The subjects interviewed for Underground Rhode Island were selected, among many possibilities, for several reasons. The eldest were likely to have been part or the "hip" scene around jazz and the Celebrity Club of the 1950s. More than a few had a connection with AS220 and its circle, at some time in the past. And the youngest members have been active in the Rhode Island arts scene, in one way or another, during the last twenty years or so. Not all are either "lost" or "unknown"; some of them have long been prominent. And yet they represent a self-consciously offbeat take on the mainstream culture of Middle America. They are "underground" even when "overground," part of a world more recognizable to Allen Ginsberg (or Bruce Springsteen) than the people in the White House or Wall Street. And they were intriguing to the students who chose to interview them.
You may expect to find a photo--not necessarily from the recent past--a short biography, a recording of the subject's own voice, a verbatim transcript of the interview, and links to related materials. Not all these are present for each interview--some are still being gathered (or recovered)--but they definitely represent a sense of a life and creative work within that life.
Paul Iannelli has lived in Providence most of his life. He has worked as a laborer, community member, National Guardsman, and union steward. At Providence Steel and Iron he was a welder, punch-operator, and truck driver. When Clay Rockefeller bought the site, Iannelli stayed on as property manager for The Steelyard, which turned the old fabrication shop into a studio space and community center. He maintains the larger equipment, offers instruction and advice, and serves as the site historian. Iannelli has seen both the decline and resurgence of interest in The Steelyard and Woonasquatucket Valley area, and notes the parallel between the efforts of contemporary artists and the craftsmanship of the steelworkers of an earlier era.
© 2005