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Melinda Wortz papers

Creator:
Wortz, Melinda  Search this
Names:
University of California, Irvine -- Faculty  Search this
University of California, Irvine. Department of Studo Art  Search this
University of California, Irvine. Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Antin, Eleanor  Search this
Baca, Judith Francisca  Search this
Ballatore-Nelson, Sandy  Search this
Barber, Daniel  Search this
Bell, Larry, 1939-  Search this
Christo, 1935-  Search this
DeLap, Tony, 1927-2019  Search this
Dine, Jim, 1935-  Search this
Eversley, Frederick, 1941-  Search this
Harding, Bill  Search this
Irwin, Robert, 1928-  Search this
Johns, Jasper, 1930-  Search this
Kauffman, Craig, 1932-2010  Search this
Livkin, Rena  Search this
Lodato, Peter  Search this
Marchesi, Cork  Search this
Marck, Marc van der  Search this
McCafferty, Jay David, 1948-  Search this
Moses, Ed, 1926-  Search this
Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988  Search this
Ox, Jack, 1948-  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this
Rinke, Klaus, 1939-  Search this
Rosler, Martha  Search this
Schwartz, Beth Ames  Search this
Small, Rena  Search this
Sonneman, Eve  Search this
Taylor, Elizabeth, 1932-2011  Search this
Tivey, Hap  Search this
Todd, Liza  Search this
Turrell, James  Search this
Valentine, DeWain, 1936-  Search this
Warner, Elsa  Search this
Wiener, Nina  Search this
Zaimo, Stephen  Search this
Extent:
17.45 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Photographs
Transcripts
Sound recordings
Travel diaries
Place:
Paris (France) -- description and travel
Soviet Union -- description and travel
Date:
1958-1992
Summary:
The papers of California art historian, writer, instructor, and curator, Melinda Wortz (1940-2002) date from 1958-1992, and measure 17.45 linear feet. The collection includes documentation of Wortz's tenure at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where she specialized in collecting and presenting the California "light and space" artists during the 1970s and 1980s. Wortz's papers include biographical information, personal and professional correspondence, interview transcripts and sound recordings, professional and student writings and notes, diaries of five trips abroad, UCI administrative, dossier, and teaching files, general subject and artist files, printed material, several pieces of artwork; and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of California art historian, writer, instructor, and curator, Melinda Wortz (1940-2002) date from 1958-1992, and measure 17.45 linear feet. The collection includes documentation of Wortz's tenure at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where she specialized in collecting and presenting the California Light and Space artists during the 1970s and 1980s. Wortz's papers include biographical information, personal and professional correspondence, interview transcripts and sound recordings, professional and student writings and notes, diaries of five trips abroad, UCI administrative, dossier, and teaching files, general subject and artist files, printed material, several pieces of artwork; and photographs.

Wortz's biographical material includes annotated appointment books and calendars, resumes, and some family, financial, and legal records.

Correspondence files document Wortz's activities beyond her work at UCI, including scattered correspondence with artists such as Eleanor Antin, Daniel Barber, Christo, Craig Kauffman, Cork Marchesi, Martha Rosler, Eve Sonneman, Hap Tivey, and Elsa Warner. Correspondence also relates to arrangements for lectures, juries, panels, symposiums, and other professional activities in which Wortz participated.

Interviews include transcripts of four interviews conducted by Wortz with subjects including Peter Lodato and Dewain Valentine, and a sound recording of an interview with Nina Wiener.

Writings and notes include drafts, and some published copies, of articles and essays written for journals, magazines, and exhibition catalogs; Wortz's dissertation and thesis; notes; student essays and class notes; and scattered writings by others. Included in the published works are copies of Artweek containing articles by Wortz, and drafts and published copies of essays on Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, Jasper Johns, Jay McCafferty, Isamu Noguchi, Robert Rauschenberg, Klaus Rinke, Beth Ames Schwartz, and James Turrell.

Diaries document five separate overseas trips to locations including Asia in 1977, Paris in 1978, and the U.S.S.R., where Wortz delivered a paper on Robert Irwin, in 1989.

University of California, Irvine, records include Wortz's administrative files documenting her work on various committees, her directorship of the Fine Arts Gallery, including budget and exhibition records, her work as Chair of Studio Art, and her collaborations with other faculty, including Judy Baca, Sandy Ballatore, Tony Delap, Craig Kauffman, and Rena Small. Wortz's dossier files provide a thorough record of her accomplishments from the late 1970s-1990, and her UCI teaching files document the content of core art courses which she taught at UCI in the 1970s and 1980s.

Subject files provide additional documentation of Wortz's interest in particular artists and subjects, and include scattered correspondence with artists, as well as additional correspondence, reports, printed material, index card files, sound cassettes, and photographs, documenting her interests in art and politics, feminism, religion and spirituality, museum management and training, and other subjects.

Printed material includes announcements, catalogs, journals, newsletters, and material specifically documenting Wortz's activities.

Artwork includes a piece of floor covering from a Jim Dine exhibition, a booklet by Daniel Barber, Flams by Rena Livkin, and several pieces of unidentified artwork.

Photographs include photos of Wortz with her family and with UCI faculty including Tony DeLap, Craig Kauffman, and Ed Moses; photos of events with friends and family, including Hap Tivey's wedding to Liza Todd with Elizabeth Taylor in attendance; photos of artists including Frederick Eversley, Bill Harding, Jack Ox, and Stephen Zaimo; and photos of artwork by artists including Tony DeLap, Barbara Smith, Marc Van Der Marck, and others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as ten series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1966-1988 (0.25 linear feet; Boxes 1, 19)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1967-1992 (1.25 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 18)

Series 3: Interviews, 1971-circa 1980s (6 folders; Boxes 2, 18)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, 1958-circa 1990 (4.25 linear feet; Boxes 2-6, 19)

Series 5: Diaries, 1977-1989 (6 folders; Box 6)

Series 6: University of California, Irvine, 1960-1991 (4.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-11, OV 20)

Series 7: Subject Files, circa 1960-1990 (4.25 linear feet; Boxes 11-15, 18)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1960s-1980s (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 15-16, 19)

Series 9: Artwork, circa 1960s-circa 1980s (3 folders; Boxes 17, 19)

Series 10: Photographs, 1960s-1980s (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 17, 19)
Biographical / Historical:
California art historian, writer, instructor, and curator, Melinda Wortz (1940-2002), taught at the University of California, Irvine, from 1975, serving as Director of UCI's Fine Arts Gallery and Chair of the Department of Studio Art. Wortz's special area of interest was the work of the California "light and space" artists emerging in Los Angeles in the 1970s.

After attending Stanford University and graduating from Radcliffe College with a bachelors degree in art history, Wortz received her masters degree in art history from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her doctorate in theology and the arts from the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley. Wortz taught at California State University and the University of California Extension in the early 1970s. At UCI her colleagues included Judy Baca, Sandy Ballatore, Tony Delap, Craig Kauffman, and Rena Small.

Wortz married Edward C. Wortz in the early 1970s, following her divorce from her first husband, Thomas G. Terbell, Jr. Edward Wortz's first career was as a research scientist working on NASA contracts in the air research industry in Colorado and California. Later he was involved in the arts and participated in collaborations with artists including Robert Irwin, Coy Howard, and James Turrell. He worked with Melinda Wortz to develop their personal collection of contemporary art.

Melinda Wortz was a prolific writer who wrote extensively for national art periodicals, including Arts Magazine, and Art News. She also wrote, and served as editor, for the California periodical Artweek from the 1960s to 1990s. She wrote numerous catalogs for artists including Larry Bell, Cork Marchesi, Doug Moran, Beth Ames Schwartz, and James Turrell; and published articles on Dan Flavin, Robert Irwin, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and others. She lectured at Brown University, the Center for Art, Salt Lake City, Contemporary Art Museum, La Jolla, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the San Diego Museum, Wellesley College, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and many other institutions. In 1989 she traveled to the U.S.S.R. to deliver a paper on Robert Irwin at the International Art Critics Association annual meeting.

In addition to her curatorial work at the UCI Fine Arts Gallery, where she organized exhibitions for artists including Alice Aycock, Jonathan Borofsky, Audrey Flack, Jack Ox, and Dennis Oppenheim, Wortz curated exhibitions for University of California sister colleges, Pasadena Art Museum, and others.

Wortz received UCI and National Endowment for the Arts grants in support of her writing, and served on advisory boards of the Contemporary Arts Forum, Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, Robert Rauschenberg's foundation, Advisory Board of Change, Inc., the Pasadena Art Museum, and others.

Wortz was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease at the age of 50 and died in 2002.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Edward C. Wortz, Melinda Wortz's husband, in 1994.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Authors -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Educators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Art museum curators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Gallery directors -- California -- Irvine  Search this
Topic:
Art, American -- California  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Photographs
Transcripts
Sound recordings
Travel diaries
Citation:
Melinda Wortz papers, 1958-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.wortmeli
See more items in:
Melinda Wortz papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw905985e8b-dfa4-4162-a8bb-952942187c9f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-wortmeli
Online Media:

Melinda Wortz papers, 1958-1992

Creator:
Wortz, Melinda, 1940-2002  Search this
Subject:
Eversley, Frederick  Search this
Taylor, Elizabeth  Search this
Livkin, Rena  Search this
Turrell, James  Search this
Tivey, Hap  Search this
Baca, Judith Francisca  Search this
DeLap, Tony  Search this
Antin, Eleanor  Search this
Christo  Search this
Dine, Jim  Search this
McCafferty, Jay David  Search this
Sonneman, Eve  Search this
Ox, Jack  Search this
Todd, Liza  Search this
Marck, Marc van der  Search this
Rinke, Klaus  Search this
Rosler, Martha  Search this
Irwin, Robert  Search this
Johns, Jasper  Search this
Valentine, DeWain  Search this
Kauffman, Craig  Search this
Zaimo, Stephen  Search this
Small, Rena  Search this
Warner, Elsa  Search this
Bell, Larry  Search this
Moses, Ed  Search this
Lodato, Peter  Search this
Wiener, Nina  Search this
Schwartz, Beth Ames  Search this
Barber, Daniel  Search this
Noguchi, Isamu  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert  Search this
Harding, Bill  Search this
Marchesi, Cork  Search this
Ballatore-Nelson, Sandy  Search this
University of California, Irvine. Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
University of California, Irvine. Department of Studo Art  Search this
University of California, Irvine  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Photographs
Transcripts
Sound recordings
Travel diaries
Place:
Paris (France) -- description and travel
Soviet Union -- description and travel
Citation:
Melinda Wortz papers, 1958-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American -- California  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Theme:
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6475
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215662
AAA_collcode_wortmeli
Theme:
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_215662
Online Media:

David Ireland : a decade documented, 1978-1988

Author:
Ireland, David 1930-2009  Search this
Tsujimoto, Karen  Search this
University of California, Berkeley University Art Museum  Search this
Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery  Search this
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Ireland, David 1930-2009  Search this
Physical description:
70 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 27 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Date:
1988
C1988
Call number:
N40.1.I676 I6 1990
N40.1.I676I6 1990
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_392913

Carole Caroompas : fairy tales

Title:
Fairy tales
Author:
Caroompas, Carole  Search this
Wortz, Melinda  Search this
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Caroompas, Carole  Search this
Physical description:
1 folded sheet ([6] p.) : [3] ill. ([1] col.) ; 31 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Date:
1990
[1990]
Topic:
Fairy tales in art  Search this
Call number:
N6537.C37 A4 1990
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_905616

Variations III : emerging artists in Southern California : an exhibition initiated and sponsored by the Fellows of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and organized by LACE--Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions / curator and essayist, Melinda Wortz

Author:
Wortz, Melinda  Search this
Fellows of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (Gallery)  Search this
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
California State University, Northridge Art Gallery  Search this
Physical description:
79 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
California, Southern
Date:
1987
20th century
Topic:
Arts, American--Exhibitions  Search this
Arts, Modern--Exhibitions  Search this
Call number:
NX510.C22 S68 1987X
NX510.C22S68 1987X
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_381617

The University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery, 1985-1986, 20th anniversary / introduction by Melinda Wortz

Author:
Wortz, Melinda  Search this
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Physical description:
48 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 26 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Place:
California
Irvine
Date:
1986
C1986
20th century
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Call number:
N6530.C2 L341 1986
N6530.C2L341 1986
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_410117

Nick Vaughn : selected work 1978-1987 / an exhibition organized by the Fine Arts Gallery, University of California, Irvine

Author:
Vaughn, Nick 1953-  Search this
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Vaughn, Nick 1953-  Search this
Physical description:
16 p. : ill ; 26 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Date:
1987
Topic:
Clothing and dress in art  Search this
Call number:
NB237.V38 A4 1987
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_833471

Dewain Valentine / [introduction by] Melinda Wortz

Author:
Valentine, DeWain 1936-  Search this
Wortz, Melinda  Search this
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Valentine, DeWain 1936-  Search this
Physical description:
1 folded sheet [(6 p.)] : col. ill. ; 21 x 72 cm. folded to 21 x 24 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Date:
1979
Call number:
NB237.V28 A4 1979b
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_837029

Selections from the Merry and Bill Norris Collection at the Fine Arts Gallery, University of California, Irvine

Author:
Wortz, Melinda  Search this
Norris, Bill  Search this
Norris, Merry  Search this
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Norris, Bill Art collections Exhibitions  Search this
Norris, Merry Art collections Exhibitions  Search this
Physical description:
94 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 22 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1984
C1984
Call number:
N5220.N675.1984
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_657736

Female fantasies: Jo Anne Bourgault, Anna Gunter, Elatia Koepfli, Janice Lester, Rita Yokoi

Author:
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Physical description:
[17] p. : ill. ; 28 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Place:
California
Date:
1977
1977]
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Fantasy in art  Search this
Call number:
N8217.F28 F46
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_638008

John Coplans : photographs, 1980-1985 : an exhibition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Fine Arts Gallery, University of California, Irvine, April 9-May 4, 1985

Author:
Coplans, John  Search this
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Coplans, John  Search this
Physical description:
[32] p. : ill. ; 21 x 22 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Date:
1985
C1985
Topic:
Photography, Artistic  Search this
Call number:
TR647 .C67 1985
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_641803

The Theater of refusal : black art and mainstream criticism / artists, Jean-Michel Basquiat ... [et al.] ; curator, Charles Gaines ; editor, Catherine Lord

Author:
Basquiat, Jean-Michel 1960-1988  Search this
Gaines, Charles 1944-  Search this
Lord, Catherine 1949-  Search this
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Richard L. Nelson Gallery  Search this
University of California, Riverside Art Gallery  Search this
Physical description:
91 p. : ill. ; 28 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Date:
1993
C1993
20th century
Topic:
African American art  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_525486

Sheila Lichacz : selected works, 1981-1989 : the University of California, Irvine, Fine Arts Gallery, February 26 - March 19, 1989 / curator Melinda Wortz

Author:
Lichacz, Sheila E  Search this
Wortz, Melinda  Search this
University of California, Irvine Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Lichacz, Sheila E  Search this
Physical description:
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 26 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Date:
1989
©1989
Call number:
N6587.L53 A4 1989
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1073934

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