John Carter (interviewer)- Thank you Mr.Hopkinson for taking the time out to let me interview you. I'm just going to start with a simple starter question, What were some important things happening in Philadelphia?
Francis Hopkinson- Oh no problem John, and please call me Francis. Great starter question, aahhh let me think. Well when I was kid there was always something that had to be done whether it was building houses or farming so I never really had time to play. So I had to learn how to become a adult, I was always keeping up with what was happening in our colonies. A year that I will always remember was "The Bloody Election" , there was controversy between Quakers, Priests, Anglicans, and Catholics which led to riots. A very downhearted time, but to brighten the mood Benjamin Franklin started to become a leading citizen he est. the first public library and built a hospital for the poor which helped Philadelphia become alive. During the Revolutionary War, Philadelphia was headquarters which held the First and Second Continental Congress. That is where I was one the men who signed the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey.(paul Palvao,2014)
John Carter- Wow Philadelphia has been up and down. Next question.... what made you so interested in the arts when you were younger ?
Francis Hopkinson- I think when I was younger I just wanted to try everything and it just happened that I was good at writing and composing music and playing the Harpsichord and other instruments. Obviously it wasn't the only thing I wanted to do but I was a great hobby something that I thought was fun to relieve stress. When I was younger my goal wasn't to become known for my music it was just a great escape. But don't get me wrong I wanted to be good at my craft so I would always try to do more than what my teacher was teaching me. When I was younger none of my friends were never in the arts and always thought I was different which made me want to ave different technique that no one did.(Nicole Slike,2006)
John Carter- Interesting.... You were always doing things no one has ever did . Which leads me to my next question What was the world of art like in your particular art field when you entered ?
Francis Hopkinson- I wouldn't call myself an artist/painter/drawer but I was good at it. There were plenty of good Artist out there so I wouldn't call myself special. Which hopefully I'll get to talk more about later. Even with writing there were a lot of good writers but I just a had a way I would always write it was like a trademark. Even though I'm not the only person in the arts I was never afraid to explore deeper and to do something new. I didn't care what people were going to think because I was always doing my own thing and creating pieces no one has ever seen. Even as I got older I never let that stop me I was still very devoted.I never limited myself I always wanted to try something new and different.( archiving early america, 1995-2015)
John Carter- That's actually great encouragement for other artist trying to build themselves. How did your mentors/ teachers help you develop the interests and talents you have as an artist?
Francis Hopkinson- Well my parents weren't really in the artist my dad was more into politics and when my father died at a early age my raised us so she never had time for herself. So I never really had someone who helped me discover my abilities. I think I just taught and learned by myself because I never wanted to be like everyone else I wanted to be the "jack of all trades". So I never settled for normal I wanted to go beyond that with the arts and my academics . I knew in order for me to make it, I had to try and be better and know pretty much everything. I have to give appreciation to my teachers who gave me the basics and guided me as far as they could and not letting me just fall through the cracks. (famous people,2015
John Carter- How did the major cultural, economic, and political situations of the time impact your work?
Francis Hopkinson- Around that time, the Revolutionary War was just starting. So must of my pieces were about political issues and giving people hope. Since I was a delegate I talked about the issues firsthand so I had to get message out there. I wanted my work to uplift people know that we were going to get through our problems.nthat we have to love even though we are going through the our mess
Monday, November 9, 2015
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Sources for interview
Sources
http://www.earlyamerica.com/early-america-review/volume-9/americas-first-composer-francis-hopkinson/
http://www.usflag.org/history/francishopkinson.html
http://www.amaranthpublishing.com/Hopkinson.htm
http://www.revolutionary-war.net/philadelphia.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Hopkinson
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/patriot-politician-and-composer-francis-hopkinson-dies
http://www.foundingfatherquotes.com/articles/17
http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid1978hopkinson.pdf
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/hopkinson.htm
http://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/betsy-ross-flag2.htm
http://www.earlyamerica.com/early-america-review/volume-9/americas-first-composer-francis-hopkinson/
http://www.usflag.org/history/francishopkinson.html
http://www.amaranthpublishing.com/Hopkinson.htm
http://www.revolutionary-war.net/philadelphia.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Hopkinson
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/patriot-politician-and-composer-francis-hopkinson-dies
http://www.foundingfatherquotes.com/articles/17
http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid1978hopkinson.pdf
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/hopkinson.htm
http://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/betsy-ross-flag2.htm
Part 2
John Carter- wow that's impressive and very helpful. What were one of your major accomplishments that had adversities that you had to overcome in order to be successful?
Francis Hopkinson- Well I was the first person who designed the American Flag. But a lot of headaches and fighting happened because of this flag. I had sent my creation but didn't receive anything for my work . So my bill was sent everywhere but was rejected because they didn't think my request was reasonable. It made me feel terrible to know that my work was pretty much being taken from me and I could do nothing about it but fight and hope that they would listen to request. I waited for two long months for a reply and didn't receive anything back, I was tired of waiting so I wrote to them and they told me they never received my letter I knew they were lying. I accused them of not being true to their words so a list charges were sent to against the board. Eventually my request were being answered but I was so tired of the issue. Even though all of this drama happened they never said that it wasn't my work.
John Carter- That's crazy you deserved better than that. What were the key opportunities you had that led to turning points in your life and art ?
Francis Hopkinson- I think it was just being able to be in the politics and knowing what the struggles were of the people. People love when you are able to connect to you, they actually listen to what you have to say. Just also not settling for being basic and being different and experimenting with different things. Even with the controversy with the flag it taught me how to overcome situations that could ruin my career. I never turned down a challenge because if I never went through it, I would never know how to handle it since I took the easy path in life. It definitely makes you stronger and wiser.
John Carter- alrighty last question.... How did your work impact the world?
Francis Hopkinson- by creating new things for people to add their own touch.by speaking the truth and love and showing people that there is hope. By telling people that when your down you have to come up. Always fight for what you believe in and never let someone bring you down. Never settling for average; always try to be a overachiever because in the end it will all be worth it. Try new things because you never know what you are able to do unless you try and never give up. Always be yourself and try to make someone happy, always make sure you're happy first.
John Carter- Thank you Francis for that great inspiration
Francis Hopkinson- anytime
Sources:
Francis Hopkinson- Well I was the first person who designed the American Flag. But a lot of headaches and fighting happened because of this flag. I had sent my creation but didn't receive anything for my work . So my bill was sent everywhere but was rejected because they didn't think my request was reasonable. It made me feel terrible to know that my work was pretty much being taken from me and I could do nothing about it but fight and hope that they would listen to request. I waited for two long months for a reply and didn't receive anything back, I was tired of waiting so I wrote to them and they told me they never received my letter I knew they were lying. I accused them of not being true to their words so a list charges were sent to against the board. Eventually my request were being answered but I was so tired of the issue. Even though all of this drama happened they never said that it wasn't my work.
John Carter- That's crazy you deserved better than that. What were the key opportunities you had that led to turning points in your life and art ?
Francis Hopkinson- I think it was just being able to be in the politics and knowing what the struggles were of the people. People love when you are able to connect to you, they actually listen to what you have to say. Just also not settling for being basic and being different and experimenting with different things. Even with the controversy with the flag it taught me how to overcome situations that could ruin my career. I never turned down a challenge because if I never went through it, I would never know how to handle it since I took the easy path in life. It definitely makes you stronger and wiser.
John Carter- alrighty last question.... How did your work impact the world?
Francis Hopkinson- by creating new things for people to add their own touch.by speaking the truth and love and showing people that there is hope. By telling people that when your down you have to come up. Always fight for what you believe in and never let someone bring you down. Never settling for average; always try to be a overachiever because in the end it will all be worth it. Try new things because you never know what you are able to do unless you try and never give up. Always be yourself and try to make someone happy, always make sure you're happy first.
John Carter- Thank you Francis for that great inspiration
Francis Hopkinson- anytime
Sources:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)