Oral history interview with Michael C. McMillen
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hrs., 5 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: McMillen, Michael C.
label: Interviewer
content: Karlstrom, Paul J.
topic: label: Topic
content: Painters -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Art -- Philosophy
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: 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.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: McMillen, Michael C.
label: Interviewer
content: Karlstrom, Paul J.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Michael C. McMillen (1946- ) is a painter and installation artist from Los Angeles, Calif. McMillen studied at Santa Monica City College and San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University at Northridge), with Hans Burkhardt. He spent his early career as a model builder for the movies which included making props for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Blade Runner".
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 5 Sound cassettes (Sound recording, master (5 hrs.), analog)
label: Extent
content: 73 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1997 Apr. 15-Dec. 8
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.mcmill97
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound cassettes
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Michael C. McMillen conducted on 1997 Apr. 15-Dec. 8, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Interview with McMillen begins with a discussion about growing up in post-war California, visiting television sets where his father was a scenic artist, and the beginning of an interest in illusion and other realities. He discusses how he became fascinated with ancient civilizations after a visit in 1957 to the Metropolitan Musuem of Art; from this experience he became interested in decay, change, and disintegration. He discusses the elements of open narrative, allowing the viewer to fill in the blanks. He acknowledges the influence of California assemblage movement, aerospace, and Hollywood as sources for his material and art practice.
label: Scope and Contents
content: McMillen explains his goal is to surround the viewer with a total expereince, including smell, sound, moisture, and temperature. He feels that art reflects time and place, a response to history, and a metaphor for events. He next recalls "Journey to the Surface," a submarine, incorporating stand-alone pieces in a large installation that uses historical objects as time markers. He feels that his work is an accumulation of "stuff" that is used as a source for personal identity and the viewer brings his own history pieces and markers of progress through life. He concludes with a discussion of the function of art, as a personal expression and self-validation rather than the political/social aspect of much contemporary art.