Karen Anne Mason, B.A., English, Simmons College; M.A., Art History, University of California, Los Angeles.
Place: Waddy's home, San Francisco, California.
Dates, length of sessions: July 26, 1991 (61 minutes); July 27,
1991 (173); July 28, 1991 (78).
Total number of recorded hours: 5.20
Persons present dviring interview: Waddy, Mason, and Waddy's
daughter, Maryom Ana Al-Wadi, intermittently.
This interview is one of a series on African-American art and artists in Los Angeles. This oral history project gathers and preserves interviews with African-American artists who have created significant works and others in the Los Angeles metropolitan area who have worked to expand exhibition opportunities and public support for African-American visual culture.
The interview is organized chronologically, beginning with Waddy's childhood in Lincoln,
Nebraska, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, and continuing on through her preserving and
publicizing the work of African-American printmakers. Major topics covered include the
publication of Prints by American Negro Artists and Black Artists on Art , the creation of Art West Associated, her
own work as a painter and linoleum block designer, and the black art scene in Southern
California.
Steven J. Novak, editor, edited the interview. He checked the verbatim transcript of the interview against the original tape recordings, edited for punctuation, paragraphing, and spelling, and verified proper names. Words and phrases inserted by the editor have been bracketed.
Waddy reviewed the transcript. She verified proper names and made minor corrections and additions.
Novak also prepared the table of contents, biographical summary, interview history, and index.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
The original tape recordings of the interview are in the university archives and are available under the regulations governing the use of permanent noncurrent records of the university. Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Oral History Program.