The Jerry Dreva papers measures 1.0 linear foot and dates from circa 1963-1982. The papers include biographical information; rare printed material; scrapbooks; correspondence consisting of letters of support for the exhibition DREVA/GRONK 1968-78: Ten Years of Art/Life (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, 1978) and mail art; zines and small artist books exchanged with collaborators and friends; material documenting Dreva's relationship with performance artist, Gronk, including staged photographs, candid snapshots, correspondence, and ephemera, chronicling their shared practice, and the glam Hollywood, activist Chicana/o, and queer scenes in 1970s and 80s Los Angeles. Also included are two small labeled vinyl albums, one of which appears to have been used in a piece of artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The Jerry Dreva papers measures 1.0 linear foot and dates from circa 1963-1982. The papers include biographical information; rare printed material; scrapbooks; correspondence consisting of letters of support for the exhibition DREVA/GRONK 1968-78: Ten Years of Art/Life (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, 1978) and mail art; zines and small artist books exchanged with collaborators and friends; material documenting Dreva's relationship with performance artist, Gronk, including staged photographs, candid snapshots, correspondence, and ephemera, chronicling their shared practice, and the glam Hollywood, activist Chicana/o, and queer scenes in 1970s and 80s Los Angeles. Also included are two small labeled vinyl albums.
Correspondence consists of letters to friends and institutions for which Dreva created mail and graphic art for. Some of the indiduals include: Vittore Baroni, John Jack, The Gay Activists Alliance, Michael Scott, and Sandy Robertson. Also included are files of mail art created by Dreva or sent to him by friends and other artists.
Professional files consist of some invoices and receipts, material related to the "Dreva/Gronk 1968-1978 Ten Years of Art/Life" exhibition, work for Mohammed publication company in Italy, certificates, a vinyl record produced by Le Petite Bon-Bons, and a scrapbook.
Printed material consists of clippings, announcements and posters, editions of Mainman Newsletter, "Despair" comic book, "How I Became Rich and Famous" by Captain Zerox, and "Mail Art Show" exhibition catalog.
Photographic material consists of photographs of Dreva, photographs of Dreva and Gronk, photographs of Le Petite Bon-Bons band members and various famous rock stars, and candid shots.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series
Series 1: Correspondence, 1972-1983 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Professional Activity Files, 1975-1984 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1964-1979 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 4: Photographic Material, circa 1975-1979 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
Biographical / Historical:
Jerry Dreva (1945-1997) was a performance artist, writer, activist, and teacher based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Los Angeles, California. Dreva was a leader in the mail art movement during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a founding member (together with Robert J. Lambert) of Les Petites Bon-Bons, a flamboyantly attired musical group that never played a single concert. In fact, they never so much as picked up an instrument. Instead they dressed as glitter rock musicians of the era (1970's) and were frequently featured in newspapers and magazines.
Provenance:
Donated in 2020 by Patrick Veda, a family attorney and the executor of Dreva's mother's estate.
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. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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:
Performance artists -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Netherlands -- Amsterdam -- Description and Travel
New York (N.Y.) -- Description and Travel
Tanzania -- Description and Travel
Date:
2017 March 27-29
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Lyle Ashton Harris, conducted 2017 March 27 and 29, by Alex Fialho, for the Archives of American Art's Visual Arts and the AIDS Epidemic: An Oral History Project, at Harris's studio and home in New York, New York.
Harris speaks of his childhood in the Bronx; his family's influence on his race-consciousness; living in Tanzania for two years as a child and the effects on his understanding of race and sexuality; his grandfather's extensive photographic archive; contact with the South African diaspora through his step-father; attending Wesleyan University; formative experiences in London, Amsterdam, and New York in the mid-1980s; his education and development as a photographer; attending CalArts and encountering West Coast AIDS activism; encountering systemic racism in Los Angeles; close friendships with Marlon Riggs and Essex Hemphill; exhibitions of his work in New York in the early 1990s; the production of his Ektachrome Archive and his impulse to photograph daily life; his work on the Black Community AIDS Research and Education (Black C.A.R.E.) project in Los Angeles; participating in the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program; being diagnosed with HIV and remaining asymptomatic; attending the Dia Black Popular Culture Conference in 1992; photographing and mounting "The Good Life" in 1994 and "The Watering Hole" in 1996; issues of blackness and queerness in his photographic work; his residency at the American Academy in Rome in 2000; moving to Accra, Ghana for seven years in 2005; his pedagogy as an art professor; his thoughts on the lack of voices of color in the Visual Arts and the AIDS Epidemic Oral History Project and in the larger power structures of the art world; and his hope that his artistic legacy will be evaluated in its proper context. Harris also recalls Jackie and Robert O'Meally, Jay Seeley, Ellen O'Dench, Francesca Woodman, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jim Collier, Robert Mapplethorpe, Allan Sekula, Hazel Carby, Isaac Julien, Catherine Lord, Millie Wilson, Todd Gray, John Grayson, Tommy Gear, Marlon Riggs, Essex Hemphill, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Nancy Barton, Vickie Mays, Connie Butler, Greg Tate, Henry Louis Gates, Houston Baker, Nan Goldin, Jack Tilton, Simon Watson, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Lyle Ashton Harris (1965- ) is an artist who works in video, photography, and performance in New York, New York. Alex Fialho (1989- ) is a curator and arts writer and works as Programs Director for Visual AIDS in New York, New York.
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.
Occupation:
Performance artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Video artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of Bay Area figurative artists James Huber and Michael Hossner measure 3.1 linear feet and date from 1950 to 1993. This collection documents both James Huber and Michael Hossner's art careers in the San Francisco art scene in the 1970s and 1980s. Also included is material regarding Dino Vinti, an independent curator and curator at Footworks Studio, an alternative center for visual and performing arts. A bulk of this collection is comprised of personal correspondence, personal photographs, and photographs used as studies for works of art, and exhibition announcements and catalogs. The papers document the Bay Area art scene in the 1970s and 1980s of which Huber and Hossner were a part of, alternative spaces, and the devastation of the AIDS epidemic.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Bay Area Figurative artists James Huber and Michael Hossner measure 3.1 linear feet and date from 1950-1993. Included are personal correspondence; legal documents including a will; personal photographs and photographs used as studies for works of art; DVDs of annotated photographs, master paintings and drawings; printed material consisting of exhibition invitations and programs; and biographical information including artists' statements and address books. Also included is material regarding Dino Vinti, an independent curator and curator at Footworks Studio, an alternative center for visual and performing arts. The papers document the Bay Area art scene in the 1970s and 1980s of which Huber and Hossner were a part of, alternative spaces, and the devastation of the AIDS epidemic.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series.
Series 1: James Huber papers (1.0 linear foot; Box 1, OV 5)
Series 2: Michael Hossner papers (0.7 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 3: Dino Vinti papers (1.4 linear feet; Box 2-3, OV 6-7)
Biographical / Historical:
James Huber (1950-1988) and Michael Hossner (1954-1990) were Bay Area Figurative artists in San Francisco, California. Dino Vinti (1958-1989) was a independent curator and curator at Footworks Studio.
James Huber (1950-1988) was a Bay Area Figurative artist in San Francisco, California. His art is representative of the Bay Area Figurative Style and gay community. Huber's works can be categorized into three themes: Figurative, Abstract, and Landscape. Huber co-founded (along with Phil Linhares and David McClay) Open Studios in San Francisco. Open Studios is a national movement of artist-driven presentation of their work. James Huber created more than 900 paintings and sculptures before passing from complications from AIDS.
Michael Hossner (1954-1990) was also was a Bay Area Figurative artist in San Francisco, California. Hossner was greatly influenced by his mentor and lover, James Huber, and the Bay Area Figurative Style. Hossner drew inspiration from autobiographical sources for most of his art. Many of his paintings chronicle his experiences with the AIDS pandemic. He exhibited his paintings in more than a dozen galleries and non profit spaces throughout the Bay Area between 1985 and 1989. Michale Hossner passed of complications from AIDS in 1990.
Dino Vinti (1958-1989) was a close friend and former lover of James Huber. He was an independent curator and curator at Footworks Studio, an alternative center for visual and performing arts. Vinti collaborated on the initiation of the Edge Festival. He designed and installed many exhibitions, including "Urban Expressions" show in 1987. Dino Vinti passed from complications from AIDS in 1989.
Provenance:
Donated in 2021 by Lee Draper, a museum professional and consultant to philanthropy groups and non-profits, who was friends with Huber and Hossner.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Graciela Sanchez, 2004 June 25-July 2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Angel Rodriguez-Diaz, 2004 April 23-May 7. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with William T. Brown, 2010 August 23-24. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Angel Rodriguez-Diaz conducted 2004 Apr. 23-May 7, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in San Antonio, Tex.
Rodriguez-Diaz speaks of his mother's upbringing and her untimely death from cancer; his childhood and schooling in Santurce, Puerto Rico, particularly his art experiences; his parents' conversion to Pentecostalism; the importance of travel in Puerto Rican culture; attending the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras; discovering his sexuality during adolescence; living in New York City; the city's gay scene on Christopher Street; exploring his identity as a Puerto Rican American; his jobs at mannequin factories; and his gradual ingratiation into the New York art world, mostly through Robert Morris. Rodriguez-Diaz also mentions his relationship with Rolando Briseño; the motifs in his paintings, such as mirrors and masks; witnessing the Tompkins Square Park riots of 1988; organizing a strike at his mannequin factory; contracting the HIV virus from a partner; Mexican art cinema; the cultural and historical similarities of Mexico and Puerto Rico; moving to San Antonio; choosing the models for his "Goddess" series; Anglo/Latino conflict within the San Antonio art scene; the commodification of Mexican culture in San Antonio; the spiritual importance of portraiture; the history of Puerto Rican artwork and culture, particularly native cultures; and the Smithsonian's acquisition of his painting, "The Protagonist of an Endless Story." Rodriguez-Diaz also recalls Antonio Molina, Sandra Cisneros, Arnoldo Roche-Rabell, John Anthes, Manuel Ramos Otero, Nitsa Tofino, Candida Alvarez, Soon Yong Ming, Robert Sward, Linda Pace, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Angel Rodriguez-Diaz (1955- ) is an artist from San Antonio, Tex. Cary Cordova (1970- ) is an art historian from Austin, Tex.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 12 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 46 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.
Topic:
Painters -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews Search this
This interview is part of the series "Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas," supported by Federal funds for Latino programming, administered by the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives.
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Graciela Sanchez conducted 2004 June 25-July 2, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in San Antonio, Tex.
Sánchez speaks of her family background, her family's move to Chicago, return to San Antonio, and cultural traditions; San Antonio's Chili Queens; activism in the community; high school, attending Yale University; MEChA; Gloria Anzaldúa and This Bridge Called My Back; working for the Southwest Voter Registration Project; MALDEF, Mexican American Legal Defense; the foundation of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center with Susan Guerra and others; going to Cuba to study film; the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center; the values of being "buena gente," "good people"; Ellas, a Latina lesbian organization; working with Amy Kastely, lawyer; Mujer Artes; her film "No Porque lo Diga Fidel Castro"; working for AIDS prevention/education; the newsletter "The Interchange" which became "La Voz de Esperanza"; Stonehaven Ranch, a retreat location; the film screenings "Other America"; the complete de-funding of Esperanza in 1997 and the four year litigation with the city of San Antonio; trying to save the building La Gloria and other endeavors taken on by the Esperanza; the Cuentos Project and recent events sponsored by the Esperanza. Sánchez also recalls Audre Lorde, Luz Calvo, Eduardo Diaz, Liliana Wilson Grez, Cherríe Moraga, Cynthia Perez, Genevieve Vaughn, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Graciela Sanchez (1960- ) is an arts activist and the executive director of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in San Antonio, Tex. Cary Cordova (1970- ) is an art historian from Austin, Tex.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound discs. Duration is 5 hr., 30 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.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews Search this
This interview is part of the series "Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas," supported by Federal funds for Latino programming, administered by the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives.
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of William T. Brown conducted 2010 August 23 and 24, by Jonathan Weinberg, for the Archives of American Art at Brown's home, in San Francisco, California.
Biographical / Historical:
William T. Brown (1919-2012) was a painter in San Francisco, California. Jonathan Weinberg (1957-) is an artist and art historian in New Haven, Connecticut.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 memory cards. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 39 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.
Topic:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Jerome Caja, 1995 August 23 and September 29. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Morris Broderson, 1998 March 11 and 13. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- California Search this
Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Rolando Briseño, 2004 March 16-26. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews Search this
Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Franco Mondini-Ruiz, 2004 July 7-8. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Rolando Briseño conducted 2004 March 16 and 26, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in San Antonio, Texas.
Briseño speaks of his family background; as a child going to Mexico during the summer; growing up in San Antonio; visiting the Witte Museum, taking art classes there; Jackie von Honts, a special tutor of Briseño; scholarship to Cooper Union in New York; Catholicism; Melita del Villar and realizing "Christian mythology"; exchange program with University of Texas, Austin and La Pontifica Universidad Católica del Peru, Lima, Peru; calling himself Chicano; passion for food; traveling around Europe; politics and its influence; coming to terms with his sexuality; graduate school at Columbia University; interest in boxing; involvement in Con Safo; working on a computer as opposed to painting; and the Historic and Design Review Commission of San Antonio. Briseño also recalls Roland Mazuca, Fernando de Syzslo, Santa Barraza, Sylvia Orozco, Kathryn Kanjo, Linda Pace, Jesse Amado, Chuck Ramirez, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Rolando Briseño (1952-) is an artist from San Antonio, Texas. Cary Cordova (1970-) is an art historian from Austin, Texas.
General:
Due to technical problems the interview was recorded on both compact disc and mini disc.
Originally recorded on 2 sound discs and 2 compact discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 26 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.
Topic:
Painters -- Texas -- San Antonio -- Interviews Search this
This interview is part of the series "Recuerdos Orales: Interviews of the Latino Art Community in Texas," supported by Federal funds for Latino programming, administered by the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives.
The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
An interview of Morris Broderson conducted 1998 March 11 and 13, by Paul J. Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, at Broderson's home, in Los Angeles, California.
Broderson discusses his childhood and family background and the way in which he saw the world as a congenitally hearing impaired person; his first meeting with Joan Ankrum, who was married at the time to Broderson's uncle, Morris Ankrum; Ankrum's special interest in him, recognizing a talent for drawing, encouraging his learning to speak, and arranging art lessons at an early age; his recognition of Ankrum's marital unhappiness and encouragement for her to leave her husband; his art education through private lessons with Francis De Erdely; enrollment at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; his perspective on events in his relationship with Ankrum that led her to abandon her career as an actress and become an art dealer in order to show Broderson's work; exhibitions at the Ankrum Gallery; his favorite themes and subjects in his work and why he used them; his homosexuality and its possible reflection in his art; credit to Ankrum for her key role in his development as an artist; the role of his deafness in his interaction with the world and to a lesser extent, his artistic expression, but rejecting the idea that it was a determining factor; and his current series of paintings and hopes for the future.
Biographical / Historical:
Morris Gaylord Broderson (1928-2011) was a painter from Los Angeles, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 2 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.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- California Search this
