Since 1958, the Archives of American Art’s oral history program has preserved the distinct voices and human memory of the American art world in more than 2,500 interviews. Articulated draws on those interviews of the famous and the forgotten, featuring firsthand accounts from artists, dealers, writers, and other key figures, in dialogue with today’s thought leaders. Their expansive conversations and often surprising memories challenge us to see the world and our shared history in new and unimagined ways.
Credits:
Ben Gillespie, Arlene and Robert Kogod Secretarial Scholar for Oral History
Michelle Herman, Head of Digital Experience
Deanna Luu, Graphic Designer
Musical Theme: “Sound and Smoke," composed by Viet Cuong and performed by the Peabody Wind Ensemble with Harlan Parker conducting
Articulated is supported by the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
In this episode, San Antonio-based photographer Mari Hernandez considers the social, political, and formal trails blazed by Kathy Vargas, another San Antonio resident. From her encounters with institutional racism and misogyny, to her radical experimentation with photography as a medium, Vargas's vibrant career and activism have emboldened new generations of artists to expand and serve their communities.
In this episode, Brooklyn-based painter Maia Cruz Palileo navigates Cherokee painter Kay WalkingStick's journey with family, art, and history. From grappling with heritage to creating art that transcends boundaries of all kinds, follow the evolution of WalkingStick's practice along the path she has painted all her own.
Native Hawaiian lauhala weaver Katherine Kalehuapuakeaula “Lehua” Domingo (1935-) and Hopi ceramicist Al Qöyawayma (1938-) are two elder Indigenous artists and practitioners that each embody lifetimes of experiences through their creative practices. In this episode, guest curator Lehuauakea, a Native Hawaiian artist, draws connections between their work through their shared challenges and celebrations, and how these elements might define the artists’ work as contemporary, traditional, or something else entirely.
What does art make happen, and what can art make happen? Artists have adapted a variety of forms to encourage equity and advancement, creating art that serves as a forum for shared experience and growth as they spurnew dynamics between creator and audience.This episode explores what feminist social practice has meant for Suzanne Lacy, particularly in her early performance work, and for Juana Alicia in her murals and paintings.
Consuelo Jiménez Underwood has blazed her own trail in fiber art, weaving with heritage and healing. Across borders, identities, and time, she creates works that celebrate the natural world and human connection. Learn more about her prolific practice and vivacious activism in this episode.
The Archives of American Art collects primary source materials—original letters, writings, preliminary sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, financial records and the like—that have significant research value for the study of art in America.
Find out how to give your papers, records, recordings, or other primary source material to the Archives of American Art.
Internship, fellowship, and volunteer opportunities provide students and lifelong learners with the ability to contribute to the study and preservation of visual arts records in America.
Original material can be consulted by appointment in our Washington, D.C. Headquarters.
Copies of unrestricted microfilm materials can be obtained through one of our affiliated research centers.
