Audio monologue by Martica Sawin on teaching Art History, 1994 Feb 10
Scope and Contents
In this audio monologue, Martica Sawin explains how she was hired to teach art history at Parsons School of Design in 1967. She details efforts to expand art history instruction both before and after Parsons began issuing bachelor's degrees, an ability made possible by Parsons' affiliation with the New School in 1970. While recollecting details about students and faculty during the 1960s, Sawin describes the counter-cultural atmosphere in the United States and how it influenced Parsons, specifically the exhibition, “My God! We’re Losing a Great Country” and the work of photographer Benedict J. Fernandez (interviewed for this project). Sawin also relates the creation of the school's main exhibition space, the Parsons Exhibition Center, and a large show of Works Progress Administration artists in the gallery.
Dates
- 1994 Feb 10
Participant Biography
Martica Sawin is an art historian and writer. She graduated from the University of Iowa after attending Stanford University and the Sorbonne, and then became an executive secretary at MoMA, where she initiated the Art Lending Service. She became a freelance writer and then a professor at Hunter College, Columbia University, and eventually Parsons School of Design. In 1967, Sawin was appointed the Chair of the Department of Art History and Criticism of Art and Design at Parsons, where she remained a member of the faculty until 1995. She relaunched the school’s Parsons in Paris program, and served as curator of exhibitions in the Parsons' gallery. Sawin is the author of several monographs, including works on Wolf Kahn, Alan Gussow (included in this interview project), and Stephen Pace, in addition to scholarly essays on Surrealism.
Container Summary
00:45:57 duration; Includes PDF transcript