Voices of Railroad Art is intended to document the people who create, preserve, study, collect, exhibit, and interpret railroad art.
- I expect to begin with living railroad artists, but the scope could eventually include collectors, curators, historians, editors, gallery owners, and others who have helped shape the field.
- In my preliminary research, I’ve found several oral history projects documenting railroad labor history, but not one focused specifically on railroad art.
The immediate impetus was the passing of artist Mitch Markovitz. Mitch had agreed to let me interview him for a proposed article about railroaders who are also artists. I delayed the interview while waiting for editorial direction, and Mitch died before we could do it.
That experience made me realize that preserving these voices is important in its own right, regardless of whether a specific article has been commissioned.
My current thought is to conduct recorded interviews by Zoom, phone, or in person; prepare transcripts; and obtain appropriate permissions. I’d also like to collect supporting material such as biographies, images, captions, and information about works the interviewees consider especially important.
I have been looking at oral histories from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art (AAA) as one possible model, although this project would have a more focused railroad-art mission. I’m also consulting Doing Oral History and The Oral History Manual.
If you’re interested in participating, please contact me.