The papers of San Antonio-based educator and photographer Kathy Vargas measure 10.8 linear feet and date from circa 1965-2016. Vargas's career is documented through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, project and exhibition files, professional files, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of San Antonio-based educator and photographer Kathy Vargas measure 10.8 linear feet and date from circa 1965-2016. Vargas's career is documented through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, project and exhibition files, professional files, and printed material.
The collection contains biographical materials, including a video recording of an interview, photographs of family and friends, and records for Vargas's studies at the University of Texas. Correspondence is with Lucy Lippard, Jim Goldberg, Jeff Perrone, colleagues, and others. Topics of professional correspondence includes exhibitions, publications, and residencies. Writings and notes that include five notebooks, manuscripts by Vargas and others, notes, and lecture and panel talks. Project and exhibition files document her work on major exhibitions of Chicano art, and include twelve sound recordings of interviews for the exhibition Hospice: A Photographic Inquiry. Other projects include the Guerrilla Girls Fotonovela and research on San Antonio shrines. Professional files document Vargas's activities on various boards and committees, employment, and for her work on selection panels. Printed material includes clippings, exhibition material, magazines, posters, and other publications.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1965-2014 (Boxes 1, 12; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1979-2014 (Boxes 1-5, 12; 4.0 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1985-2014 (Boxes 5-6; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 4: Project and Exhibition Files, 1984-2004 (Boxes 6-8, 12; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 5: Professional Files, 1975-2016 (Boxes 8-9; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1974-circa 2010 (Boxes 9-12, OV 13; 2.4 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Kathy Vargas (1950- ) is an educator and photographer in San Antonio, Texas.
Vargas's early influences were the stories of her elder family members, Catholicism, and her uncle Antonio Valdez, a photographer. In the early 1970s, Vargas became acquainted with rock and roll photographers who introduced her to their world of professional photography. Her interest led to taking photography classes at the Southwest Craft Center where she studied under photographer Tom Wright. She quickly became captivated with the art form and started freelancing as a rock and roll photographer. Around this time, Vargas also became familiar with Chicano art and the artist group Con Safo, co-founded by Mel Casas. Vargas and Casas maintained their friendship until his death.
In addition to attending the Southwest Craft Center, Vargas also attended San Antonio College. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Art in 1981 and a Master of Fine Art in 1984 from the University of Texas in San Antonio. Vargas has exhibited her work, as well as curated numerous exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad, collaborating with colleagues such as Jim Goldberg, close friend Lucy Lippard, and others. Vargas is a professor and art department chair at the University of the Incarnate Word where she developed a Bachelor of Fine Art program for photography. Previously she was the Visual Arts Director at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an oral history with Kathy Vargas conducted by Jacinto Quirarte, in San Antonio, Texas on November 7-25, 1997 for the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
The Kathy Vargas papers were donated in 2016 by Vargas.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival records with audiovisual records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
A genealogical chart; 17 letters, 1912-1971; printed material, undated and 1926-1982, including a brochure, undated, clippings, 1926-1982, 2 exhibition announcements, 1979 and 1982, 2 bulletins, 1972 and 1982; and 2 photographs of Goldbeck.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographer; San Antonio, Texas. Full name Eugene Omar Goldbeck. Best known for his photographs of military groups and panoramic landscapes.
Related Materials:
E. O. Goldbeck negatives also located at: University of Texas Humanities Research Center.
Provenance:
Microfilmed as part of the Archives of American Art's Texas project.
Lent for microfilming 1983 by E. O. Goldbeck.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
An interview of Kathy Vargas conducted 1997 November 7-25, by Jacinto Quirarte, in San Antonio, Texas, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Kathy Vargas (1950-) is a photographer and art director in San Antonio, Texas. Vargas is the director of the visual arts program at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 8 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
This interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview with Al Rendon conducted 2020 August 18, by Benjamin Gillespie, for the Archives of American Art's Pandemic Oral History Project at Rendon's home in San Antonio, Texas.
Biographical / Historical:
Al Rendon (1957- ) is a photographer in San Antonio, Texas.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the audio is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the audio recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
