Reiss, Roland, b. 1929
(Show Bio)Oral history interview with Roland Reiss, 1997 Aug.-1999 June
Sound recording, master: 7 sound cassettes (5 hrs., 50 min.) : analog.
Sound recording, duplicate: 7 cassettes Transcript: 76 p.
An interview of Roland Reiss conducted 23 Aug., 8 Sept. 1997, and 11 June 1999 by Paul Karlstrom for the Archives of American Art, in Reiss' studio, Los Angeles, Calif. The interview began with the artist's family background in Chicago, a move to California in 1943, and his growing up in the midst of Chicano culture in South Pomona, not far from the Claremont Colleges, where in 1971, he established a unique graduate art program which he still directs. The first two sessions involved discussions of his art school experiences in Chicago and at UCLA, the influence of Millard Sheets and George DeBeeson, the conflict between modernism and regionalism in Southern California, the impact of Mexican art and the modernist resistance to its influence, and the leading figures in the various art camps.
A fairly lengthy discussion of UCLA included an account of studying with Jan Stussy, a Stanton Macdonald-Wright disciple, and with Macdonald-Wright himself, who took a special interest in Reiss. He also singled out as a major influence Clinton Adams who, with Macdonald-Wright, served as a model of the intellectual artist who embodied rigorous thinking and a search for meaning through critique of language. Additional topics were the difference between the San Francisco and Los Angeles art worlds, the impact of abstract expressionism and of his own paper on the subject delivered to the UCLA faculty, which Reiss remembers as the introduction of abstract expressionism at the university.
After a discussion of his teaching experience in Colorado and pioneering work with plastics, Reiss recalled his interaction there with leading artists including Joan Brown, Nancy Graves, David Hockney, Clyfford Still (with whom Reiss had daily conversations), and William T. Wiley. The third session focused on his long teaching career at Claremont and an in-depth discussion of various art programs in the country and the philosophies involved. In effect, this concluding part of the interview was a history of art education and the training of artists in California presented by someone whose entire career has been connected to educational institutions.
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. Funding for the transcription of this interview provided by Bente and Gerald E. Buck Collection.
How to Use this Interview
- Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
- Transcript available on line at http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/reiss97.htm
- A transcript of this interview is available online.
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