Oral history interview with Duane Hanson
name: label: Interviewee
content: Hanson, Duane
label: Interviewer
content: Kirwin, Liza
label: Names
content: O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Carter, Dudley
label: Names
content: De Andrea, John, 1941-
label: Names
content: Grygo, George
label: Names
content: Hauser, Alonzo, 1909-1988
label: Names
content: Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012
label: Names
content: Kienholz, Edward, 1927-
label: Names
content: McVey, William Mozart, 1905-1995
label: Names
content: Milles, Carl, 1875-1955
label: Names
content: Rood, John, 1902-1974
topic: label: Occupation
content: Artists' models
label: Occupation
content: Artists' models
label: Topic
content: Figure sculpture
label: Topic
content: Sculpture -- Technique
label: Topic
content: Pop art
label: Topic
content: Sculptors -- Florida -- Interviews
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These interviews are part of the Archives' 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 this interview provided by the Lannan Foundation.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Hanson, Duane
label: Interviewer
content: Kirwin, Liza
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Duane Hanson (1925-1996) was a sculptor from Davie, Florida. Hanson was best known for his life-size figures, often dressed in real clothes.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3 Items (Sound recording, sound cassettes)
label: Extent
content: 39 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1989 August 23-24
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.hanson89
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
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 Duane Hanson conducted 1989 August 23-24, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Hanson speaks of his years growing up in rural Minnesota; his Swedish ancestry; the influence of his wives and family on his art; his teaching career spanning sixteen to twenty years; his experiences at Cranbook; discussions of his place in the art world as a Realist, Hyperrealist, or New Realist; influence of contemporary sculptors of the time on his work; the importance of American art being able to break into the Russian art scene; his process and the pitfalls and advantages of different types of materials, including bronze and polyester resin; the schedule he follows when working and how the pace of his schedule and deadlines affect his art; whether the materials he employs contributed to his cancer; the discussion of his disease, subsequent treatment, and how it impacted his art; the change in focus from his earlier pieces centered around war or social upheaval to his newer, satirical work such as "Jogger" or "Sunbather with Black Bikini," which featured more athletic or trendy characterizations of people; his thought process in choosing what to sculpt; discussions of his exhibition at the Whitney Museum and various galleries in the United States, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, among others; and his ecological concerns. Duane Hanson also recalls Andy Warhol, John DeAndrea, Carl Milles, John Rood, Julius Schmidt, William McVey, Rodin, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and others.