Finding aid for the Clare Spark interviews with artists, curators, and intellectuals, 1968-1981 2010.M.91
Laura Schroffel
Special Collections
2014
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections
Title: Clare Spark interviews with artists, curators, and intellectuals
Creator:
Truffaut, François
Creator:
Lennon, John, 1940-1980
Creator:
KPFK (Radio station : Los Angeles, Calif.)
Creator:
Barthelme, Donald, 1907-1996
Creator:
Chicago, Judy, 1939-
Creator:
Geldzahler, Henry
Creator:
Blum, Irving, , 1930-
Creator:
Spark, Clare
Creator:
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008
Creator:
Kaprow, Allan
Creator:
Haacke, Hans, 1936-
Creator:
Merleau-Ponty, Maurice, 1908-1961
Creator:
Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997
Identifier/Call Number: 2010.M.91
Physical Description:
8.8 Linear Feet
(11 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1968-1981
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection. Click here for the
access policy .
Abstract: A collection of audio tapes from radio programs produced and hosted by Clare Spark. Spark's radio programs engaged with leading
figures in the art world, covering broad issues as well as events of particular concern to the Southern California arts community.
Language of Material: Collection material is in English.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Clare Spark. Acquired in 2010.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection is comprised of audiocassette tapes and 1/4 inch audiotape on 7- and 10- inch reels. The tapes in the collection
are surviving copies of the finished radio broadcasts as well as unedited interviews conducted by Clare Spark. Between 1969
and 1981 Clare Spark produced radio shows (many under the title of
The Sour Apple Tree) for KPFK-FM. Her programming interests included topics in the arts as well as history, politics, and music. Spark's engaged
with intellectuals and leading figures in the art world on her radio programs, including Irving Blum, Hans Haacke, Roy Lichtenstein,
Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Donald Barthelme, Allan Kaprow, Judy Chicago, François Truffaut, John Lennon, Robert Rauschenberg,
Henry Geldzahler among others. Programs often focused on individual figures and on subjects including the Art Workers Coalition,
the founding of the Woman's Building, the closing of Ferus Gallery, the activities of museum boards, the rise of Feminism
and media studies as disciplines, and the public reception of major exhibitions.
Preferred Citation
Clare Spark interviews with artists, curators, and intellectuals, 1968-1981, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession
no. 2010.M.91.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2010m91
Publication Rights
Access
Audio tapes are unavailable until reformatted. Contact the repository for information regarding access.
Biographical / Historical Note
Clare Spark was born in 1937 in New York City. She received a bachelors degree from Cornell University in 1958 and went on
to receive graduate degrees from Harvard and UCLA in education and history respectively. From 1969 through 1998 she produced
hundreds of radio programs on the politics of the art world for Los Angeles Pacifica station KPFK. One program,
The Sour Apple Tree, aired weekly during the 1970s, addressing issues on the politics of culture. In 1980 she produced and hosted
The Afternoon Air on KPFK, a daily (weekday) three-hour montage of news, public affairs features, documentaries, music, and interviews. Spark
was Program Director for the radio station between 1981 and 1982.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged chronologically. Undated materials are arranged alphabetically by show title or provided description.
Dates given are mostly the broadcast dates. Specific broadcast dates and recording dates are included in the notes when available.
Titles were transcribed from labels or derived from handwritten notes.
Processing History
The original inventory was made by Annette Doss in 2012. Laura Schroffel encoded the finding aid, completed processing, and
enhanced the description of the collection in 2014.
Digitized Material
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Interviews -- United States -- 20th century
Audiotapes -- 20th century
Radio talk shows
Sound recordings -- United States -- 20th century
Audiocasettes -- United States -- 20th century
Radio interviews
Radio programs
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008
Merleau-Ponty, Maurice, 1908-1961
Truffaut, François
Spark, Clare
Kaprow, Allan
Haacke, Hans, 1936-
Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997
Lennon, John, 1940-1980
Barthelme, Donald, 1907-1996
Blum, Irving, , 1930-
Chicago, Judy, 1939-
Geldzahler, Henry
Clare Spark interviews with artists, curators, and intellectuals,
box 1, item R1
Morality and Marijuana – The Case for Legalization,
1968 February 1
Scope and Contents note
Interviews with Jack Margolis and Luke McKissack. Recorded 1968 January 21.
box 6, item C1-C2
Billy Al Bengston,
1969 May 16, June 11
box 6, item C3
June Wayne, Maurice Tuchman, "Feb. 25, 1970 and Andrews – Wayne – Paul. Plagens, Alexander",
1969 July
box 4, item R2-R4
In the Style of De Kooning: The Bitch-Goddess and the Slipping Glimpser,
1969 August 29, October 9
In the Style of De Kooning: The Bitch-Goddess and the Slipping Glimpser (digitized version available on-site only): 1969 August
29, October 9
Scope and Contents note
A study of De Kooning and his impact on Los Angeles during the recent retrospective, with Willem De Kooning, June Wayne, Rosalind
Wholden, Jane Livingston, and others.
box 6, item C4
Pasadena Museum,
1969 November 21
box 1, item R5-R6
The Scene: Art and Artists,
1970 February 4, 25, May 12
Scope and Contents note
Chouinard faculty protest and June Wayne speech at University of Iowa puts down corrupt art scene followed by Oliver Andrews,
Peter Plagens, Peter Alexander.
box 1, item R7
The Sour Apple Tree: Art Now!,
1970 March 3, 5
Scope and Contents note
Interview with Robert Corrigan.
box 6, item C5
Max Kozloff, John Coplans,
1970 September 28
box 1, item R8
The Sour Apple Tree,
1970, 1972
Scope and Contents note
Interview with Franklin Murphy. 10/12/72, 9/21/70.
box 2, item R9
The Sour Apple Tree: Art Super Star, Super Show,
1971
Scope and Contents note
Swing along with Henry. Interview with Henry Geldzahler. 1/4/71, 1/10/71, 4/15/71, 8/16/71. Recorded 1970 October 16.
box 4, item R10-R11
Picasso,
1971 January 18
Scope and Contents note
Pablo's Party.
box 2, item R12
The Sour Apple Tree: Or, Today Only, the Rotten Pear Tree,
1971 March 20, August 1
Scope and Contents note
A talk on Daumier and political art generally.
box 4, item R13
Robert Rauschenberg interview,
1971 May 11
Robert Rauschenberg interview (digitized version available on-site only): 1971 May 11
box 4, item R14
The Sour Apple Tree,
1971 May, July
The Sour Apple Tree (digitized version available on-site only): 1971 May, July
Scope and Contents note
Robert Rauschenberg's
Mud Muse, part 1 of 2. Interview with the artist on his art and technology project, May 1971. Mixed with sound piece by Petrie Mason,
who was sound collaborator on the project. 5/23/71, 5/24/71, 7/1/71.
box 4, item R15-R17
Myths of Industrial Society,
1971 June 19
box 1, item R18
The Sour Apple Tree: Art and the Corporate State,
1971 September 15
Scope and Contents note
Interviews with Max Kozloff and John Coplans.
box 6, item C6
LACMA, Pablo's Party,
1971 October 25
box 4, item R20-R21
Art in America: An Interview with Brian O'Doherty,
1972 February 19
Scope and Contents note
Recorded September 1972.
box 2, item R22
Are They Marxist Feminists or Feminist Marxists?
1972 April 12, 14
Scope and Contents note
"Or, after Consciousness Raising, What?" With Shierry Weber, Ethel Herring, Linda Eldon, Jackie Goldberg. Recorded 1972 April
8.
box 1, item R23
The Last Book Review: An Exercise in Modular Criticism,
1972 June, September 20
Scope and Contents note
Reviews of
Rites of Passage by Apex T. Evans.
box 1, item R24
Navajo Blanket,
1972 July 25
Scope and Contents note
Probably
With These Your Eyes You Shall Recover: The Navajo Blanket show, an interview with Mary Kahlenberg, co-organizer of the Navajo blanket exhibition at the Rice Museum.
box 2, item R25
David Ross,
1972 August 31
Scope and Contents note
Recorded 1972 July 27.
box 6, item C7
Brian O'Doherty, Stephen Weil, Hans Haacke,
1972 September 16
Brian O'Doherty, Stephen Weil, Hans Haacke, 1972 September 16 (digitized version available on-site only)
box 6, item C8
Steve Koch,
1972 September 20
box 4, item R26
Herbert Marcuse,
1972 December 26
box 2, item R27
The Sour Apple Tree: Topanga: Hideout or Alternative?,
1972, 1979
Scope and Contents note
Interviews with David Hitchcock, Jack and Barbara Rice, Richard Dehr, Bob Bates, Mike Cohen, Lyle Baum. 4/24/72, 6/10/72,
7/30/79, 11/1/79.
box 1, item R28
Paul Brach on Leo Steinberg,
1973 February 12
box 4, item R29
The Sour Apple Tree,
1973 March 26
The Sour Apple Tree, 1973 March 26 (digitized version available on-site only)
Scope and Contents note
The African Show at the LACMA. With Katherine Reswick, Alan Bassing, Stanley Swinger.
box 4, item R30-R31
The Sour Apple Tree,
1973 May 6
Scope and Contents note
The Feminist Studio Workshop. Interviews with Judy Chicago, Sheila de Brettville, Arlene Raven.
box 2, item R32
The Sour Apple Tree,
1973, 1975
The Sour Apple Tree: Interview with Allan Kaprow, 5/20/1973 (digitized version available on-site only)
Scope and Contents note
Interview with Allan Kaprow. 5/20/1973, 3/9/1975.
box 2, item R33
The Sour Apple Tree: Allan Kaprow, Part 2,
1973 June 1
The Sour Apple Tree: Allan Kaprow, Part 2 (digitized version available on-site only)
box 2, item R34
The Sour Apple Tree,
1973 June 10
Scope and Contents note
Interview with Irving Blum.
box 2, item R35
The Sour Apple Tree: Star-Gazing,
1973 June 17
Scope and Contents note
Interviews with Irving Blum and Steven Koch, and an epilogue from "The Gondoliers" by Gilbert and Sullivan.
box 4, item R36
Linda Nochlin's speech,
1973 September 15
Scope and Contents note
"How Feminism in the Arts Can Implement Social and Cultural Change," delivered at Conference on Women and the Arts, "Wingspread,"
Racine, Wisconsin.
box 2, item R37
The Sour Apple Tree: Truffaut Aux Camellias: The Making of a Radio Program,
1973 December 8, 11
Scope and Contents note
François Truffaut, Clare Spark, Jane Gordon (translator), and Barbara Spark (audience). Recorded 1973 August 20.
box 6, item C9
Brian O'Doherty,
1973 December 9
Brian O'Doherty, 1973 December 9 (digitized version available on-site only)
box 2, item R38
Lesbian Feminist Dialogue,
1974 March 22
Scope and Contents note
Speeches by Jill Johnston and Gloria Steinem.
box 3, item R39
The Sour Apple Tree: Final Exams,
1974 May 26, June 7
Scope and Contents note
Ten New York art scandals, phones. Recorded 1974 May 26.
box 3, item R40
Venus Observed: The Image of Women in Media,
1974 May 29
Scope and Contents note
Interview with members of Women's Anti-Defamation League.
box 4, item R41
The Sour Apple Tree: Hyphenated Expletives Need Not Apply,
1974 June 9
box 3, item R42
The Sour Apple Tree: Play Ball, the Aesthetics of Failure,
1974 June 16
box 1, item R43
The Sour Apple Tree: Brian O'Doherty on Public Art and Classic Containers,
1974 June 30, July 19
Scope and Contents note
Recorded 1974 May.
box 5, item R44
The Sour Apple Tree: Hoopes on American Narrative Painting,
1974 July 6
Scope and Contents note
Donerlson F. Hoopes, senior curator of American Art at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, describes his show.
box 3, item R45
The Sour Apple Tree: Karats and Styx,
1974 September 11, 24
Scope and Contents note
Victor Wolfenstein and Joseph Byrd.
box 1, item R46
The Sour Apple Tree: Museum,
1974 October 20
box 3, item R47
German Expressionist Exhibit,
1977 March 22, April 8
Scope and Contents note
Joan Vogel.
box 3, item R48
The Sour Apple Tree: Hard Core,
1979 February 18, 20
box 6, item C10
"Unprovoked Attack" – Art Damage, Chuck Steak, KPFK 1-24-81," "Unprovoked Attack" excerpts,
1981 January 24
box 6, item C11
Black Party, National,
1981 February 14
box 5, item R49
Lowell Ponte Commentary,
1981 February 20
box 7, item C28
Roger Angell (2), John Hightower (1),
undated
box 7, item C23
6 14, 5 Art-Rite 13,
undated
box 6, item C15
Art-Rite Dec., Carl Baldwin,
undated
box 7, item C31
Donald Barthelme, Roger Angell,
undated
box 6, item C16
John Canaday,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Monaural.
box 6, item C14
De Kooning opening, Livingstone & Snyder,
undated
De Kooning opening, Livingstone & Snyder (digitized version available on-site only): undated
box 6, item C19
Richard Foreman, Douglas Davis,
undated
box 7, item C36
Stephan Garrett (Getty Museum),
undated
box 5, item R51
Feedback I: Introduction to TV as a Medium,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Voices include Ed Murrow, Eric Barkowes ?, C. Wright Mills, Rudolf Arnheim, Thomas Irving, DeSartie, J. Wm. Fulbright, Norbert
Weiner.
box 5, item R52
Feedback II: The Image Empire,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Comments by Nicholas Johnson, Jerry della Femina, Les Brown, Bill Greely, Thomas Staffor, Evelyn Sarson, Peggy Charren, Hy
Goldin, Spiro T. Agnew.
box 5, item R53
Feedback III: The Fourth Network,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Comments by Hartford Gunn, Theodore Conant, Stuart Sucherman, Av Westin, Al Levin, Robert Dahl, Frederick Bohen, and Bill
Greeley.
box 5, item R54
Feedback IV: A Cultural Criticism of Broadcast Journalism,
undated
box 5, item R55
Feedback V: A Cultural Critique of Broadcast Entertainment,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Featuring Herminio Traviesas, Thoman Swafford, Alfred Schneider, Al Ruben, Ernest Kinoy, Monya Starr, Bill Greely, Robert
Shayon, Ruby Dee, Dick Cavett.
box 6, item C12
Frank Gehry, John Patier (sp?),
undated
Scope and Contents note
8/3
box 7, item C37
Gorewitz [?], John Hightower,
undated
box 7, item C24
Hans Haacke, Bernstein,
undated
box 7, item C30
Hans Haacke, Weil,
undated
Hans Haacke, Weil (digitized version available on-site only): undated
box 3, item R56
Hoops or Great American Country,
undated
box 3, item R50
The Last Book Review: An Exercise in Modular Criticism,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Rites of Passage by Apex T. Evans. A work of homosexual hard core pornography is reviewed by two vanguard composers, a philosopher, a sculptor,
an ex-waitress, and a culturist.
box 8, item C43
Sherman Lee and Ralph Burgard,
High art versus popular art,
1975 July 11
Sherman Lee and Ralph Burgard, 'High art versus popular art' (digitized version available on-site only): 1975 July 11
Scope and Contents note
Introduced by John Hightower, Associated Councils of the Arts annual meeting, Cleveland.
box 7, item C40
Roy Lichtenstein,
undated
Roy Lichtenstein (digitized version available on-site only)
box 6, item C13
Museum Mexican Fiesta, Kushman (?) Wayne (?),
undated
box 6, item C17
Brian O'Doherty (Public Art),
undated
box 7, item C33
Brian O'Doherty, part 2, Dec 10, Howardina Pindell, Dec 10,
undated
Brian O'Doherty, part 2, Dec 10, Howardina Pindell, Dec 10, undated (digitized version available on-site only)
box 7, item C26
Pepsi Pavilion, Jon Hendricks and JeanToche,
undated
box 7, item C34
1 – Scream – Bob Wilson's grandma [?] – Subway – 2 – Museum Workers – 20-415 – Clare, 2 Museum Workers Dec 5 – Angell 3 –
Clare,
undated
box 5, item R59
The Sour Apple Tree: Acting Out,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Interviews with Richard Foreman and Janet Coleman with David Dozer.
box 5, item R60
The Sour Apple Tree,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Alan Kaprow. Music by John Cage:
Concerto for Prepared Piano and Orchestra.
box 5, item R61
The Sour Apple Tree: Alan Kaprow Part II,
undated
box 5, item R62
The Sour Apple Tree: John Hightower or Some Cases of Mistaken Identity,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Also identified as
The Sour Apple Tree: John Hightower, an Advocate for the Arts. July 7 Reel 1 of 2.
box 5, item R63
The Sour Apple Tree,
undated
Scope and Contents note
John Hightower. July 7.
box 3, item R64
The Sour Apple Tree,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Women's Coalition for Better Broadcasting.
box 7, item C25
Nancy Spero, Leon Golub,
undated
box 7, item C35
Spero, Golub, Classic Container Corp – 12:10 A.M. – follow Brian O'Doherty,
undated
box 8, item C42
Frank Stella, Max Kozloff,
undated
box 7, item C22
Susan [illegible] MoMA, [illegible – maybe LACMA] 8,
undated
box 7, item C29
Megan Terry, John Hightower Aug 7 (2),
undated
box 6, item C20
June Wayne, Ed Ruscha, Ron Davis,
undated
Scope and Contents
Tape is blank and therefore unable to be digitized.
box 7, item C21
WK cl – Racism 3, Racism sexism 4,
undated
Box 9, Box 10, Box 11
Original housing and various materials,
1968-1981
Original housing and various materials (digital version available on-site only)
Scope and Contents
Includes original housing for audio reel tapes and some notes.
