Milestone 1997
Marries Carole McCallum
In their words
she was there at the beginning, it was her group house in mt. pleasant and pushed me hard to paint... but the true hero of my story is dana ellyn.
we will publish the carole story eventually ... include every reference to her in my story. she earned it.
Matt Sesow is a true believer. Programming since high school, he had an Apple II and the first Mac. He landed jobs at AOL, IBM and most recently Netscape. He loved computers early, and his passion has not waned. He loves McCallum, too, and two years ago they got married.
his former wife artist carole mccallum introduced matt to the world of art...as they dated matt challenged himself to paint as he desired to develop an intimate connection with the woman he loved...with the moral support of carole a confident powerful and uniquely individual artistic articulation manifested in vivid color
my wife carole has a lovely job out here making the big$$$... my paintings had been selling well, so i quit my job and moved out here to paint full time... and do film work...
Saved web pages and links
- The honeymoon: Hong Kong and China
- San Jose Mercury News, October 8, 1998: “Peace Work” — Matt and Carole leave Silicon Valley for the Peace Corps (full text)
- San Jose Art League, 1998: the show card pictures “Self Portrait with Carole”
- Peace Corps, Solomon Islands, November 1998
- Return from the Peace Corps, 1999
- Get Underground, 2002: “his former wife artist carole mccallum introduced matt to the world of art”
- Kaleidospeak chat, June 1997: “my wife carole”
- Film: “Trinket” (1994) — Carole McCallum, stunt driver
- Film: “Is That Your Name and Number Allen Vincent?” (1996–98) — Carole McCallum on the crew
- Film: “Where Did She Touch You?” (1997) — Carole McCallum as “twirly girl”
Research notes
- The wedding year: Matt dates it to 1997. The Mercury News (October 1998) wrote that they had married “two years ago,” and in a June 1997 online chat Matt already calls Carole “my wife,” so it may have been late 1996 or early 1997.
- More of this story — the honeymoon, the Peace Corps year — is still to be written down with Matt.
Where this record comes from
- Matt Sesow, note to the history project, October 30, 2026: married 1997; honeymoon Hong Kong → China; Carole's group house in Mt. Pleasant; Peace Corps together; divorced 1999 'if my memory is correct'
- San Jose Mercury News, “Peace Work: Couple trades the rat race for an island adventure,” by Mike Cassidy, October 8, 1998 (“two years ago they got married”)
- Kaleidospeak chat, June 26, 1997 (“my wife carole”)
Cite as: Sesow, Matt. “Marries Carole McCallum.” Matt Sesow Career Chronicle, 1997. history.sesow.com/e/1997-marries-carole-mccallum.html. Accessed [date].
Were you there? Do you have a photo, a clipping or a memory of this? Please write to sesow@sesow.com or use Ask Matt a question, and it will be added here.
Also in 1997
Exhibition (7)
- Honeymoon travels in Hong Kong and China (with Malaysia and Singapore) — with Carole McCallum
- Works Gallery, San Jose, CA
- Art Salon, Outsider Art Fair, Milwaukee, WI
- Institute of Contemporary Art, “Salon des Refuses,” San Jose, CA
- Aud Art, Wall Street, New York City, NY
- South Bay Artists Collective, Kismet Gallery, San Jose, CA
- Across the Tracks, Works Gallery, San Jose, CA