Oral history interview with John Roloff
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 13 digital wav files. Duration is 8 hr., 50 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Roloff, John, 1947-
label: Interviewer
content: Riedel, Mija, 1958-
label: Creator
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
label: Names
content: Fuller Goldeen Gallery
label: Names
content: Gallery Paule Anglim
label: Names
content: Gallery Reese Palley
label: Names
content: George Lester Gallery (Rome, Italy)
label: Names
content: Humboldt State University -- Students
label: Names
content: Lance Fung Gallery
label: Names
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
label: Names
content: University of California, Davis -- Students
label: Names
content: University of Kentucky -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Arneson, Robert, 1930-1992
label: Names
content: Beuys, Joseph
label: Names
content: Butterfield, Deborah, 1949-
label: Names
content: Kaltenbach, Stephen J.
label: Names
content: Melchert, Jim, 1930-
label: Names
content: Oppenheim, Dennis, 1938-2011
label: Names
content: Voulkos, Peter, 1924-2002
topic: label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Art -- Technique
label: Topic
content: Ceramicists -- California -- Oakland -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Science -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Sculptors -- California -- Oakland -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Submarine geology
label: Topic
content: Ceramics
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: Roloff, John, 1947-
label: Interviewer
content: Riedel, Mija, 1958-
label: Creator
content: Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: John S. Roloff (1947- ) is a sculptor and ceramicist and lives and works in Oakland, California. Roloff also taught at the San Francisco Art Institute and Mills College.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 13 Items (Sound recording: 13 sound files (8 hr., 50 min.), digital, wav file)
label: Extent
content: 155 Pages (Transcript)
phystech: label: System Details
content: Originally recorded on 5 sound discs (digital, 2 5/8 in.).
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2009 August 17-18
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.roloff09
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Transcript available online.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of John Roloff conducted 2009 August 17-18, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Roloff's studio, in Oakland, California.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Roloff speaks primarily about the intersection of art and science; his desire to look at these disciplines from multiple perspectives in his work; the relationship between materials and their geological histories; his exploration and exposure of the physical processes associated with the making of art objects; Roloff talks at length about ceramics; the chemical properties of the clays and glazes; their connection to geological landscapes; and their transformation through the firing process; moreover, he discusses site specific works; the importance of location in giving context to a piece; as well as referencing a site through site based materials; furthermore, he expounds his theory of anthroturbation; discusses the parallels between man-made and natural structures; and ruminates about his work's visual engagement with ecological systems; Additionally, Roloff converses about several formative childhood experiences; how they shaped his later artistic interest and evolved into thematic elements in his work; studying marine geology at University of California-Davis; taking a ceramics class with Robert Arneson; becoming a dual art and science major; the spirit of experimentation at UC-Davis, which led to his early ceramic discoveries; pursuing graduate work at Humboldt University; teaching at the University of Kentucky-Lexington; developing his Exile and Rower series; showing his sculptures at Lester Gallery and Fuller Goldeen Gallery in California; his shift from studio work to landscape/installations; the development of his Ship and Kiln series; as well as his later photographic work; Roloff also recalls Stephen Kaltenbach, Deborah Butterfield, Peter Voulkos, Jim Melchert, Dennis Oppenheim, Joseph Beuys, Kenneth Baker, in addition to the following galleries: Lance Fang, Paule Anglim and Reese Paley.