Code,901029,,,,,,,,,,
Subject,Kevin Snipes,,,,,,,,,,
Date,1/13/2009,,,,,,,,,,
Interviewer,William Busta,,,,,,,,,,
Keywords,,,,,,,,,,,
Abstract,"Artist Kevin Snipes discusses his life and art.  Born in Philadelphia, PA, Snipes and his family moved to Cleveland, OH in the 1960s.  Snipes distinguished himself as an artist at an early age in the public schools of Cleveland and Shaker Heights.  After leaving Cleveland to attend Carnegie Mellon University, the artist returned to Cleveland to continue his education at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA).  Although his earliest artistic inclination was toward two-dimensional line drawing, Snipes became interested in clay sculpture and ceramics, into which he integrated his skills in drawing and design.  Snipes describes his artistic style and conceptual approach, his educational experience (at Carnegie Mellon, CIA, Penland School of Craft, and the University of Florida), and the impact of Cleveland on his development as an artist.  This interview was conducted over a telephone connection.",,,,,,,,,,
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0,introduction,,,,,,,,,,
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2,"_____Born Philadelphia, 1960s; father was folk singer",,,,,,,,,,
3,"artistic identity and development: realized talent at an early age due to exposure to arts and culture, childhood art activities",,,,,,,,,,
4,"_____""got a lot of attention for drawing cartoons"", later developed 3-dimensional style, founded paper airplane club",,,,,,,,,,
5,"_____founded comic book club, sold self-made comic books to classmates",,,,,,,,,,
6,"family: moved to Cleveland in 1960s, family trips to Philadelphia",,,,,,,,,,
7,_____story about playing in sandbox as child,,,,,,,,,,
8,"art education: ""i used art as a way of not getting work done in school""",,,,,,,,,,
9,"_____art classes at Cleveland Museum of Art, family encouragement, father was an artist",,,,,,,,,,
10,_____high school interest in 2 dimensional art continued to early college years,,,,,,,,,,
11,_____shifted interest to clay sculpture/ceramics to get closer to a girl he liked,,,,,,,,,,
12,"_____attended Carnegie Mellon for one year, left and later returned to school at Cleveland Inst of Art (CIA)",,,,,,,,,,
13,"_____work as teaching assistant at community college (focusing on clay sculpture/ceramics), shifting more toward clay",,,,,,,,,,
14,"_____finally returned to school at CIA (1991) to major in Ceramics, CIA faculty",,,,,,,,,,
15,_____Shaker Hts High School teacher and artist Malcolm Brown,,,,,,,,,,
16,"art style: ""I operate like an outsider artist, even though I've been trained...I try to be very intuitive about it""",,,,,,,,,,
17,"_____artistic ""obsessions""; ""I love the quality of black in B+W photography... I think of it like ink""",,,,,,,,,,
18,art education: influential teachers,,,,,,,,,,
19,"_____""learning art skills on the street"", ""personalized investigations outside of school""",,,,,,,,,,
20,_____art school offered intellectual development and professional context,,,,,,,,,,
21,_____graduate school experience at Univ of Florida,,,,,,,,,,
22,"art style: ""I make art about interactions""",,,,,,,,,,
23,"art education: undergraduate experience was ""very difficult... when I was done, i was really done with school [for a while]""",,,,,,,,,,
24,"_____residency at Penland School of Craft (North Carolina): ""a really great experience for me""",,,,,,,,,,
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26,"_____returning to Cleveland Inst of Art: coursework, goals, combining clay and drawing",,,,,,,,,,
27,"_____making ""usable"" art and pottery, development of more ""detailed"" approach",,,,,,,,,,
28,"_____color; area of inquiry during grad school: ""there's a way to make functional objects conceptual""",,,,,,,,,,
29,"_____reading psychology and philosophy, ""the world is built on contrast... self and non-self""",,,,,,,,,,
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32,"_____""in grad school, i worked on getting my art to represent that two-sided [understanding of the world]""",,,,,,,,,,
33,art style: aesthetic and conceptual approach to pottery and design,,,,,,,,,,
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35,"""Gun"" project: the physical design was meant to emulate the feeling of childhood play",,,,,,,,,,
36,"_____""the idea behind [it was about] emotional violence""",,,,,,,,,,
37,art and travel:  Archie Bray Foundation (Montana),,,,,,,,,,
38,_____ fellowships and teaching around US,,,,,,,,,,
39,"_____experience in Montana, aspirations to travel abroad",,,,,,,,,,
40,"influence of Cleveland, OH on own art:  living on the west side inspired a sense of personal freedom, appreciation for cities/buildings",,,,,,,,,,
41,"_____industrial decay, Flats, layers on billboards and posters (""old information and new information"")",,,,,,,,,,
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43,"art and career: aspirations as an artist, increasing attention ""is surprising [to] me""",,,,,,,,,,
44,_____despite success financial difficulties continue due in part to working in medium of clay,,,,,,,,,,
45,"_____importance of ""finding a niche"" in the art world",,,,,,,,,,
46,art and community: ceramic artists as a community,,,,,,,,,,
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49,[remainder of interview is of poor quality; sound cuts in and out],,,,,,,,,,
50,closing comments,,,,,,,,,,
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52,end,,,,,,,,,,