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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Higby, Wayne, 1943-  Search this
Interviewer:
McInnes, Mary  Search this
Subject:
Bauer, Fred  Search this
Cushing, Val M.  Search this
Ferguson, Ken  Search this
McKinnell, James  Search this
McKinnell, Nan  Search this
Merritt, Francis Sumner  Search this
Motherwell, Robert  Search this
Neri, Manuel  Search this
Randall, Theodore  Search this
Shaner, David  Search this
Soldner, Paul  Search this
Turner, Robert Chapman  Search this
Voulkos, Peter  Search this
Woodman, Betty  Search this
Alfred University  Search this
Archie Bray Foundation  Search this
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts  Search this
Helen Drutt Gallery  Search this
Rhode Island School of Design  Search this
University of Colorado (Boulder campus)  Search this
University of Michigan  Search this
University of Nebraska  Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Place:
Africa -- description and travel
Asia -- Description and travel
China -- description and travel
Colorado -- description and travel
Europe -- description and travel
Place of publication, production, or execution:
New York (State)
Physical Description:
9 Items, Sound recording: 9 sound files (4 hr., 55 min.), digital, wav; 66 Pages, Transcript
General Note:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 55 min.
Access Note / Rights:
Use requires an appointment.
Summary:
An interview of Wayne Higby conducted 2005 April 12-14, by Mary McInnes, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Alfred Station, New York. Higby speaks of growing up in Colorado Springs, Colorado; choosing to go to University of Colorado, Boulder; traveling to Europe, Asia, and Africa; being influenced by Minoan pottery; working for ceramicist Betty Woodman; deciding to become a teacher; getting a graduate degree at the University of Michigan; working at Archie Bray Foundation; teaching at the University of Nebraska and Rhode Island School of Design; having his first one person art show and exhibiting nationally; teaching at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; the influence of landscape on his work; how the craft market has changed during his career; working with the Helen Drutt Gallery; writing about craft and the need for critical dialogue in craft publications; being inspired by Asian art; learning ceramics from Jim and Nan McKinnell, and the influence of other teachers on his career; getting hired at Alfred University; the challenges and benefits of teaching at Alfred; his colleagues at Alfred; making functional art and using the vessel form; his teaching philosophy; putting ceramics in a larger art context; his current project; his studio practice; themes in his artwork; choosing to work in porcelain; lecturing and touring in China; being interested in landscape painting; the public response to his work; and recently being awarded several honors. Higby also recalls Manuel Neri, Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner, Fred Bauer, David Shaner, Francis Merritt, Ted Randall, Bob Turner, Val Cushing, Kenneth Ferguson, Robert Motherwell, and others.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Wayne Higby, 2005 April 12-14. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Funding:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Biography Note:
Wayne Higby (1943- ) is a ceramicist from Alfred Station, New York. Mary McInnes is a professor from Alfred, New York.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
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.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Ceramicists -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this
Ceramics -- Study and teaching  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this
Pottery, Minoan  Search this
Theme:
Craft  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11657
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)251584
AAA_collcode_higby05
Theme:
Craft
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_251584