Oral history interview with Demi
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 9 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Demi, 1955-
label: Interviewer
content: Martínez, Juan A.
label: Names
content: Rodríguez, Arturo, 1956-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Florida -- Miami
label: Topic
content: Latino and Latin American artists
label: Topic
content: Cuban American art
label: Topic
content: Cuban American artists
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern
label: Topic
content: Self-taught artists
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
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: Demi, 1955-
label: Interviewer
content: Martínez, Juan A.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Demi (1955- ) is a painter from Miami, Florida. Demi (who uses only her first name) is a self-taught artist born in Cuba. Her husband is the painter Arturo Rodriguez.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 22 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1997 November 20
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.demi97
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 available on the Archives of American Art's website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Demi conducted 1997 November 20, by Juan A. Martínez, in Demi's home/studio, Miami, Florida, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Demi speaks of her birthplace, Camaguey, Cuba; the death of her father in 1960, and being sent to Puerto Rico in 1971; her move to New York, and arrival in Miami in 1978; her theater studies at Miami Dade Community College. She recalls an opening at the Meeting Point Gallery in Coral Gables in 1980, where she met her husband, painter Arturo Rodriguez. She talks about her first painting in 1984, the role Arturo plays in her life, her first exhibition at the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in 1987, and the importance of touching the human spirit.