Oral history interview with Julie Martin 2013

Biographical Note

Julie Martin is the director of Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), the nonprofit organization co-founded in 1966 in New York by artists Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Whitman and engineers Billy Klüver (Martin's late husband) and Fred Waldhauer to encourage and facilitate collaborations between artists and engineers. Martin joined the E.A.T. staff in 1967. Martin is co-executive producer of a series of films, begun in 1995, which document the artists' performances in 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering at the 69th Regiment Armory, New York, in 1966. She is also the coordinating producer of Whitman's recent theater performances Swim (2015), Local Report (2012 and 2005), Passport (2011), and MoonRain (2010). Born in Nashville, Martin graduated from Radcliffe College with a degree in philosophy and from Columbia University with a master's degree in Russian studies

Scope and Contents

Julie Martin describes the development of performance art in New York beginning with theater and performance events associated with the Reuben Gallery and Hansa Gallery, and the development of Happenings. She discusses the first collaboration between Rauschenberg and Billy Klüver in 1960. She discusses Klüver's collaboration on the construction of Rauschenberg’s Oracle between 1962 and 1965. Martin describes Rauschenberg's work behind the scenes in pieces like Steve Paxton's Untitled (1965) and as a performer in works, including Pelican, which developed when he was incorrectly listed as a choreographer for the Pop Festival in Washington, DC in 1966. She discusses the evolution of performance art and distinguishes the work of artists like Robert Whitman from the Happenings affiliated with Allan Kaprow. She provides detailed description of the works from 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, including Rauschenberg's Open Score and Paxton's Linoleum. She connects Rauschenberg's generosity in E.A.T. with the founding of Change, Inc. to assist artists in need of funds to complete projects

Subjects

• Artistic collaboration.
• Edwards, Brent Hayes interviewer.
• Experimental theater--United States.
• Experiments in Art and Technology (Organization).
• Interviews.
• Klüver, Billy, 1927-2004.
• Martin, Julie--Interviews.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Performance art--United States.
• Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008.
• Technology in art.

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York and Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, 2016