Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with James Wentzy

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.wentzy17
Creators:
Wentzy, James
Carr, C.
Dates:
2017 January 23-March 31
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
15 Items
Sound recording: 15 sound files (5 hr., 13 min.)
digital, wav
164 Pages
Transcript
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

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
AIDS activists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
AIDS (Disease) and the arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Motion pictures -- Production and direction -- Study and teaching Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cinematographers Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arena, Tony Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brown, Arch Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Buckingham, David Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Carlomusto, Jean Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dee, James, 1950- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ellis, Darrel Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Farber, Robert, 1948-1995 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Heiss, Alanna Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Maletta, Lou Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Moore, Patrick, 1962- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Santinire, Vincent Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schnabel, John Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tam, Ho, 1962- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
ACT UP (Organization) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Visual Arts and the AIDS Epidemic: An Oral History Project Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Southern Illinois University (System) -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
ACT UP New York (Organization) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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