Oral history interview with John Outterbridge
name: label: Creator
content: Outterbridge, John, 1933-2020
label: Interviewer
content: Bassing, Allen, 1932-
label: Names
content: American Academy of the Fine Arts -- Students
label: Names
content: Chicago Academy of Fine Arts -- Students
label: Names
content: Compton Communicative Arts Academy
label: Names
content: Pasadena Art Museum
label: Names
content: Alexander, Peter, 1939-
label: Names
content: Coplans, John
label: Names
content: Di Suvero, Mark, 1933-
label: Names
content: Dickson, Charles
label: Names
content: Gilmore, Robert
label: Names
content: Powell, Judson
label: Names
content: Puerefoy, Noel
label: Names
content: Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008
label: Names
content: Sera, Richard
label: Names
content: Warhol, Andy, 1928-1987
topic: label: Occupation
content: Arts administrators -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Occupation
content: Sculptors -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Topic
content: African American artists
label: Topic
content: African American painters
label: Topic
content: African American sculptors
label: Topic
content: African American military personnel
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1959 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
creator: label: Creator
content: Outterbridge, John, 1933-2020
label: Interviewer
content: Bassing, Allen, 1932-
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: John Outterbridge (1933-2020) was an art administrator, painter, and sculptor from Los Angeles, California.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 13 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1973 January 3
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.outter73
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Interviews
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: Item is a transcript. Location of original audio recording is unknown.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Interview of John W. Outterbridge conducted 1973 January 3, by Allen Bassing, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Outterbridge speaks of his family background and how that influenced him to lean toward the arts; attending Agriculture & Technical University and majoring in engineering even though he wanted to become an artist; joining the Army in order to get the G.I. Bill so he could afford school; painting during his three-year stint in the service, and how his company commander admired his work and got him a studio; attending the Chicago Academy of Art, then the American Academy of Art after leaving the military; moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an artist full-time; quitting painting and deciding to focus on sculpture; working at the Pasadena Art Museum, and how it disturbed him that there weren't any Black artists being represented in the shows he was installing there; getting involved with the Compton Communicative Arts Academy just as it was starting; and the present situation of the Compton Communicative Arts Academy and where he sees it going. He recalls Andy Warhol, Peter Alexander, Richard Serra, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark di Suvero, John Coplans, Judson Powell, Noel Puerefoy, Charles Dickson, Bobby Gilmore, and many others.