Oral history interview with Fred Martin
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 8 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hrs., 9 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Martin, Fred, 1927-
label: Interviewer
content: St. John, Terry
label: Names
content: San Francisco Art Institute
label: Names
content: Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970
label: Names
content: Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980
topic: label: Topic
content: Abstract expressionism
label: Topic
content: Collagists -- California -- Interviews
label: Topic
content: Painters -- California -- Interviews
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These interviews are 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 others.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Martin, Fred, 1927-
label: Interviewer
content: St. John, Terry
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Fred Martin (1927- ) is a painter, teacher, and collagist from Oakland, Calif.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 202 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1980 Aug. 27-Sept. 19
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.martin80
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: 35mm microfilm reel 3417 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: An interview of Fred Martin conducted 1980 Aug. 27-Sept. 19, by Terry St. John, for the Archives of American Art.
label: Scope and Contents
content: Martin speaks of his childhood and early artistic influences; his education at the University of California, Berkeley; his rebellion as a student; studying under Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still; teaching art in elementary and high schools; going to work for the Oakland Art Museum; his lack of an identifiable style and its negative impact on his early career; teaching at and becoming director of the San Francisco Art Institute; leaving there and teaching at the University of California, Berkeley; the influence of abstract expressionism on his work; his work in collage; his travels; the influence of "dynamic symmetry"; the current art market.