the Easel Project and also on the Graphic Art Project; the Works Projects Administration; given "pink-slip" on the Project since he was not a U.S. citizen; stint in the U.S. Army, Office of Strategic Service doing propaganda paintings for psychological war material for the Japanese Army and soldiers; settling in Santa Fe, N.M.; Oriental painting; and Artist Equity Association. Tamotzu mentions Beatrice Mandelman, Louis Ribak, Robert Philip, Stuart Eddy, Frederick Knight, and Olive Rush.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Chuzo Tamotzu (1888-1975) was a Japanese American painter based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Tamotzu was born in Japan and came to the United States in 1920. He moved to Santa Fe in 1948.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.

Digital Content

(Sound Recording)

Oral history interview with Chuzo Tamotzu, 1964 September 3, Digital Sound Recording (Excerpt)

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 40 min.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Federal aid to the arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting, Japanese Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arts, Japanese -- Western influences Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painting, Asian Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Japanese American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Japanese American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asian American painters Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- New Mexico -- Santa Fe Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eddy, Stuart Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Force, Juliana, 1876-1948 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Knight, Frederic C., 1898-1979 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mandelman, Beatrice Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Philipp, Robert, 1895-1981 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ribak, Louis, 1902-1979 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rush, Olive, 1873-1966 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
An American Group (Organization) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists Equity Association Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Federal Art Project Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project 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