At the time of Andy Warhol’s death in February 1987, there were about 50,000 photographs, many of them Polaroids, in his estate. The Warhol Foundation gave about half of the pictures, which at the time were valued at next to nothing, to small museums in cities like Scranton, Pa., and Portland, Ore. The rest have largely gone unseen. A little over a decade ago, Jim Hedges, a retired investment banker, began aggressively acquiring photos from the Warhol Foundation. He now operates Hedges Projects, a private dealership focused on all things Warholian, out of a West Village brownstone. For full story click here.
Author: ohadmin
Oral History of Apple Design
If there is one thing that CEO Tim Cook doesn't want people to know, it's what dwells behind his company's "signature." As a result, most efforts to explain design at Apple end up reducing a complex 37-year history to bromides about simplicity, quality, and perfection–as if those were ambitions unique to Apple alone. So Fast Company set out to remedy that deficiency. It wasn't easy. Precious few designers have left Sir Jonathan Ive's industrial design group since he took over in 1996: Two quit; three died. (We talked to the two who quit, among dozens of other longtime Apple veterans.) What we found is that the greatest business story of the past two decades–how Apple used design to rise from near bankruptcy to become the most valuable company in the world–is completely misunderstood. For full story plus links to the continuing story, click here.
Workshop weekend – Orange, NSW
An Oral History Weekend Experience Seminar and Workshop has helped to inspire groups around the State to get working on their own oral history projects. The event was hosted by Orange City Library with support from the Oral History Association Australia NSW and their trainers Trish Levido and Sandra Blamey with funding from a Country Arts Support Program grant. For full story click here.
South Sea Islanders 150 years in Australia
This year is a significant one for South Sea Islander descendents – it marks 150 years since their ancestors were blackbirded and brought to Queensland to work in a variety of industries. For full story, including audio, click here.
Print Industry Oral Histories – NSW
Benjamin Thorn has received an $1100 grant from the NSW government to help him continue cataloguing the stories of veterans of the print industry. As the curator of the Museum of Printing Mr Thorn has been collecting the oral history of veterans on the print industry for six years. The money will help his project to further understand the history of printing. For full story click here.
African-American AIDS Activists
Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S., people of color have contracted HIV at a disproportionately high rate. And in response, African-American men and women have worked hard to educate their neighbors about the disease and to alert officials to the severity of the epidemic in black communities. "But if you look at what has been written about AIDS in America, you would think that the only AIDS activists were white, gay men," said Royles. "It's time to tell the rest of the story." For full story click here.
Death of James Sterling Young – Presidents’ Oral Historian
James Sterling Young, who founded the nation’s only oral history program focused on American presidents at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, has died. He was 85. At the Miller Center, Mr. Young directed oral histories of the presidencies of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and on former Sen. Edward Kennedy. Kennedy based his memoir, “True Compass,” on dozens of interviews with Mr. Young. For full story click here.
March on Washington
The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a gathering of labor leaders, civil rights activists and a mass of people estimated at over 250,000, was one of the preeminent events in American history. In addition to contributing directly to the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, the march is also remembered for Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, widely considered the greatest piece of oratory ever delivered. For full story click here.
Alice Springs’ oral histories
Paul Ah Chee Ngala grew up in Alice Springs. He is variously described as a musician, a business man, a cultural entrepreneur and of late, as Director of the Alice Springs Desert Park. Listen to his oral history here.
Bankstown’s Aboriginal Elders
When she moved to the city from country New South Wales more than 40 years ago, Aboriginal Elder Lola Simmons lost contact with many Aboriginal people. It wasn't until years later when she was approached in the street and asked to join a local Elders group that she got to really know her local community. Lola Simmons is just one of a number of Aboriginal people who make up part of the Elders group run by the local arts centre. The members of the group have also been photographed by Aboriginal photographer Mervyn Bishop for a series of portraits that make up part of an oral history project put together by the group. For full story and audio interview click here.