The records of Jancar Gallery, located in Los Angeles, California, measure 2.5 linear feet and 23.80 GB and date from circa 1972 to 2015, with the bulk of the papers dating from 2006 to 2014. The collection includes exhibition and artist files; administrative and financial records; printed and digital material; and records of the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Jancar Gallery, located in Los Angeles, California, measure 2.5 linear feet and 23.80 GB and date from circa 1972 to 2015, with the bulk of the papers dating from 2006 to 2014. The collection includes exhibition and artist files; administrative and financial records; printed and digital material; and records of the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery.
Exhibition and artist files make up the bulk of the collection. They include artist resumes; artist statements; exhibition planning materials; slides and photographs of work; exhibition announcements and catalogs; price lists; consignment agreements; correspondence; clippings; and digital media such as digital photographs and videos. Also included are materials related to the "narratives of the perverse" exhibition (circa 2008) and materials related to the gallery's exhibition history.
Artists documented within the exhibition and artist files include Martha Alf, Judy Chicago, Robert Cumming, Linda Day, Hildegarde Duane, Micol Hebron, Mary Jones, Harriet Korman, Melissa Meyer, Susan Mogul, Richard Newton, Ilene Segalove, and Marie Thibeault, among others.
Administrative and financial records include mailing list materials, invoices and agreements, and digital records.
The printed materials include exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, exhibition posters, clippings, and ephemera.
Also found in this collection is a selection of Tom Jancar's records related to the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery, which Tom Jancar operated in Los Angeles with Richard Kuhlenschmidt from 1980 to 1982. These records are primarily administrative/financial records and printed material, and also include a file on artist David Askevold; some records are in digital format.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series.
Series 1: Exhibition and Artist Files, circa 1972-2015, bulk 2006-2015 (Box 1; 1 linear foot, ER01-ER46; 21.34 GB)
Series 2: Administrative and Financial Records, circa 1980s, 2006-2014 (Box 2; 0.3 linear feet, ER47-ER48; 0.128 GB)
Series 3: Printed and Digital Material, 2005-2014 (Box 2; 0.4 linear feet, OV 4, OV 5; ER49-ER52; 0.239 GB)
Series 4: Records of the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery, circa 1977-1982 (Boxes 2-3; 0.6 linear feet, OV 6; ER53-ER56; 2.09 GB)
Biographical / Historical:
The Jancar Gallery (established 2006-closed 2016) was a Los Angeles, California art gallery operated by Tom Jancar. The gallery opened in a building on Wilshire Boulevard before relocating to its Chinatown location on Chung King Road in the summer of 2008. Jancar Gallery did not specialize in any particular kind of art, exhibitions included collage, painting, photography, sculpture, multimedia installation, etc., but it showed predominantly women artists for much of the time it was open. In a short 2014 interview with Christine Palma (possibly at the Photo LA art expo), Tom Jancar gives the statistic as 70-80% female artists showing at the gallery.
Tom Jancar has a BA in art history and an MFA in studio art from the University of California, Irvine. In 1980, he and Richard Kuhlenschmidt opened the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery. That gallery closed in 1982. In 2006, he opened Jancar Gallery, which he operated until it closed in 2016.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Richard Kuhlenschmidt Gallery records, 1980-1992. This collection includes materials related to the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery.
Provenance:
The Jancar Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art by Tom Jancar.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of born-digital records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
The papers of curator and art critic David S. Rubin measure 23 linear feet and 57.68 gigabytes and date from 1960 to 2017. The papers are comprised of biographical materials, interviews, correspondence, writing projects and notes, artists' files, exhibition files, professional files, subject and research files, printed materials, and photographic materials documenting Rubin's work in California, Arizona, and other locations throughout the United States.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of curator and art critic David S. Rubin measure 23 linear feet and 57.68 gigabytes and date from 1960 to 2017. The papers are comprised of biographical materials, interviews, correspondence, writing projects and notes, artists' files, exhibition files, professional files, subject and research files, printed materials, and photographic materials documenting Rubin's work in California, Arizona, and other locations throughout the United States.
Biographical materials include 16 appointment books, 2 guest books, identification cards, curriculum vitae, and student records from UCLA. Interviews are with Rubin regarding William Baziotes, Rubin with Gary Lloyd and Wayne Thiebaud, and an interview about the exhibition Chelsea Rising. Mixed personal and professional correspondence is with curators, colleagues, and friends regarding exhibitions, symposiums and panels, and Rubin's job searches.
Writing projects and notes consist of student work including Rubin's unfinished Ph.D. dissertation, class notes, and student papers; articles and essays; a book project; lists; and lectures. Artist files contain printed materials relating to the artists' careers, and notes regarding exhibitions and artist biographical information. Files for exhibitions contain records for It's Only Rock and Roll: Rock and Roll Currents in Contemporary Art (1995) and other major exhibitions curated by Rubin. Professional files consist of records for employment, committees, consulting, and other professional activities. Subject and research files contain research material and notes on topics of interest and exhibition themes.
Printed materials include clippings, flyers, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and other material relating to Rubin and exhibitions. Photographic materials consist of photographs and slides of Rubin by Martha Alf, Arnold Mesches, and Bruce Houston; photographs by Rubin of Alf and other artists; events; friends; and works of art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 10 series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1969-2011 (Box 1; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 2: Interviews, 1982-circa 2001 (Boxes 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Correspondence, 1971-2017 (Boxes 2-5, OV 28; 3.0 linear feet)
Series 4: Writing Projects and Notes, 1970-2010 (Boxes 5-6, 27; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 5: Artist Files, 1960-2015 (Boxes 6-20, 27, OV 28; 15.0 linear feet)
Series 6: Exhibition Files, 1980-2008 (Boxes 21-23, 27; 2.5 linear feet)
Series 7: Professional Files, 1976-2009 (Boxes 23-24; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 8: Subject and Research Files, 1980-2002 (Boxes 24-25; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 9: Printed Materials, circa 1975-circa 2008 (Boxes 25, 27; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 10: Photographic Materials, 1979-2010 (Boxes 25-26; 1.0 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
David S. Rubin (1949- ) is a curator and art critic in Los Angeles, California. Rubin has curated exhibitions throughout the United States, primarily in Southern California, New Orleans, Louisiana, Cleveland, Ohio, and San Antonio, Texas.
Rubin received his Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1972 from the University of California in Los Angeles. He went on to earn a Master of Arts in art history from Harvard University. He began researching automatism in New York for a doctorate degree at Harvard but did not complete his dissertation. Rubin also attended the Museum Management Institute in 1989. He has been a curator at the San Francisco Art Institute, Albright College's Freedman Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland, Phoenix Art Museum, Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, and the San Antonio Museum of Art. He has curated exhibitions, including It's Only Rock and Roll: Rock and Roll Currents in Contemporary Art (1995) and the controversial Old Glory: The American Flag in Contemporary Art (1994), throughout the United States, primarily in California. Rubin is also a prolific essayist on contemporary art.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by David S. Rubin in 2016 and 2017.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copies 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.
Martha Alf, retrospective : an exhibition / initiated and sponsored by the Fellows of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and organized by the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery ; [Josine Ianco-Starrels, curator ; Suzanne Muchnic, essayist]
Sources of light : contemporary American luminism, Martha Alf, Roger Brown, April Gornik, Alfred Leslie, Norman Lundin, Ed Paschke / essay by Harvey West ; biographies by Chris Bruce
