The WPI Oral Histories

Wildenstein Plattner Institute
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The WPI Oral Histories provide unprecedented firsthand accounts from art historians, archivists, gallerists, and others with close connections to WPI’s research projects. Issued in installments, each oral history will complement the WPI’s unique material. The Wildenstein Plattner Institute Inc. is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the study of art and to fostering the accessibility, cataloguing, and digitization of archival materials that support critical research in the field. Visit www.wpi.art for more information.

  1. I Only Want to Paint: Tom Wesselmann in Discussion with Klaus Benden, Part 2

    10/23/2025

    I Only Want to Paint: Tom Wesselmann in Discussion with Klaus Benden, Part 2

    I Only Want to Paint [2:46:41], a lengthy cache of documentary footage, was filmed for the documentary of the same title, and captures life in Tom Wesselmann’s studio in 1998. It straddles a fine line between documentary, oral history, and diary. In it, a skeleton filmmaking crew spends days in Wesselmann’s studio, watching attentively as Wesselmann and his studio staff make decisions over color, collage materials, and scale. Large pieces of art loom over the proceedings — a corner of a Great American Nude or a Smoker, perhaps — but Wesselmann himself is undoubtedly the star of the show. After an artist passes, we can find various ways to reconstruct the ways they thought about their own work: oral histories are one tool, while archival records are another. But rarely are we afforded such an in-depth look into how an artist thought about their own work and legacy. In I Only Want to Paint, Wesselmann is as aware of the camera’s watchful eye as he is of his own answers. He tweaks his phrasing; he returns to questions on his artistic influences and reconsiders them hours later. He sometimes repeats entire segments, workshopping words, gestures, and interpretations of his works. The picture that emerges is of an intensely thoughtful, intentional artist, working within a finely honed studio ecosystem that allowed him to produce large- and small-scale works alike that often defied neat genre categorization. We will never be able to produce a new oral history with Tom Wesselmann, but to have access to this newly transcribed footage is a rare gift for artists, researchers, and scholars. This is Part 2 of "I Only Want to Paint".

    1h 47m
  2. I Only Want to Paint: Tom Wesselmann in Discussion with Klaus Benden, Part 1

    10/16/2025

    I Only Want to Paint: Tom Wesselmann in Discussion with Klaus Benden, Part 1

    I Only Want to Paint [2:46:41], a lengthy cache of documentary footage, was filmed for the documentary of the same title, and captures life in Tom Wesselmann’s studio in 1998. It straddles a fine line between documentary, oral history, and diary. In it, a skeleton filmmaking crew spends days in Wesselmann’s studio, watching attentively as Wesselmann and his studio staff make decisions over color, collage materials, and scale. Large pieces of art loom over the proceedings — a corner of a Great American Nude or a Smoker, perhaps — but Wesselmann himself is undoubtedly the star of the show.  After an artist passes, we can find various ways to reconstruct the ways they thought about their own work: oral histories are one tool, while archival records are another. But rarely are we afforded such an in-depth look into how an artist thought about their own work and legacy. In All I Want To Do, Wesselmann is as aware of the camera’s watchful eye as he is of his own answers. He tweaks his phrasing; he returns to questions on his artistic influences and reconsiders them hours later. He sometimes repeats entire segments, workshopping words, gestures, and interpretations of his works. The picture that emerges is of an intensely thoughtful, intentional artist, working within a finely honed studio ecosystem that allowed him to produce large- and small-scale works alike that often defied neat genre categorization. We will never be able to produce a new oral history with Tom Wesselmann, but to have access to this newly transcribed footage is a rare gift for artists, researchers, and scholars.

    59 min
  3. The WPI Oral Histories: Donald and Alfred Lippincott on Tom Wesselmann

    03/05/2025

    The WPI Oral Histories: Donald and Alfred Lippincott on Tom Wesselmann

    Lippincott, Inc. was founded by Donald Lippincott in 1966 as a fabrication space specifically for artists producing large-scale sculptures, not industrial design projects. Eventually joined by his brother, Alfred, the Lippincott studio quickly gained renown for its collaborative, salon-like atmosphere; its attention to artists’ aesthetic and technical considerations; and its innovative methods for constructing large-scale sculptures. Lippincott, Inc. also offered artists the option of partnership pieces: a collaboration in which the fabricator covered up front costs and materials in exchange for l an ownership stake in the finished work. The Lippincotts worked with many 20th-century artists of note, including Claes Oldenburg, Donald Judd, George Sugarman, Louise Nevelson, and others. But Tom Wesselmann’s 3-D and sculptural works hold a special place in the studio’s history. From 1980 onward, the Lippincotts worked on over 600 individual jobs for Wesselmann, which would ultimately account for almost ⅙ of the studio’s total output. Donald and Alfred developed a fond, creatively fruitful working relationship with Wesselmann that lasted from 1980 until the end of his life. The oral history highlights the arc of their years working with Wesselmann, as well as specific projects, from Wesselmann and others, that represented turning points in their own studio practices.

    1h 1m
  4. WPI Oral History: Jim Dine on Tom Wesselmann

    10/09/2024

    WPI Oral History: Jim Dine on Tom Wesselmann

    Jim Dine is an American artist active from the mid-1950s onward whose work defies neat categorization. An accomplished painter, printmaker, sculptor, and as of recently, poet, Dine is often closely associated with both the Pop Art and Neo-Expressionist movements. Along with Marcus Ratliff and Wesselmann, with assistance from Judson Church minister Bud Scott, he co-founded the Judson Gallery, an experimental art space that hosted exhibitions from all three co-founders as well as fellow artists like Claes Oldenburg and Allan Kaprow. Dine, like Wesselmann, also hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, where he first met Wesselmann as a young man. Highlights from his interview include candid reflection on Wesselmann’s shifting artistic phases and influences, memories of the Happenings, discussion of Wesselmann’s relationship with psychoanalysis, and an examination of Dine’s own artistic process.

    1h 4m
  5. WPI Oral History: Susan Stedman on Romare Bearden

    07/02/2024

    WPI Oral History: Susan Stedman on Romare Bearden

    Susan Stedman is a curator, arts administrator and manager for artist’s estates. She has held positions at the Museum of Modern Art and the New York State Council of the Arts. She met Romare Bearden in the 1960s and was a friend—and fierce supporter of his work—until his passing. Highlights of her oral history include descriptions of Bearden and the artistic climate in the 1960s and 1970s, memories of meeting her husband, artist William “Bill” Majors, and recollections of the Spiral collective and the Cinque Gallery.

    1h 15m
  6. WPI Oral History: Sheila Rohan on Romare Bearden

    03/11/2024

    WPI Oral History: Sheila Rohan on Romare Bearden

    Sheila Rohan is the youngest sister of Nanette Rohan Bearden and the sister-in-law of Romare Bearden. She was a principal dancer of the founding company of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Later, she was a soloist and Ballet Mistress for the Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theatre. Rohan was instrumental in the development of the Romare Bearden Foundation and serves on the board of directors. Highlights of her oral history include memories of her time dancing under Arthur Mitchell at the Dance Theatre of Harlem, recollections of visits to St. Maartens with Romare and Nanette, and a discussion of her and her sisters’ work to preserve Bearden’s artistic legacy.

    47 min
  7. WPI Oral History: Myron Schwartzman on Romare Bearden

    11/13/2023

    WPI Oral History: Myron Schwartzman on Romare Bearden

    Myron Schwartzman, Professor Emeritus of English at Baruch College, is the author of the biography Romare Bearden: His Life and Art (1990). Having befriended Bearden in 1977, Schwartzman conducted extensive interviews with the artist over the course of several years, deepening their relationship and informing his narrative. Highlights of the interview include depictions of Schwartzman’s visits to Bearden’s family home on St. Maarten and to Bearden’s birthplace of Charlotte, North Carolina; memories of spending time with Bearden and friends in the Long Island City studio; and discussions of the personal, artistic, and historical roots of Bearden’s oeuvre.

    1h 14m
  8. WPI Oral History: Jerald Melberg on Romare Bearden

    09/05/2023

    WPI Oral History: Jerald Melberg on Romare Bearden

    Jerald Melberg has owned and operated the Jerald Melberg Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past forty years. Prior to opening the gallery, Melberg was a curator at the Mint Museum where he curated the retrospective, Romare Bearden, 1970-1980. Having befriended Bearden while working on the exhibition, Melberg subsequently curated several exhibitions of his work at his gallery. Highlights from Melberg's oral history include anecdotes of his first meetings with Bearden, memories of challenges and triumphs while curating the major retrospective at the Mint, and reflections on Bearden's legacy today.  KEYWORDS: Romare Bearden, Mint Museum, curation, Arne Ekstrom, retrospectives, gallerists, art dealers, Al Murray, collages, recordkeeping, Milton Bloch, collective memory

    1h 18m
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About

The WPI Oral Histories provide unprecedented firsthand accounts from art historians, archivists, gallerists, and others with close connections to WPI’s research projects. Issued in installments, each oral history will complement the WPI’s unique material. The Wildenstein Plattner Institute Inc. is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the study of art and to fostering the accessibility, cataloguing, and digitization of archival materials that support critical research in the field. Visit www.wpi.art for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Wildenstein Plattner Institute
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Wildenstein Plattner Institute
  • Show Website
    The WPI Oral Histories