Oral history interview with Jim Sanborn
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 1 sound disc. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 30 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Sanborn, Jim, 1945-
label: Interviewer
content: Berman, Avis
label: Creator
content: United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project
label: Names
content: United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project
topic: label: Topic
content: Sculptors -- Washington (D.C.) -- Interviews
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: Sanborn, Jim, 1945-
label: Interviewer
content: Berman, Avis
label: Creator
content: United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Jim Sanborn (1945- ) is a sculptor in Washington, D.C. Sanborn is known for his use of stone and cryptography. Full name is Herbert James Sanborn, Jr.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Item (data compact disc (6 hr., 32 min.) 4 tracks, digital, WMA files)
label: Extent
content: 108 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2009 July 14-16
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.sanbor09
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
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Jim Sanborn conducted 2009 July 14-16, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art's U.S. General Services Administration, Design Excellence and the Arts oral history project, at Sanborn's home, in Washington, D.C.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Sanborn speaks of his father, Herbert James Sanborn, who worked at the Library of Congress and was also an artist; his education, including attending Randolph-Macon College, taking a course in archaeology at Oxford University, and attending the Pratt Institute; his interest in medieval history and art; how he began to create public art; the difference between his public art and his gallery work; his residency at Glen Echo Park, VA; working on General Services Administration (GSA) commissions; the commissioning, conceptualization, and creation process behind his artwork Kryptos (1990) at CIA headquarters; the media sensation surrounding Kryptos; the importance of secrecy in his work; the process of engineering waves for Coastline (1993) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric headquarters; his recreation of a particle generator for the exhibition Atomic Time (2003); incorporating science and technology into his work; and how his work changed after 9/11. Sanborn also recalls Jack and Nancy Witt, Nancy Holt, Mark di Suvero, Raya Bodnarchuk, Isamu Noguchi, Gene Davis, Max Protetch, Walter Hopps, Yuri Schwebler, Ned Rifkin, Gordon Hanes, and others.