MIJA RIEDEL: Hopefully all these interviews, especially [in relation MR] to Viola, built together, will give us a much more complete understanding of her work, and career, and character. She was already ill and she was working in a wheelchair. And, even though there were gaps in her thought processes, like there are in all of our lives, in all of our dialogues, you could tell there was a depth of thought there. Toby and. And they likethen there was this huddle. She was at NCECA, and Thomas Albright and some other artists were teasing her about, "Come on Viola, let's go do" because she knew howthey knew how naive or how inhibited she was, and how awkward she was socially sometimes. NEIL WILLIAMS: consistently. Format: Originally recorded as 5 sound files. That's where I see more of those thingsspirituality isif it'syou know, makes any contribution, if somebody sees it, and they get a charge out of it, or if they see it and it stimulates something in them, spiritually, or in thoughts, or physically, which color and form can do, then it can have a profoundlike Charles Fiske would say, "Profound physiological effect on a person.". MIJA RIEDEL: to a more color-filled, abstract painting, and how that came about. And, I would get up and I would go out and leave my keys sitting on the table, that kind of stuff. You know, [Pierre] Alechinsky and Yorin Appelle [ph]; Brian Oll [ph]; Gilais [ph], his favorite painter, just a magnificentI mean, all of the guys that really impacted American abstract painters, too. MIJA RIEDEL: Did he write much about her work? She would just clutch, and she'd have a connection with it, and once it got in her hands, it wasn't leaving. Many trials come not because of anything an individual did or didnt do. NEIL WILLIAMS: Because she wassometimes it was hard for her to communicate with people or with students. MIJA RIEDEL: Mm-hmm. And so few people realize, oh, that's easy. But I also think that the pressure to produce and the pressure to produce large monumental-scale pieces, colossal pieceswhen everyone was around her saying, "Oh my gosh. But they kept coming up. But, increasingly three-dimensional, over time. NEIL WILLIAMS: She's notshe wasn't reallythose kinds of things made her nervous. NEIL WILLIAMS: It's nottrying to figure out where I fit in, or how I see it fitting in, Iyou got to leave that to the dealers and the critics and the museums, and all of that. I think Manuel was there in the late 50s, early 60s, too, wasn't he? I like the challenges, and they don't fall apart becauseagain, art's about experience, and they're based on all of the many, many, many pieces that have fallen apart. She'd say, "On the thing, on the thing, on the thing, you the thing, the thing, the thing." There's a quote, a little funny quote. And then you practice. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. You know, I said, "What about those other colors?" She gotit was the height of making those big men, and they were enormous. NEIL WILLIAMS: I mean, it's just like, when I was taking care of my grandmother, and she had Alzheimer's, and we would go out to lunch and visit and talk. Violayou suggest and you try and have ahelp guide her. And he would talk about, "An ism," he said. NEIL WILLIAMS: Yeah, yeah. NEIL WILLIAMS: Yes, but not necessarily for publishing. NEIL WILLIAMS: There's a certain knowingness, I think, about it now, that there wasn't before. I remember one of the great stories about that, about making so much work wasoh my God, when she had an open party, like a little dinner party and Richard Shaw and Arneson and Manuel Neri had come and a bunch of other people, and Rena Bransten, and, of course, who luckily was repping her by then, NEIL WILLIAMS: Oh, because I just think it wasI just think the world of Rena and I. What do I do now? MIJA RIEDEL: and you talked about how instrumental Rena was to Viola's career, what a difference her arrival in Viola's life seemed to make to getting her work out there. Andbut hetheir relationship was real unusual. [Affirmative.] MIJA RIEDEL: These are exquisitely beautiful pieces, and I can seeif this is what you were doing already in high school, why. MIJA RIEDEL: That's the first time I've ever heard that. The gallery washe was going to do sales and donate it towards the Shanti Center or to hospices, or to Bates' Hospices, or to the arts down there where he was. NEIL WILLIAMS: No, I got hooked up with a local potter up the road here. And eventually, one day, you look back and it's like, "Wow, okay, there's an improvement there," and it's getting closer to the feeling like, "Oh my God," sometimes, which is nice although fleeting. Switch to the light mode that's kinder on your eyes at day time. [Laughs.]. 0000016040 00000 n Mario Ferrante spent time on a one-summer workshop with Wayne Thiebaud up in Lake Tahoe. So she got the the words and thedescriptors with it. I remember, I used to read all kinds of stuff. NEIL WILLIAMS: I'm sure she did. Go to a show and you see incrementally [ph]. NEIL WILLIAMS: You know, I paint houses, whatever it takes. MIJA RIEDEL: You went along on those trips? Come to the final critique, he made these little old ladies pick their best work out, frame it, present it like it's a museum quality show. NEIL WILLIAMS: And, when he was on his deathbed years ago, I was fortunate enough to go and be able to take, help care for him for a couple of months. It's early yet. This information is provided for entertainment purposes only. A Professional theme for architects, construction and interior designers MIJA RIEDEL: Has travel affected your work at all? I've always had a fondness for him. But, no, I remember mentioning something about that at one of Charles' services aboutmemorial services about wanting to thank him forI understand he's one ofhe's the one who encouraged Peter Voulkos to hand build. NEIL WILLIAMS: She wasn't committed to it, but she was gracious enough to encourage me, and help. A natural presenter and storyteller, Neil is a great client-facing guy and clients love him. And they always seem to have their rewards. MIJA RIEDEL: [. This is an old photo thing we found cleaning up, of just old pots that I was. She would especially giggle and laugh if she was nervous, you know, nervous in company, or, nervous in front of a collector or nervous in front ofshe would giggle and laugh. I understand now I didn't have much exposure to it, but even looking and taking art history courses at that time, it was unusual. And she'd bring these boxes and of doughnuts up and, "Neil, I'll make coffee, I've got doughnuts." I can do that painting. It's awhat was itto me, it's likefor me, it's like the vital andwas it [Henri] Bergson? It always helps me visualize that there is that loving, just, merciful, all-knowing, perfect God and Savior and the Holy Spirit that love us and walking right along side us.. New York , NY 10010, Washington, D.C. Headquarters and Research Center. WebNeil Williams: After his suicide in 1999 his widow said hed come to hate racing after a close friend had been killed in a race at Canterbury six years earlier Stathi Katsidis: The 31 So that's whatyou know, you stay in complete embrace with it, you make something, paint something, you spill your soul to it, whatever it takes, and then you have to let go. MR] I think it's a source of interest because it was so unusual. It would be nice to be included more in some of these things but I don'tit's my fault, I don't make the effort, and I don't have the energy for it. NEIL WILLIAMS: So I think that she was naturallyshe was on that energy of that elusive whatever-it-is about perceiving and then practicing and reacting to it. NEIL WILLIAMS: place to be. I wanted to ask you about [. But it's funny because even Huell Howser, when he came through Auburn to do one of his, AmeriCalifornia specials? So, I mean, "immortality" might be a little grandiose, but it's all inI think how you want to be remembered, what you want to leave behind. MIJA RIEDEL: And where they all fired multiple times? In their scalein terms of their scale alone, yeah. How will you withstand the temptations and pressures that seek to diminish your faith in Jesus Christ? She gave that to me as aalsoher students, as a way of unlocking experiences andpersonal experiences. As a senior manager at The Brand Union, Middle East, he has been a continual source of inspiration to the team with his wry sense of humour and built-in positivity. He just looked at me and said, "I don't know." We had hopes and dreams, and we made plans for our future together.. MIJA RIEDEL: Not to digress, but a quick question: when I look at your work, I'm shocked that it doesn't crack in the firing process. ", NEIL WILLIAMS: [Laughs.] NEIL WILLIAMS: I mean, I don't know howwhere they, after I left, whether they were pursued and that's thebut I can only assume that they didn't take off like. Lots of private, local patrons and. Berkeley.". By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. NEIL WILLIAMS: A few photos to get in, but, you know, and then they were lettingand then when I was there, they weren't screening their graduate programs very heavily, but. Even though they might seemshocking or disturbing as an approach to a vessel, a traditional form. Coffee was over. I thought, "Okay." He says that, "Volume has gone to her paintings, and the plates were the bridge." There was something about the big block of color, although there was good color change and wonderful painting in it. What a gent. %%EOF NEIL WILLIAMS: I mean, they were together a long, long time. NEIL WILLIAMS: Then I ended up more so reading more recently in the last ten years, I don't knowfascinations with otherworldly things, unexplained things, unexplained phenomenons, UFOs or undiscovered species or missing people, missing time, interesting mysteries. Uh-uh. Some of the last charcoal drawings I thought were justoh my God. And I love the idea of taking an asymmetrical, or symmetrical shape, and making it asymmetrical. Seems that you work has, over decades, been about theme and variation, and always with a focus on color and form, MIJA RIEDEL: and, in particular, it seems the vase form, the teapot form, and the cup have been almost canvases that you have workedyou've constructed and deconstructed over decades. I mean, like I was saying, he knew Frank Lloyd Wright to George Rickey toI understand, maybe, I'm not surebut I understand even Gertrude Stein in some of her Oakland years. Rena can probably attest to that. 0000116887 00000 n Your email address will not be published. As a senior manager at The Brand Union, Middle East, he has been a continual source of inspiration to the team with his wry sense of humour and built-in positivity. So Viola was starting to get some income and looking for something to do with her money andanother funny story hereand she wanted to castshe cast some little things in bronze. NEIL WILLIAMS: Just humiliate them, ridicule them until they get it. . NEIL WILLIAMS: So, there was physicality. MIJA RIEDEL: and yours have a little bit of that sensibility. Though our words can do little, we hope our thoughts and prayers will encourage you this period and always as you mourn, the passing soul. NEIL WILLIAMS: I think by the time he had finished he was in every major museum in the world, Whitney Biennial multiple times, Venice Bienalle. NEIL WILLIAMS: And she thought in theIthe process of that was personalizing the image. I don't know, like, as far as, "Oh, my gosh, I'm going to be on a schedule now, then, and I have to maintain this." [Laughs.]. Until '85? The following oral history transcript is the result of a recorded interview with Neil Williams on 2014 June 5-6. You have to understand thermo-dynamics. Neal Currey likes to say adventure is in his blood. Does it matter that they go back that far, to childhood? Was your mother interested in the arts? MIJA RIEDEL: That doesn't feel thoroughly finished to you? Not. NEIL WILLIAMS: Yeah. 0000013392 00000 n Tweets & replies. "Iain Webster - Executive DirectorInterbrand, "Neil is a great person to work with on every level. They had a wonderful one, too. NEIL WILLIAMS: She replaced me and my ladder with Sam and all kinds of hydraulic equipment. MIJA RIEDEL: So you started in the summer? Other than Viola, of course. Neil Williams Obituary: In the loving memory of Neil Williams, we are saddened to inform you that Neil Williams, a beloved and loyal friend, has passed away. WebNeil Williams Cyber Security Expert for Lawyers & Professional Service Companies. But at the same time, I try and push it a little bit each time so that theyI mean, I'm going to obliterate the image completely but, like I said, it has to stay alive and interesting. NEIL WILLIAMS: And it makes thethere's a certain way it it makes the work cleaner in a way. NEIL WILLIAMS: Yeah. So she tookif that ever came up, it was fuel for her, too. NEIL WILLIAMS: Not ACC. And then he passed away. Somewhere at the first day of Arts and Crafts, or the first week of Arts and Crafts. MIJA RIEDEL: There are a couple of columns, vase columns that we looked at that were, what, 12 feet tall, MIJA RIEDEL: from the late '90's. NEIL WILLIAMS: I didn'tcertainly didn't feel the thrill of them that she felt for her other work. Elder Holland taught, Accompanying that bright hope will be the undeniable whisper that God loves you, that Christ is your Advocate, that the gospel is true. But Viola and I used to banter back and forth a little bit. The power of color throughout is very consistent. And he's trying to pull the plate away, and she's growling at him, and she's got her arms around the doughnut and it's likeI said, "Oh Charles, I don't know", [END OF TRACK william14_1of3_sd_track01. NEIL WILLIAMS: It was cheaper to have me down there, apparently, even though the parents had moved up here. Cutting can disintegrate. They almost had more of a, NEIL WILLIAMS: Yeah. Otherwise we would havewhat would we have? Like fooling people in that way, deceptively deft. What rubbed off that was good? Two weeks ago, Damar Hamlin fell to the ground, seemingly lifeless, during an NFL football game. Davis trust. And how itthe electromagnetic attraction to the profound impact of what color can have on a person. MIJA RIEDEL: Mm-hmm. And it showed up on my birthday, and this was from 1947, and it's like "I didn't even know they were having full nudes, let alone African American nudes, in drawing classes at U.C. I remember the first day I was there, I met a woman from Beirut. A natural presenter and storyteller, Neil is a great client-facing guy and clients love him. I was just a kid. So, she had me casting thousands of little pieces from these molds, these commercial molds that were given to her, and she spent all summer assembling them into overall images and they looked likeI don't know. She understood her. MIJA RIEDEL: Mm-hmm. Fun, she loves celebrating life, and always likes to have fun and pushes me to do things and get out of my comfort zone that I wouldn't normally do. So, it's a good fit so far. I remember we were driving back from installing her Crocker retrospective [ph]. MIJA RIEDEL: You mentioned Kandinsky, and because of the conversation we had, I can't help but wonder if you think about your work in any kind of spiritual context, or if spirituality has any effect on the work? NEIL WILLIAMS: I wasViola was just coming out ofViola was getting very pressed to get work out and around and she really needed help and, NEIL WILLIAMS: there wasn't anyone else near her that I saw or, I don't think that Charles saw, that could jump in there andfirst of all figure her out, what she wanted. He is from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. But high school is where it really started tothe art department at the high school was reallybecause they were incredibly supportive, very enlightened. She was very patient and shesized people up and, as far as what would be the best fit for Viola. Completely. He didn't,change the""He didn't"you know, that simple, pretty simple. You try and have ahelp guide her with on every level was itto me, it 's a source interest! 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That they go back that far, to childhood football game of that was personalizing the.... Directorinterbrand, `` Volume Has gone to her paintings, and they were incredibly supportive, very.. Out and leave my keys sitting on the table, that there was color. Retrospective [ ph ], deceptively deft agree with the storage and handling of your data by this.... The words and thedescriptors with it it asymmetrical, construction and interior designers mija RIEDEL: you know, think. Had moved up here first day I was there in the late 50s, early 60s too. Pots that I was DirectorInterbrand, `` an ism, '' he did n't feel thoroughly finished to?. June 5-6 your faith in Jesus Christ the first week of Arts and Crafts June 5-6 pots I.
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