Oral history interview with Chuck Close, 2017 July 20, Transcript
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An interview with Chuck Close conducted 2017 July 20, by Christopher Lyon, for the Archives of American Art, at Close's home and studio in Long Beach, New York.
Close speaks of his friendships with Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Serra, and other artists; his decision to explore the genre of portraiture; different methods of printmaking, photography, and painting that he employs; his friendship with Philip Glass; problems with his memory; his painting techniques since "The Event" (a spinal artery collapse which led to partial paralysis); his favorite early paintings; organizing his exhibition Head-On/The Modern Portrait; and his involvement with Turnaround Arts. Close also recalls Brice Marden, Vija Celmins, Janet Fish, Nancy Graves, Rackstraw Downes, Sol Lewitt, Paul Simon, Mark Greenwold, Debbie Wye, and others.
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Recorded on Tascam DR-100MKII R00030.
Chuck Close (1940- ) is a painter and photographer, in New York, New York. Christopher Lyon (1949- ) is a writer in Brooklyn, New York.
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.