Oral history interview with Mary Lucier
odd: label: General
content: Transcript has not been edited.
label: General
content: Originally recorded on 8 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 16 digital wav files. Duration is 11 hrs., 50 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Lucier, Mary
label: Interviewer
content: Nadelman, Cynthia
topic: label: Occupation
content: Video artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women video artists
label: Topic
content: Women photographers
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. Funding for this interview provided by the Lannan Foundation.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Lucier, Mary
label: Interviewer
content: Nadelman, Cynthia
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Mary Lucier (1944- ) is a video artist and photographer from Bucyrus, Ohio. She lives and works in New York City.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 351 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1990 Apr.-Nov
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.lucier90
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
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: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Mary Lucier conducted 1990 Apr.-Nov., by Cynthia Nadelman, for the Archives of American Art. Lucier discusses her family history; education at Brandeis; experiences participating in the avant-garde music scene of the 1960s with the Sonic Arts Union; the Annual Avant Garde Festival; the Kitchen (New York exhibition space); the ONCE group; her performance pieces; projection art; earthworks; conceptual art; dance; installations, and Happenings. She recalls her video pieces, including "Ohio at Giverny," "Salt," "Antique," "Untitled Display System," "Dawn Burn," "Paris Burn," "Equinox," "Air Writing," "Fire Writing," "Planet," "Bird's Eye," "Denman's Col," "Wintergarden," "Asylum," "If I could fly, I would fly," "MASS," and "Noah's Raven."

She recalls traveling for her work; editing her work; influences, including Claude Monet; audiences; sound and music; her publication work; editing Theatre Crafts Magazine; working with museums and galleries; criticism; copies and copyright; collectors, among other topics. She recalls associations with Alvin Lucier; Carolee Schneeman; Sahl Swarz; Karlheinz Stockhausen; Robert Ashley; John Cage; Merce Cunningham; Gordon Mumma; Shigeko Kubota; Nam June Paik; Davidson Gigliotti; Cecilia Sandoval; Charlotte Moorman; Bruce Nauman; Vito Acconci; La Monte Young; Earl Howard; Elizabeth Streb, among others.