The papers of performance artist and educator Roberto Sifuentes measure 4.3 linear feet and date from circa 1988 to 2006. The collection documents Sifuentes' work as a professional artist and educator through biographical material and interviews; correspondence including emails; project files including project descriptions, documentation of individual productions, audio and video recordings, and components of works for multimedia projects; conference files documenting symposia and conference participation; articles, versions of performance scripts, and other writings; printed material including press clippings, promotional press packets, and source material; as well as photographic material documenting performances and social events.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of performance artist and educator Roberto Sifuentes measure 4.3 linear feet and date from circa 1988 to 2006. The collection documents Sifuentes' work as a professional artist and educator through biographical material and interviews; correspondence including emails; project files including project descriptions, documentation of individual productions, audio and video recordings, and components of works for multimedia projects; conference files documenting symposia and conference participation; articles, versions of performance scripts, and other writings; printed material including press clippings, promotional press packets, and source material; as well as photographic material documenting performances and social events.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 7 series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1990-2000 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, 0.003 Gigabytes; ER01)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1990-2000 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, 0.004 Gigabytes; ER02-ER05)
Series 3: Project Files, circa 1986-2000 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 0.051 Gigabytes; ER06-ER15, ER18-ER19)
Series 4: Conference Files, circa 1995-2006 (0.2 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 5: Writings, circa 1993-2000 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, 0.002 Gigabytes, ER16-ER17)
Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1993-2000 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 4-5)
Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1990s (0.1 linear feet; Box 4)
Biographical / Historical:
Roberto Sifuentes, (born Los Angeles, 1967) is a Chicano performance artist and arts instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He completed his BA from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1989 and in 1993 founded La Pocha Nostra Performance Group with his career-long collaborator, Guillermo Gómez-Peña. La Pocha Nostra in its manifesto describes itself as a "trans-disciplinary arts organization...created out of our necessity to survive as Chicano artists in a racist Art World." Around 1992 Roberto began contributing as a collaborator and performer for performance works created by Gómez-Peña in collaboration with Coco Fusco, Couple in the Cage and New World (B)order. Sifuentes has continued his partnership with Gómez-Peña in creating new performance works and publications, as well touring widely to perform their works and deliver outreach programs including lectures and workshops.
Consistent with his work with La Pocha Nostra, Sifuentes has taken an activist sensibility and approach in incorporating stereotypical ritualistic and religious cultural imagery in his installations and performances, while engaging with emerging technologies. This juxtaposition between the futuristic and the traditional stereotype was reflected in his widely applied artistic persona Cybervato. Key works incorporating this persona include Borderscape 2000, Temple of Confessions, and Mexterminator. He has performed his works and contributed to symposia and conferences throughout the world at venues including National Review of Live Art, Glasgow; Center for Performance Research, Wales; Hemispheric Institute, New York University; Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC; De Young Museum, San Francisco; and El Museo del Barrio in New York City.
Provenance:
The Roberto Sifuentes papers were donated by Roberto Sifuentes to the Archives of American Art in 2018.
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 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.
California State University, Hayward -- Faculty Search this
Extent:
0.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1990-1995
Summary:
The papers of Mexican-American painter, printmaker, and educator Enrique Chagoya measure 0.8 linear feet and date from 1990 to 1995. The collection includes four dossiers compiled by Chagoya for evaluations of his professorship at California State University in Hayward, California. The dossiers contain resumes, student evaluations, correspondence, exhibition announcements and catalogs, clippings, transparencies of artwork, class syllabi, lists of accomplishments as an educator, and lists of exhibitions.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Mexican-American painter, printmaker, and educator Enrique Chagoya measure 0.8 linear feet and date from 1990 to 1995. The collection includes four dossiers compiled by Chagoya for evaluations of his professorship at California State University in Hayward, California. The dossiers contain resumes, student evaluations, correspondence, exhibition announcements and catalogs, clippings, transparencies of artwork, class syllabi, lists of accomplishments as an educator, and lists of exhibitions.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Series 1: Enrique Chagoya papers, 1990-1995 (Boxes 1-2; 0.8 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Enrique Chagoya (1953- ) is a painter, printmaker, and educator in San Francisco, California.
Chagoya was born in Mexico City. His father, also an artist, encouraged Chagoya's interest in art from a young age. Chagoya studied political economics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. It was during this time that he worked in rural areas on development projects. The projects helped shape the political and social perspective that often appears in Chagoya's artwork. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1977, he began working as an illustrator and graphic designer. Chagoya attended the San Francisco Art Institute where he received his bachelor's degree in 1984 and received a master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987. He also taught at the University of California at Berkeley, as well as California State University at Hayward, and Stanford University.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Enrique Chagoya conducted by Paul Karlstrom in San Francisco, California from July 25 to August 6, 2001 for the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by Enrique Chagoya in 2016.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that he may own.
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:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Printmakers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art teachers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
The papers of San Antonio painter and educator Mel Casas measure 1 linear foot and date from 1963 to 1998. The collection is comprised of biographical material including files on the art collective Con Safo, correspondence regarding business and exhibitions, writings by Casas on Chicano art, printed materials documenting Casas's career and Con Safo events, and photographic materials, including photos and slides of Casas and others, his artwork, and an exhibition.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of San Antonio painter and educator Mel Casas measure 1 linear foot and date from 1963 to 1998. The collection is comprised of biographical material including files on the art collective Con Safo, correspondence regarding business and exhibitions, writings by Casas on Chicano art, printed materials documenting Casas's career and Con Safo events, and photographic materials, including photos and slides of Casas and others, his artwork, and an exhibition.
Of particular note are the files on Con Safo, including meeting minutes for two 1975 meetings, and copies of La Movida Con Safo numbers 1 and 2, which include records of the founding of the group and copies of defining documents of the Chicano art movement. Casas's writings, which express his ideas on Chicano art in diagrammatic form, are also of particular note.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1975-1996 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1975-1993 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 3: Writings, 1973-1993 (Box 1; 0.9 folders)
Series 4: Printed Materials, 1963-1998 (Box 1-2, OVs 3-4; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographic Materials, circa 1977 (Box 2; 2 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Mel Casas (1929-2014) was a painter and educator in San Antonio, Texas.
Casas was born in El Paso in the historic El Segundo Barrio. After graduating from El Paso High School, he worked odd jobs before serving in the United States Army during the Korean War. Casas was wounded by a landmine in Korea and ultimately awarded the Purple Heart. After returning home he attended the University of Texas at El Paso and graduated in 1956. He subsequently earned a Master of Fine Art in 1958 from the University of the Americas in Mexico City.
Casas began his teaching career at Jefferson High School in El Paso where one of his students was artist Gaspar Enriquez. He went on to teach at San Antonio College and was chair of the art department there until his retirement in 1990.
Casas was a founder of the Chicano art movement and a key member of the art collective Con Safo with other founding members Felipe Reyes, Jose Esquivel, Rudy Treviño, and Roberto Ríos. Originally named El Grupo, the group's mission was to empower Chicano artists who were largely overlooked in the mainstream art world. In 1968 Casas penned the "Brown Paper Report," a manifesto explaining the meaning of Con Safo, Chicano, the "Brown Vision of America," and the group's use of the symbol "C/S." The report helped to define Con Safo as an organization and remains a fundamental document in the history of the Chicano art movement.
Casas is well-known for his series Humanscapes that includes 150 large-scale paintings produced between 1965 and 1989. This series, along with smaller works, has been exhibited throughout the United States and Mexico. Casas's work can be found in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the San Antonio Museum of Art, and other collections worldwide.
Casas died in San Antonio, Texas, in 2014.
Related Materials:
Also at the Archives of American Art is an interview of Mel Casas conducted August 14-16, 1996 by Paul Karlstrom for the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
The Mel Casas papers were donated by Mel Casas in 1981 and microfilmed as part of the Archives of American Art's Texas project. Additional papers were donated by Casas in 1999.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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.
Mel Casas papers, 1963-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of this collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Additional funding for the digitization of the papers was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
The papers of Chicano painter, portrait artist, and educator Gaspar Enriquez measure 1.5 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1973 to 2017. The papers are comprised of biographical materials, correspondence, writings, commission and project files, exhibition files, and printed and digital materials that document Enriquez's career in El Paso, Texas.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Chicano painter, portrait artist, and educator Gaspar Enriquez measure 1.5 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1973 to 2017. The papers are comprised of biographical materials, correspondence, writings, commission and project files, exhibition files, and printed and digital materials that document Enriquez's career in El Paso, Texas.
Biographical materials include several awards and certificates, photographs, and sketches. Correspondence includes general personal and professional correspondence, notes to Enriquez, and letters with Bernadine Antone, Miguel Juarez, Elda Silva. Writings consist of artist statements, one notebook, a student paper about Luis Jimenez, and statements on teaching. Commission and project files contain digital photographs and other records for mural, book, and room design projects.
Files for exhibitions include documentation on Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation (1990-1993), or CARA, a traveling exhibition and Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge (2004), an exhibition of Chicano artwork collected by Cheech Marin. Printed materials contains art reproductions, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, flyers, invitations, magazines, newsletters, and press releases.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1976-2014 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1985-2017 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1983-circa 2000 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 4: Commission and Project Files, 1994-2003 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet, ER01; 0.001 GB)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1990-2007 (Box 1, OV 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Materials, 1973-2017 (Boxes 1-2, OV 3; 0.6 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Gaspar Enriquez (1942- ) is a Chicano painter, portrait artist, and educator in San Elizario in El Paso County, Texas.
Enriquez was born in the historic El Segundo Barrio in El Paso. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of El Paso in 1970 and a master's degree in metals from New Mexico State University in 1985. In addition to his art career, he taught art at Bowie High School in El Paso for 34 years.
Enriquez is known for his portraits of individuals who reflect the Chicano community in which he was raised. Enriquez has stated that "one is born Mexican American, but one chooses to be a chicano." His work allows those unfamiliar with the Chicano community to connect through his portraiture.
Enriquez participated in two seminal, multifaceted exhibitions of Chicano art. Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation/CARA (1990-1993) and Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge (2001-2007), an exhibition showcasing the art collection of Cheech Marin, traveled to museums across the United States exposing Chicano art and the Chicano Movement to the traditional art world.
Enriquez has won the 2016 Segundo Barrio Person of the Year Award, the University of Texas at El Paso's Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Mid-Americarts Alliance Fellowship in 1994.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by Gaspar Enriquez in 2017.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival born-digital records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
An interview with Juan Sánchez conducted 2018 October 1-2, by Josh T. Franco, for the Archives of American Art, at Sánchez studio, in Brooklyn, New York.
Sanchez speaks of his childhood in Puerto Rican enclaves of Brooklyn; formative experiences with Nuyorican poets; early memories of Puerto Rico; his earliest interest in drawing from comic books; early art-making and art education experiences, including the Pratt Saturday program; encountering Taller Boricua during the time he studied at Cooper Union; drawing formative inspiration from En Foco's photography; flourishing after initial difficulties at Cooper Union; his graduate studies at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University; his early exhibition experiences; his negative experience of participating in Group Material's exhibition Americana; reflections on political art; his friendship with Ana Mendieta; his collaborations with MoCHA , INTAR gallery, and Exit Art; the development of his painting, photography, and collage aesthetics through graduate school; the personal and emotional dimension of his art-making process; his use of circles and photographs of heroic historical figures in his paintings; the development and execution of his public art commissions; the development of his teaching career; his experiences working at the Queens Museum education department and Cooper Union admissions department; specific controversies over the content of his work being shown at Princeton University and SUNY Stony Brook; the development and execution of his printmaking practice; and his reflections on the experience and importance of participating in an oral history interview. Sanchez also recalls Amiri Baraka, Sandra María Esteves, Louis Reyes Rivera, Pedro Pietri, Gilbert Hernandez, Jorge Soto, Hans Haacke, Reuben Kadish, Eugene Tulchin, Charles Biasiny, Leon Golub, Larry Fink, Robert Blackburn, Mel Edwards, Doug Ashford, Jimmie Durham, Nancy Spero, Lucy Lippard, Geno Rodriguez, Papo Colo, Jayne Cortez, Carl Andre, Ana Mendieta, Raquelín Mendieta, Noah Jemison, Inverna Lockpez, Nilda Peraza, James Luna, Julia Hirschberg, Susana Leval, Miguel Algarín, Jeanetter Ingberman, Jolie Guy, Susan Bloodworth, Zachary Fabri, Gilbert Cardenas, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Michael Brathwaite, Alfredo Jaar, Tomie Arai, Lorenzo Clayton, Joan Hall, Pepe Coronado, Maryanne Simmons, and Melquiades Rosario Sastre.
Biographical / Historical:
Juan Sánchez (1954- ) is a printmaker, muralist, painter, and teacher in Brooklyn, New York. Josh T. Franco (1985- ) is the National Collector, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
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:
The transcript and recording are open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
