Oral history interview with Duane Hanson, 1989 August 23-24

Object Details

Place of publication, production, or execution

United States

Physical Description

Sound recording: 3 Items, sound cassettes; 39 Pages, Transcript

Summary

An interview of Duane Hanson conducted 1989 August 23-24, by Liza Kirwin, for the Archives of American Art.

Hanson speaks of his years growing up in rural Minnesota; his Swedish ancestry; the influence of his wives and family on his art; his teaching career spanning sixteen to twenty years; his experiences at Cranbook; discussions of his place in the art world as a Realist, Hyperrealist, or New Realist; influence of contemporary sculptors of the time on his work; the importance of American art being able to break into the Russian art scene; his process and the pitfalls and advantages of different types of materials, including bronze and polyester resin; the schedule he follows when working and how the pace of his schedule and deadlines affect his art; whether the materials he employs contributed to his cancer; the discussion of his disease, subsequent treatment, and how it impacted his art; the change in focus from his earlier pieces centered around war or social upheaval to his newer, satirical work such as "Jogger" or "Sunbather with Black Bikini," which featured more athletic or trendy characterizations of people; his thought process in choosing what to sculpt; discussions of his exhibition at the Whitney Museum and various galleries in the United States, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, among others; and his ecological concerns. Duane Hanson also recalls Andy Warhol, John DeAndrea, Carl Milles, John Rood, Julius Schmidt, William McVey, Rodin, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and others.

Citation

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Duane Hanson, 1989 August 23-24. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Funding

Funding for this interview was provided by the Lannan Foundation. 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

Duane Hanson (1925-1996) was a sculptor from Davie, Florida. Hanson was best known for his life-size figures, often dressed in real clothes.

Language Note

English .

Provenance

These interviews are part of the Archives' 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. Funding for this interview provided by the Lannan Foundation.

Location Note

Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001

Data Source

Archives of American Art

Record number

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11643

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212357

AAA_collcode_hanson89

interviewee

Hanson, Duane, 1925-1996

interviewer

Kirwin, Liza, 1957-

Subject

Carter, Dudley

De Andrea, John

Grygo, George

Hauser, Alonzo, 1909-1988

Karp, Ivan C.

Kienholz, Edward

McVey, William Mozart

Milles, Carl

Rood, John

O.K. Harris Gallery (New York, N.Y.)

Type

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic

Figure sculpture

Sculpture -- Technique

Pop art

Sculptors -- Florida -- Interviews

Record ID

AAADCD_oh_212357

Usage

Usage conditions apply