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Archives of American Art
Oral history interview with James Wentzy
Summary
- Collection ID:
- AAA.wentzy17
- Creators:
-
Wentzy, JamesCarr, C.
- Dates:
-
2017 January 23-March 31
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
15 ItemsSound recording: 15 sound files (5 hr., 13 min.)digital, wav164 PagesTranscript
- Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
An interview with James Wentzy, conducted 2017 January 23-March 31, by Cynthia Carr, for the Archives of American Art's Visual Arts and the AIDS Epidemic: An Oral History Project, at Wentzy's home and studio in New York, New York.
Scope and Contents
Wentzy speaks of his childhood in South Dakota; studying filmmaking at Southern Illinois University; moving to New York and shooting commercial films in the late 1970s; working and homesteading in the photography studio of James Dee; the beginning of the AIDS crisis; being diagnosed with HIV in 1990; his participation in and extensive documentation of ACT UP meetings, actions, and demonstrations; his place in the genealogy of AIDS activism; and his body of film and television work. Wentzy also recalls Darrel Ellis, Alanna Heiss, Arch Brown, James Dee, Robert Farber, Ho Tam, John Schnabel, Patrick Moore, Lou Maletta, Tony Arena, Vincent Satinire, David Buckingham, Jean Carlomusto, and others.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
James Wentzy (1952- ) is a cinematographer, documentary filmmaker, and artist in New York, New York. Cynthia Carr (1950- ) is a writer in New York, New York.
Administration
Sponsor
Funded by the Keith Haring 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
Keywords
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions