Search Results

Creator:

Art & Language (Group)  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Citation:

Art & Language sound recordings, 1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Conceptual art  Search this

Theme:

Art organizations  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)15970

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)304975

AAA_collcode_artlang

Theme:

Art organizations

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_304975

Creator:

Art & Language (Group)  Search this

Extent:

0.5 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sound recordings

Date:

1975

Summary:

Twelve audio cassettes of six days of meetings, conducted in 1975, by members of the Art & Language group, concerning the future of the group. Participants include Sarah Charlesworth, Carol Condé, Michael Corris, Christine Kozlov, Nigel Lendon, Andrew Menard, Mel Ramsden, and Paula Ramsden among others. Participants discuss Marxism, Capitalism, including class and gender structure in society and other political issues; Art & Language publication, "The Fox"; and the Structuralist and Formalist movements in art. Also mentioned are the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Council.

Scope and Contents:

The Art & Language sound recordings measure 0.5 linear feet and date to 1975.The collection is a series of meetings held by the group, Art & Language, in which they discuss the future of the group. Participants include Sarah Charlesworth, Carol Conde, Michael Corris, Christine Kozlov, Nigel Lendon, Andrew Menard, Mel Ramsden, and Paula Ramsden. Some of the topics of discussion include Marxism, Capitalism, Art & Language publication "The Fox," and the Structuaralist and Formalist movements in art.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into one series.

Biographical / Historical:

Art & Language (1967- 1975) was a group of artists based in England and New York, N.Y. that focused on Conceptual art.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Nigel Lendon, one of the participants, in 2011.

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 born-digital records or 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.

Topic:

Conceptual art  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Citation:

Art & Language sound recordings, 1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.artlang

See more items in:

Art & Language sound recordings

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw91369af2f-88f1-47a6-a81c-50f16d015dc2

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-artlang

Author:

Vancouver Art Gallery  Search this

Physical description:

132 p. : ill. ; 30 cm

Type:

Exhibitions

Place:

British Columbia

Date:

1982

C1982

20th century

Topic:

Environment (Art)  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Art, Canadian  Search this

Call number:

N6546.B8M57 1982X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_177433

Creator:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2018-06-12T19:55:20.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, modern  Search this

See more by:

hirshhornmuseum

Data Source:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

YouTube Channel:

hirshhornmuseum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_COTBEyHZePE

Creator:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2018-02-15T22:31:58.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, modern  Search this

See more by:

hirshhornmuseum

Data Source:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

YouTube Channel:

hirshhornmuseum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_QJlrLI9ptJI

Interviewee:

Sekula, Allan  Search this

Interviewer:

Panzer, Mary  Search this

Names:

Artforum  Search this

California Institute of the Arts  Search this

Rhode Island School of Design  Search this

Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.)  Search this

The Ohio State University -- Faculty  Search this

University of California, San Diego  Search this

Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this

Antin, David  Search this

Antin, Eleanor  Search this

Ascott, Roy  Search this

Baldessari, John, 1931-  Search this

Barthes, Roland  Search this

Becker, Howard  Search this

Bercovitch, Sacvan  Search this

Beveridge, Karl  Search this

Bo Diddley, 1928-2008  Search this

Brach, Paul, 1924-  Search this

Braderman, Joan  Search this

Burch, Noël, 1932-  Search this

Burn, Ian, 1939-1993  Search this

Captain Beefheart  Search this

Charlesworth, Sarah, 1947-2013  Search this

Chayefsky, Paddy, 1923-1981  Search this

Conde, Carol  Search this

Connell, Brian  Search this

Evans, Walker, 1903-1975  Search this

Farber, Manny  Search this

Feldman, Ronald, 1938-  Search this

Folks, Homer, 1867-1963  Search this

Fox, Terry, 1943-  Search this

Fried, Howard, 1946-  Search this

Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997  Search this

Graham, Dan, 1942-  Search this

Graves, Michael, 1934-2015  Search this

Halleck, DeeDee  Search this

Hanhardt, John G.  Search this

Hassan, Ihab, 1925-2015  Search this

Hayes, Woody, 1913-1987  Search this

Heinecken, Robert, 1931-  Search this

Higgins, Dick, 1938-1998  Search this

Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940  Search this

Kienholz, Edward, 1927-  Search this

Kirschenbaum, Baruch David, 1931-  Search this

Knowles, Alison, 1933-  Search this

Kosuth, Joseph.  Search this

Kozloff, Max  Search this

Kramer, Hilton  Search this

Krauss, Rosalind E.  Search this

König, Kasper  Search this

Liebling, Jerome  Search this

Lifson, Ben  Search this

Little Richard, 1932-  Search this

Lonidier, Fred  Search this

Lord, Catherine, 1949-  Search this

Lunn, Harry, 1933-1998  Search this

Mac Low, Jackson  Search this

Mandel, Mike  Search this

Matta, 1912-2002  Search this

Mayer, Grace M.  Search this

Michelson, Annette  Search this

O'Doherty, Brian  Search this

Pommer, Richard  Search this

Ramsden, Mel  Search this

Raskin, Jef  Search this

Reagan, Ronald  Search this

Rosler, Martha  Search this

Ross, David A., 1949-  Search this

Ruby, Jay  Search this

Ruscha, Edward  Search this

Salle, David, 1952-  Search this

Salvesen, Britt  Search this

Schimmel, Paul  Search this

Segalove, Ilene, 1950-  Search this

Stein, Sally  Search this

Steinmetz, Philip  Search this

Sultan, Larry  Search this

Van Riper, Peter  Search this

Wakoski, Diane  Search this

Wall, Jeff, 1946-  Search this

Extent:

12 Items (Sound recording: 12 sound files (6 hr.,14 min.), digital, wav)

143 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Interviews

Sound recordings

Date:

2011 August 20-2012 February 14

Scope and Contents:

An interview with Allan Sekula conducted 2011 August 20-2012 February 14, by Mary Panzer, for the Archives of American Art at Sekula's studio and home in Los Angeles, California and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York.

Sekula speaks of his career and some of the mediums he works in; language and contemporary art; Roland Barthes; his relation to contemporary art; west coast conceptualism; genre switches; realism; documentary photography; Belgium and the industrial revolution; Meunier; minor figures; art history and marginalism; Roberto Matta; World War I; Homer Folks; Fish Story; historic cinema; economic factors of art shows and publication; galleries and the art world; growing up and his family; his father and moving; Ohio; his brothers and sisters; San Pedro; demographics of students at school; sports at school; Vietnam; protests; cross country and swimming; California; fishing; college; U.C. system; declaring a major; John Altoon; Ed Kienholz; exposure to art; visiting museums; Marcuse's classes; Baldessari's classes; course work and student life; student demonstrations; working in a library and exposure to books; father losing his job; science and working as a chemical technician; politics; his uncle committing suicide; moving away from his father; the draft; John Birch; Students for a Democratic Society; his mother; politics of his parents; Aerospace Folk Tales, autodidacts and scholarship; San Diego and Mexico; obtaining a camera and starting to use it; art school; CalArts; UCSD; Meditations on a Triptych; David Salle; Fred Lonidier; Phel Steinmetz; MFA and art training; poets; story of Allen Ginsberg and one of Sekula's sculptures; production and the audience; A Photograph is Worth a Thousand Questions, photography and the burden of tradition; pictorialism; moving to New York; Artforum; October; New York music scene; Captain Beefheart; Bo Diddley; Little Richard; Steichen and aerial photography; origins of October; New Criterion; Art Critic's Grant; teaching at Ohio State; television; technological historians; New York subway and getting a ticket for using French money; RISD lectures; Long Beach; photography; collages; Metro Pictures; New Topographics; School as a Factory; moral choice and the viewer; work method and the audience; Social Criticism and Art Practice; east and west coasts; Ed Ruscha; documentary; film, Los Angeles; cinema and social history; Ohio State Department of Photography and Cinema; Los Angeles Plays Itself; Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador; Ohio State campus, anti-Semitism; Ronald Reagan and protest; influences and colleagues; intellectual genealogy; Michael Graves and Ohio State architecture; Bad Ohio; tenure; University Exposed; AIDS issue of October; The Body and the Archive; making film; Korean War; collectors and images. Sekula also recalls Eleanor Antin, Jeff Wall, Terry Fox, Lewis Hine, Walker Evans, Paul Saltman, Marcuse, Baldessari, Sacvan Bercovitch, Stanley Miller, Jef Raskin, Paul Brach, David Antin, Howard Fried, Peter Van Riper, Alison Knowles, Dick Higgins, Manny Farber, Ihab Hassan, Diane Wakoski, Jackson Mac Low, Martha Rosler, Lenny Neufeld, Joshua Neufeld, David Wing, Brian Connell, Max Kozloff, Ian Burn, Mel Ramsden, Carole Conde, Karl Beveridge, Barry Rosens, Tom Crow, John Copeland, Harry Lunn, Hilton Kramer, Grace Mayer, Carol Duncan, Eva Cockroft, Richard Pommer, Rosalind Krauss, Sally Stein, Paddy Chayefsky, John Hanhardt, Mel Ramsden, Sarah Charlesworth, Jospeh Kosuth, Baruch Kirschenbaum, Robert Heinecken, Brian O'Doherty, Howard Becker, Jay Ruby, Jerry Liebling, Anna Wilkie, Ronald Feldman, John Gibson, David Ross, Britt Salvesen, Larry Sultan, Mike Mandel, Roy Ascott, Ilene Segalove, Paul Schimmel, DeeDee Halleck, Noel Burch, Joan Braderman, Woody Hayes, Thom Andersen, John Quigley, Ron Green, Kasper Koenig, Dan Graham, Jonathan Green, Christa Wolf, Catherine Lord, Ben Lifson, and Annette Michelson.

Biographical / Historical:

Allan Sekula (1951-2013) was a photographer, filmmaker, and writer, based at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. Mary Panzer (1955- ) is a historian from 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:

Photographers -- California  Search this

Filmmakers -- California  Search this

Authors -- California  Search this

Topic:

Activism  Search this

Antisemitism  Search this

Architecture  Search this

Art -- Exhibitions -- Economic aspects  Search this

Art -- History  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Documentary photography  Search this

Korean War, 1950-1953  Search this

Music -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Photography  Search this

Realism  Search this

World War, 1914-1918  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Identifier:

AAA.sekula11

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d657e5da-cd1b-4366-9fe9-1852a4c5be81

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-sekula11

Creator:

Finch College. Museum of Art  Search this

Varian, Elayne H.  Search this

Names:

Acconci, Vito, 1940-  Search this

Anderson, David K., 1935-  Search this

Benglis, Lynda, 1941-  Search this

Benyon, Margaret, 1940-  Search this

Bochner, Mel, 1940-  Search this

Brooks, James, 1906-1992  Search this

Castelli, Leo  Search this

Chase, Doris, 1923-  Search this

Cross, Lloyd G.  Search this

Davis, Douglas  Search this

Dwan, Virginia  Search this

Feigen, Richard L., 1930-  Search this

Glimcher, Arnold B.  Search this

Gottlieb, Adolph, 1903-1974  Search this

Graham, Dan, 1942-  Search this

Hollander, Irwin  Search this

Insley, Will, 1929-2011  Search this

Jackson, Martha Kellogg  Search this

Janis, Sidney, 1896-1989  Search this

Kirby, Michael  Search this

Levine, Les, 1935-  Search this

Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997  Search this

Mazur, Michael, 1935-2009  Search this

Meyer, Ursula, 1915-  Search this

Nauman, Bruce, 1941-  Search this

O'Doherty, Brian  Search this

Parsons, Betty  Search this

Richter, Hans, 1888-1976  Search this

Siegelaub, Seth, 1941-  Search this

Smith, Tony, 1912-1980  Search this

Sonfist, Alan  Search this

Weiner, Sam  Search this

Wise, Howard  Search this

Extent:

20.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Transcripts

Interviews

Photographs

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Museum records

Date:

1943-1975

bulk 1964-1975

Summary:

The exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art measure 20.9 linear feet and date from 1943 to 1975, with the bulk of records dating from the period its galleries were in operation, from 1964 to 1975. Over two-thirds of the collection consists of exhibition files, which contain a wide range of documentation including artist files, checklists, correspondence, writings, photographs, interviews, numerous films and videos, artist statements, printed materials, and other records. Also found within the collection are administrative records of the museum, artist files, and papers of the Contemporary Wing's director and curator, Elayne Varian, which were produced outside of her work at Finch College.

Scope and Contents:

The exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art measure 20.9 linear feet and date from 1943 to 1975, with the bulk of records dating from the period its galleries were in operation, from 1964 to 1975. Over two-thirds of the collection consists of exhibition files, which contain a wide range of documentation including artist files, checklists, correspondence, writings, photographs, interviews, numerous films and videos, artist statements, printed materials, and other records. Also found within the collection are administrative records of the museum, artist files, and papers of the Contemporary Wing's director and curator, Elayne Varian, which were produced outside of her work at Finch College.

Administrative records include records relating to the general operation of the Contemporary Wing concerning fundraising, professional associations, budget, contact information for artists, donors, and lenders to exhibitions. Also found are records of the permanent collection of artworks acquired by the museum between 1964 and 1975 from contemporary artists and collectors of contemporary art.

Artist files contain basic biographical information on over 150 contemporary artists, with scattered correspondence, photographs, technical information about artworks, artist statements, and other writings. Artist files also include an incomplete run of artist questionnaires gathered by the New York Arts Calendar Annual for 1964.

Elayne Varian's personal papers include curatorial records, a course schedule and syllabus related to her teaching activities, and various writings. Curatorial projects documented in Varian's papers include three programs produced outside of Finch College, including a juried show at the New York State Fair in 1967, a film series at Everson Museum of Syracuse University, and an exhibition at Guild Hall in East Hampton in 1973. Several of Varian's writing projects involved interviews, which are also found in this series in the form of sound recordings and transcripts. Interview-based writing projects include individual profiles on Brian O'Doherty and Babette Newberger, and interviews conducted for an article on the artist-dealer relationship published in Art in America (January 1970). Dealers interviewed for the latter project include Leo Castelli, Virginia Dwan, John Gibson, Richard Feigen, Arnold Glimcher, Fred Mueller, Martha Jackson, Sidney Janis, Betty Parsons, Seth Siegelaub, and Howard Wise. Artists interviewed include Roy Lichtenstein, Adolph Gottlieb, and Charles Ross.

Exhibition files, comprising the bulk of the collection, document exhibitions held in the Contemporary Wing during its existence from 1964 to 1975. Types of records found in the series include exhibition catalogs, correspondence, loan agreements, lists, contact information, insurance valuations of artworks, photographs, biographical information on artists, clippings, posters, press releases, and other publicity materials. In addition to the rich textual and photographic records found for exhibitions, numerous audiovisual recordings are also found, some of which were made in preparation for an exhibition, some document mounted exhibitions, and others are artworks themselves or components of artworks exhibited in the galleries. Interviews with artists, dealers, and others involved in exhibitions include Alan Sonfist, Mel Bochner, Hans Richter, Ruth Richards, James Brooks and Janet Katz, Margaret Benyon, Irwin Hollander (transcript only), David Anderson, Doris Chase, Will Insley, Michael Kirby, Les Levine, Ursula Meyer, Brian O'Doherty, Charles Ross, Tony Smith, Douglas Davis, Jane Davis, Russ Connor, Les Levine, Michael Mazur, Paul Gedeohn, and physicists Lloyd G. Cross, Allyn Z. Lite, and Gerald Thomas Bern Pethick. Video artworks, recordings of performances, or components of multimedia artworks are found by artists Vito Acconci, Kathy Dillon, Douglas Davis, Dan Graham, Les Levine, Bruce Nauman, Michael Netter, Eric Siegel, and Robert Whitman. A film of the Art in Process: The Visual Development of a Structure (1966) exhibition is found, and video recordings of artists Lynda Benglis, Michael Singer, and Sam Wiener form as part of the documentation for the Projected Art: Artists at Work (1971) exhibition.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 4 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Administrative Records, 1950-1975 (2 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 22, OV 23)

Series 2: Artist Files, 1958-1975 (2.4 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, 22, OV 23, FC 27-28)

Series 3: Elayne Varian Personal Papers, 1965-1970 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1943-1975 (14.9 linear feet; Boxes 6-22, OV 24-25, FC 26)

Biographical / Historical:

The Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art, later called simply the "Contemporary Wing," was established in 1964 by the president of Finch College, Roland De Marco, as an extension the Finch College Museum of Art in New York City.

Its mission was to educate art history students at the Manhattan women's college who were interested in working with contemporary art. DeMarco, himself an art collector, hired Elayne Varian as director and curator of the contemporary wing. DeMarco met Varian in the New York office of the prominent international art dealership Duveen Brothers, where she had worked since the mid-1940s, most recently as an art dealer. Varian received her art education in Chicago, where she studied art history and education at the University of Chicago, and took classes in film at the Bauhaus and in fine art the Art Institute of Chicago. Sensitive to emerging art movements in galleries and studios around the city of New York, as the contemporary wing's curator, Varian quickly established a reputation for thoughtfully conceived, cutting-edge exhibitions which were consistently well-received by the press.

Under Varian, the Contemporary Wing carried out a dual mission of showing work of living artists and educating students and the public about the artwork and museum work in general. Varian used the galleries to provide practical training to students interested in a gallery or museum career throughout its existence. For several years, she also maintained an assistantship position for post-graduate museum professionals to gain experience in the field, many of whom went on to careers in museums across New York State.

The Contemporary Wing's best-known exhibitions formed a series of six shows called Art in Process, held between 1965 and 1972. Each of the Art in Process shows took a different medium, including painting, sculpture, collage, conceptual art, installation art, and serial art, and brought the process of art-making into the gallery with the artworks in various ways. For example, for Art in Process V (1972), the show about installation art, the galleries were open to the public for the entire process of its installation, allowing visitors to watch the works take shape. Another show entitled Documentation (1968) exhibited artworks with documentation such as artist's notes, sales records, and conservation records, bringing to light the value of record-keeping in the visual arts. Two exhibitions entitled Projected Art were also innovative, with the first (1966-1967) bringing experimental films from the cinema to the galleries, and the second (1971) showing artists' processes via footage and slides of artists working. Another show, Artists' Videotape Performances (1971), involved both screening of and creation of works in the gallery using a range of experiments with recent video technology. The museum also participated in an experimental broadcast of an artwork entitled Talk Out! by Douglas Davis, in which a telephone in the gallery allowed visitors to participate in its creation while it was broadcast live from Syracuse, NY. Other exhibitions that showcased experimentation in art included N-Dimensional Space (1970), on holography in art, Destruction Art(1968), on destructive actions being incorporated into contemporary art-making, and Schemata 7 (1967), a show about the use of environments in contemporary art, whose working title was "Walk-in Sculpture."

Other popular exhibitions at the Contemporary Wing included shows on Art Deco (1970) and Art Nouveau (1969). Several shows mined the private collections of prominent contemporary art collectors including Martha Jackson, Betty Parsons, George Rickey, Paul Magriel, Jacques Kaplan, Josephine and Philip Bruno, and Carlo F. Bilotti. A number of exhibitions featured contemporary art from overseas including Art from Belgium (1965), Art from Finland (1973), Seven Swedish Painters (1965), and Art in Jewelry (1966), which featured mainly international jewelry artists. Retrospective exhibitions of Hans Richter, Hugo Weber, and James Brooks were also held.

Hundreds of contemporary artists were shown at the Contemporary Wing in the eleven years of its existence, including many who came to be leading figures in contemporary art, and some who already were, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mel Bochner, Eva Hesse, Lynda Benglis, Bruce Nauman, Robert Morris, Lawrence Weiner, Robert Smithson, Sol Le Witt, Dan Flavin, Philip Pearlstein, and Yayoi Kusama, to name just a few.

The Contemporary Wing and the entire Finch College Museum of Art shut its doors in 1975, when Finch College closed due to lack of funds. The permanent collection was sold at that time, and the proceeds were used to pay Finch College employee salaries. Elayne Varian went on to the position of curator of contemporary art at the John and Mabel Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. She died in 1987.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with curator Elayne Varian conducted by Paul Cummings, May 2, 1975.

Provenance:

The Archives of American Art acquired these records from the Finch College Museum of Art after it closed permanently in June 1975.

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:

Video artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Museum administrators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Gallery directors  Search this

Gallery owners  Search this

Genre/Form:

Transcripts

Interviews

Photographs

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Museum records

Citation:

Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art, 1943-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Hidden Collections grant program. Funding for the digitization of two motion picture films was provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee, and for the remaining sound and video recordings from the Smithsonian's Collection Care Pool Fund. Funding for the digitization of the collection, not including audiovisual materials, was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.finccoll

See more items in:

Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ed5f13a2-eeb3-452a-8735-204ff25576b5

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-finccoll

Collection Creator:

Smithson, Robert  Search this

Extent:

11 Folders (Box 2)

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1966-1973

Scope and Contents note:

This series includes nine interview transcripts with Robert Smithson. Topics include his general philosophy on art; contemporary art in relation to its historical context; non-sites, earthworks, entropy, space, and structures; the relationship between artists and dealers, museums, and collectors; and his most influential works, including Spiral Jetty, Broken Circle, and Spiral Hill.

The Alan Kaprow and Rodger Katan transcript (1966) focuses on the relationship between museums and contemporary art. The transcript with Dennis Wheeler (1969-1970) consists of 4 taped, informal sessions discussing Smithson's general philosophy on art, non-sites, and specific projects. In the Paul Toner transcript (1970), Smithson discusses earthworks, mirror displacements, non-sites, and art's historical context. The Gregorie Muller transcript [1971] focuses on the background and construction of Broken Circle and Spiral Hill. The Art Institute of Chicago transcript (1971) records Smithson's question and answer session with the audience after a showing of his films Swamp and Spiral Jetty. In the Bruce Kurtz transcript (1972), Smithson informally discusses artists' relationships with dealers, museums, and collectors; gallery art's general separation from nature; capitalism's influence and intersection with art; and his 1966 airport projects.

The Stella Russell (1973) transcript focuses on Spiral Jetty, Broken Circle, and Spiral Hill. In the Alison Sky transcript (1973), Smithson discusses his thoughts on entropy, the act of building, and its intersection with the architectural and engineering mechanics of structure. In Smithson's transcript with two unidentified students (1973), he discusses modernism and the branching off of developing contemporary art; public sculpture; historical context, theory, linguistics, and humanism; and thoughts on his own writings. The transcript with Moira Roth (1973) focuses on Duchamp and conceptual art.

There is also a full transcript of the Andrew Dickson White Museum's Earth Art Symposium (1969) with the following participating artists: Mike Hiezer, Dennis Oppenheim, Robert Smithson, Neil Jenney, Gunther Uecker, Jan Dibbets, Richard Long, and Hans Haacke.

Arrangement note:

This series is arranged in chronological order by year of the interview.

Collection 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.

Collection Rights:

The Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, holds the intellectual property rights, including copyright, to all materials created by Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt with the exception of the following items: two holiday cards found in box 11, folders 22-23. For these two items, copyright held by Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Requests for permission to reproduce should be submitted to ARS.

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.

Collection Citation:

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers, 1905-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.smitrobe, Series 3

See more items in:

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw97883a529-c38d-4713-b24f-892ac90cdc09

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-smitrobe-ref132

Collection Creator:

Smithson, Robert  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 90

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

circa 1968

Collection 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.

Collection Rights:

The Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, holds the intellectual property rights, including copyright, to all materials created by Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt with the exception of the following items: two holiday cards found in box 11, folders 22-23. For these two items, copyright held by Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Requests for permission to reproduce should be submitted to ARS.

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.

Collection Citation:

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers, 1905-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.

See more items in:

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers / Series 4: Writings / 4.2: By Others

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ab619a12-71f3-441d-b1e4-1fb5bd436792

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-smitrobe-ref254

Collection Creator:

Smithson, Robert  Search this

Container:

Box 2, Folder 6

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1965-1970

Collection 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.

Collection Rights:

The Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, holds the intellectual property rights, including copyright, to all materials created by Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt with the exception of the following items: two holiday cards found in box 11, folders 22-23. For these two items, copyright held by Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Requests for permission to reproduce should be submitted to ARS.

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.

Collection Citation:

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers, 1905-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.

See more items in:

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers

Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers / Series 2: Correspondence / 2.2: General

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92fb8cfc6-afeb-47a5-b8e7-a6b2a97fac2c

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-smitrobe-ref76

Interviewee:

Metcalf, Bruce, 1949-  Search this

Interviewer:

Cooke, Edward S., 1954-  Search this

Creator:

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Names:

Colorado State University -- Faculty  Search this

Kent State University -- Faculty  Search this

Montana State University (Bozeman, Mont.)  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Society of North American Goldsmiths  Search this

State University of New York at New Paltz -- Students  Search this

Syracuse University -- Students  Search this

Tyler School of Art -- Students  Search this

University of the Arts (Philadelphia, Pa.) -- Faculty  Search this

Adamson, Glenn  Search this

Arneson, Robert, 1930-1992  Search this

Bauer, Fred  Search this

Bennett, Jamie, 1948-  Search this

Burns, Mark, 1950-  Search this

Church, Sharon, 1948-  Search this

Clark, Garth, 1947-  Search this

Craig, Gabriel  Search this

Cummins, Susan  Search this

Daley, William, 1925-2002  Search this

Ebendorf, Robert, 1938-  Search this

Eidelberg, Martin P.  Search this

Flynn, Pat, 1954-  Search this

Getty, Nilda  Search this

Gill, John, 1949-  Search this

Griffin, Gary, 1945-  Search this

Halem, Henry  Search this

Hammer, Wayne  Search this

Hash, Arthur, 1976-  Search this

Jerry, Michael John, 1937-  Search this

Kington, L. Brent (Louis Brent), 1934-2013  Search this

Koplos, Janet  Search this

Koss, Gene  Search this

Kumata, Carol  Search this

La Plantz, David  Search this

Lechtzin, Stanley, 1936-  Search this

Long, Randy  Search this

Matzdorf, Kurt  Search this

Mawdsley, Richard, 1945-  Search this

Moran, Lois  Search this

Morris, William, 1834-1896  Search this

Pritchard, Marian  Search this

Rogers, Harriet  Search this

Rogers, Steve  Search this

Ruskin, John, 1819-1900  Search this

Schaechter, Judith, 1961-  Search this

Shaw, Richard, 1941 Sept. 12-  Search this

Slivka, Rose  Search this

Slosberg, Jill  Search this

Wilson, Anne, 1949-  Search this

Woell, J. Fred, 1934-  Search this

Extent:

96 Pages (Transcript)

5 Items (Sound recording: 5 sound files (4 hr., 10 min.), digital, wav)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Place:

California -- description and travel

Seoul (Korea) -- Description and Travel

Date:

2009 June 10

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Bruce Metcalf conducted 2009 June 10, by Edward S. Cooke, Jr., for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Metcalf's home, in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Mr. Metcalf discusses his early years in Amherst, Massachusetts; beginnings as a maker with modeling clay and plastic airplane models; undergraduate years at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York in the late 1960s; early interest in architecture; early disenchantment with modernist discourse and theory; introduction to Marxist theory and idealism of the 1960s; summer trip to California in 1970; return to the East Coast upon the death of his father; return to college, transferring into jewelry in his senior year; influence of his teacher Michael Jerry; seeing the work in "Objects: USA" exhibition (1969) and influence of the work of J. Fred Woell, Richard Mawdsley, L. Brent Kington; rejection of current trends in art, including conceptual art and formalism; his affinity for the medium of metal, and hammersmithing; influence of funk ceramics, including work by Fred Bauer and Richard Shaw; brief stint at Montana State University, Bozeman; working in cardboard and wood; graduate school at the State University of New York, New Paltz; working with Robert Ebendorf and Kurt Matzdorf at New Paltz; work as a production artist/craftsperson; attending Rhinebeck, New York, craft fair in the mid-1970s; the influence of writings by William Morris and John Ruskin and the notion of "dignified labor"; graduate school at Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; formulating his aesthetic of narrative symbolism; publication of his first article in 1977 as a response to review of the exhibition "Forms in Metal: 275 Years of Metalsmithing in America" (1975); yearlong teaching position at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado; taking a teaching position at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio (1986-1991); publication of his article "Crafts: Second-Class Citizens?" in the first issue of Metalsmith, 1980; growing involvement with the Society of North American Goldsmiths; development of his notion of "social utility" and the role and function of crafts and making; expansion of his writing on craft; rejection of the deconstructivist school of thought in the 1980s; abandonment of sculptural objects for jewelry in the early 1990s; return to Philadelphia in 1991; early teaching of history of craft, first at Kent, then on a Fulbright scholarship in Seoul, South Korea (1990), later at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, in the early 1990s; influence of Martin Eidelberg; development of his vision for a history of craft course; collaboration with Janet Koplos on "Makers: A History of American Studio Craft"; use of his medium and craft to explore issues of nurturing and anxiety; the psychological/social effect and aesthetic importance of wearing jewelry (for the wearer and the artist); the pros and cons of craft collectors; the problematics of installation work by craft artists; recent trends in craft, including Anne Wilson's notion of "sloppy craft" and an "anti-craft" attitude; recent artists, including Arthur Hash and Gabriel Craig; lack of exhibition opportunities for younger/emerging artists; influential recent texts, including "Shards," by Garth Clark. He also recalls Robert Arneson, Randy Long, Carol Kumata, Jamie Bennett, Steve and Harriet Rogers, Wayne Hammer, Stanley Lechtzin, Gene Koss, Henry Halem, Mark Burns, Rose Slivka, Nilda Getty, Jill Slosberg, Sharon Church, John Gill, David La Plantz, Lois Moran; Gary Griffin; William Daley, Marian Pritchard, Glenn Adamson, Pat Flynn, Susan Cummins, and Judith Schaechter.

The following oral history transcript is the result of a recorded interview with Bruce Metcalf on June 10, 2009. The interview took place in Bala Cynwyd, Penn., and was conducted by Edward S. Cooke, Jr. for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. This interview is part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Bruce Metcalf has reviewed the transcript. His corrections and emendations appear below in brackets with initials. This transcript has been lightly edited for readability by the Archives of American Art. The reader should bear in mind that they are reading a transcript of spoken, rather than written, prose.

Biographical / Historical:

Bruce Metcalf (1949- ) is a jeweler and writer in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

General:

Originally recorded as 5 sound files. Duration is 4 hr., 10 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:

This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Topic:

Ceramics  Search this

Communism  Search this

Deconstructivism (Architecture)  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Formalism (Art)  Search this

Jewelers -- Pennsylvania -- Interviews  Search this

Metal-work  Search this

Jewelry making  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.

Identifier:

AAA.metcal09

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw974054f15-9dfd-4aea-98f7-707fd609918e

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-metcal09

Creator:

Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this

Names:

Addison Gallery of American Art  Search this

Alliance for Cultural Democracy  Search this

Art Workers Coalition  Search this

Heresies Collective, Inc.  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Political Art Documentation/Distribution (Organization)  Search this

Printed Matter, Inc.  Search this

Studio International (Firm)  Search this

University of Colorado -- Faculty  Search this

Women's Caucus for Art  Search this

Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this

Chicago, Judy, 1939-  Search this

Darboven, Hanne  Search this

Edelson, Mary Beth  Search this

Hammond, Harmony  Search this

Henes, Donna  Search this

Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this

Judd, Donald, 1928-  Search this

LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this

Pearson, Henry, 1914-2006  Search this

Stevens, May  Search this

Extent:

70.5 Linear feet

0.454 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Sound recordings

Interviews

Photographs

Date:

1930s-2010

bulk 1960-1990

Summary:

The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 70.5 linear feet and 0.454 GB and date from the 1930s to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over half of the collection consists of correspondence files documenting Lippard's professional relationships with artists, writers, galleries, art institutions, and political organizations, and her interest in conceptual and minimalist art, feminism and political activism. Also found are Lippard's notes and writings including sound recordings and interviews, teaching and exhibition files, printed and digital material, several works of art, and photographs of artwork and artists. Scattered throughout the collection are a small number of records concerning Lippard's personal life. An addition of 3.0 linear feet donated 2015 includes subject files on feminist and conceptual art as well as land use, development, and local politics and history in New Mexico.

There is a 17.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2015 and 2021 that incudes research files (press clippings, notes, correspondence, ephemera) related to the publications 'Lure of the Local' and 'Undermining' are a significant portion. In addition there are approximetley 50 notebooks ranging from 1965-1996, containing notes and daily tasks. Printed material and ephemera includes promotional materials for talks and public engagements, as well as press clippings of reviews and other news items featuring Lippard. Another significant portion of the addition is labeled "miscellaneous professional correspondence."Materials date from circa 1965-2010.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 70.5 linear feet and 0.454 GB and date from the 1930s to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over half of the collection consists of correspondence files documenting Lippard's professional relationships with artists, writers, galleries, art institutions, and political organizations, and her interest in conceptual and minimalist art, feminism and political activism. Also found are Lippard's notes and writings including sound recordings and interviews, teaching and exhibition files, printed and digital material, several works of art, and photographs of artwork and artists. Scattered throughout the collection are a small number of records concerning Lippard's personal life. An addition of 3.0 linear feet donated 2015 includes subject files on feminist and conceptual art as well as land use, development, and local politics and history in New Mexico.

A small amount of biographical material comprises resumes and an address book.

Correspondence files document all aspects of Lippard's professional life including her relationships with artists such as Carl Andre, Judy Chicago, Hanne Darboven, Ray Johnson, Sol LeWitt, and Henry Pearson; feminist artists including Mary Beth Edelson, Harmony Hammond, Donna Henes, and May Stevens; political and art-related activist groups such as Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Art Workers Coalition, Political Art Documentation/Distribution, Printed Matter, and Women's Caucus for Art; galleries and museums including Addison Gallery of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, and publishers including Art International and Art Forum. The series also traces the development of Lippard's involvement in activist causes including censorship and the rights of artists, Central America and the impact of U.S. policy on the region, and equality and reproductive rights for women, as well as her interest in conceptual and minimalist art. The series includes scattered artwork and photographs of artists.

Writings are primarily by Lippard and include correspondence, manuscript drafts, extensive notes, and publication records for some of her best-known books such as The Graphic Work of Philip Evergood (1966), Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object (1973), Eva Hesse (1976), Ad Reinhardt (1985), and Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (1990), as well as essays for publications such as Art Forum and Studio International and contributions to exhibition catalogs. Also found are edited transcripts from conferences, symposia and interviews conducted by and of Lippard, some audio recordings of interviews and symposia, including an interview with Donald Judd, and notes and typescripts for lectures and speeches.

A small number of files document Lippard's teaching work during the 1970s and 1980s, primarily at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she taught several courses and seminars.

Exhibition files document Lippard's involvement with exhibitions she helped to organize or curate such as A Different War: Vietnam in Art (1989-1991) 557,087 and 955,000 (1969, 1970), 2,972, 453 (1971) c.7,500 (1973-1974) and those for which she wrote catalog contributions.

Printed material includes a collection of articles written by Lippard and a small amount of material concerning events, such as speaking engagements, in which Lippard was involved. Other printed material reflects Lippard's wide range of artistic, political and activist interests and documents exhibitions and performances and the activities of art-related and political groups. Material includes many exhibition catalogs, announcements, invitations, printed posters, news clippings, journal articles, brochures, pamphlets and other publications.

Artwork includes sixteen items by unidentified artists, including two by children. Photographs consist primarily of photographs of works of art in addition to a small number of photos of exhibition installations.

There is a 17.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2015 and 2021 that incudes research files (press clippings, notes, correspondence, ephemera) related to the publications 'Lure of the Local' and 'Undermining' are a significant portion. In addition there are approximetley 50 notebooks ranging from 1965-1996, containing notes and daily tasks. Printed material and ephemera includes promotional materials for talks and public engagements, as well as press clippings of reviews and other news items featuring Lippard. Another significant portion of the addition is labeled "miscellaneous professional correspondence."Materials date from circa 1965-2010.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as nine series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1960s-circa 1980s (Box 1; 2 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1950s-2006 (Boxes 1-28, 51, OVs 54-63; 28.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, 1930s-1990s (Boxes 28-41, 51-52, OVs 64-66; 13.24 linear feet, ER01; 0.454 GB)

Series 4: Teaching Files, 1966-1993 (Boxes 41, 52; 0.76 linear feet)

Series 5: Exhibitions, 1960s-1990s (Boxes 42-45, 52, OVs 67-68; 4.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1940s-2007 (Boxes 45-49, 52, OVs 69-77; 5.3 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork and Ephemera, circa 1960s-circa 1990s (Boxes 50, 53; 4 folders)

Series 8: Photographs, 1950s-circa 1990s (Boxes 50, 53, OV 71; 1.0 linear foot)

Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1965-2010, (Boxes 78-94; 17.0 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

New York and New Mexico writer and art critic, Lucy R. Lippard, is the curator of numerous exhibitions and the author of over twenty-four books and other writings that trace the emergence of minimalist and conceptual art and document Lippard's commitment to feminism and political activism.

Born in New York City in 1937, Lippard earned a B.A. from Smith College in 1958 and an M.A. in 1962 from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. In the 1960s she began writing art criticism for the journals Art International and Artforum. In 1966 she curated the landmark exhibition Eccentric Abstraction at the Fischbach Gallery in New York City. Lippard then curated the first of four defining conceptual art exhibitions that became known as her "numbers" shows, each titled after the populations of the cities in which they took place, with catalogs in the form of a set of 10 x 15 cm index cards. Opening at the Seattle Art Museum in 1969, 557,087 was followed by 955,000 in Vancouver, Canada, a few months later. 2,972,453 was held at the Centro de Arte y Comunicacíon in Buenos Aires in 1971 and c.7500 opened in Valencia, California, in 1973-1974 before traveling to several other venues in the United States and Europe.

Lippard's first book, The Graphic Work of Philip Evergood was published in 1966, followed by Pop Art the same year, and a collection of her early essays, Changing, in 1971. Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object (1973) and From the Center: Feminist Essays on Women's Art (1976) documented the emergence of conceptual art and the early years of feminist art respectively. In 1976 Lippard published her seminal book on the life and work of Eva Hesse.

Between 1977 and 1978 Lippard lived on a farm in Devon, England, and worked on a novel, The First Stone, about the role of politics in the lives of three generations of women. During her walks across the English countryside she became interested in landscape art and conceived of her book Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory which was subsequently published in 1983. Other books include Get the Message?: A Decade Of Art For Social Change (1984), Ad Reinhardt (1985), and Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (1990). Lippard has also written regular columns on art and politics for the Village Voice, In These Times and Z Magazine, and has been a contributing editor of Art in America.

Lippard was radicalized during a trip to Argentina in 1968 when she was invited to be a juror at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. On her return to the United States she became heavily involved in anti-war activities and the Art Workers Coalition. She is a co-founder of several feminist and artist organizations including the feminist collective Heresies, which produced Heresies: A Feminist Journal on Art and Politics from 1977-1992, Ad Hoc Women Artists, Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Artists Call Against U.S. Intervention in Central America, Women's Action Coalition, and Women's Art Registry. In 1976 she was a founder of Printed Matter, a New York nonprofit dedicated to producing artists' publications. She also worked closely with Franklin Furnace, an artist-run space devoted to the promotion of artists' books, installation art, and video and performance art, and served on the organization's International Committee.

Lippard has been a visiting professor at the School of Visual Arts, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the University of Queensland, Australia, and was Eminent Artist in Residence at the University of Wyoming Department of Art in 2015. She has received honorary doctorates in fine arts from Maine College of Art, the Massachusetts College of Art, Moore College of Art, San Francisco Art Institute, and others, and awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts grants in criticism, the Smith College Medal, the ArtTable Award for Distinguished Service to the Visual Arts, and the Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies Award for Excellence.

Lippard has lived in New Mexico since 1992 and works as a freelance writer and speaker.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Lucy Lippard conducted in 2011 March 15, by Sue Heinemann, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, funded by a grant from the A G Foundation.

Provenance:

Lucy R. Lippard donated her papers in several increments between 1972-1995, 2006, 2015 and 2021.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference 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:

Curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Authors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Artists -- Political activity  Search this

Art criticism  Search this

Feminism and art  Search this

Women authors  Search this

Women art critics  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Minimal art  Search this

Women museum curators  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Photographs

Citation:

Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

Identifier:

AAA.lipplucy

See more items in:

Lucy R. Lippard papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9101c6a69-dde9-42ed-94cc-d03650c249ed

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-lipplucy

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-03-12T08:35:20.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_svo8UO422oc

Creator:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-03-18T00:14:20.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

Topic:

Art, modern  Search this

See more by:

hirshhornmuseum

Data Source:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

YouTube Channel:

hirshhornmuseum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_FkJrjFSUres

Artist:

Giovanni Anselmo, Italian, b. Borgofranco d'Ivrea, 1934  Search this

Medium:

Slide and projector

Dimensions:

dimensions variable

Type:

Installation

Date:

1971

Credit Line:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Holenia Purchase Fund, in memory of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 2003

Accession Number:

03.8

See more items in:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection

Data Source:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/py20032ad01-3aba-4421-8432-6c217b345dbd

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:hmsg_03.8

Author:

Foley, Suzanne  Search this

Lewallen, Constance  Search this

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art  Search this

Physical description:

208 p. : ill. ; 28 cm

Type:

Exhibitions

Place:

California

San Francisco Bay Area

Date:

1981

C1981

20th century

Topic:

Conceptual art  Search this

Arts, Modern  Search this

Call number:

NX510.C22 S23X

NX510.C22S23X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_142348

Interviewee:

Sekula, Allan, 1951-2013  Search this

Interviewer:

Panzer, Mary, 1955-  Search this

Subject:

Altoon, John  Search this

Antin, David  Search this

Antin, Eleanor  Search this

Ascott, Roy  Search this

Braderman, Joan  Search this

Baldessari, John  Search this

Barthes, Roland  Search this

Becker, Howard  Search this

Bercovitch, Sacvan  Search this

Beveridge, Karl  Search this

Bo Diddley  Search this

Brach, Paul  Search this

Burch, Noël  Search this

Burn, Ian  Search this

Captain Beefheart  Search this

Charlesworth, Sarah  Search this

Chayefsky, Paddy  Search this

Conde, Carol  Search this

Connell, Brian  Search this

Evans, Walker  Search this

Farber, Manny  Search this

Feldman, Ronald  Search this

Folks, Homer  Search this

Fox, Terry  Search this

Fried, Howard  Search this

Ginsberg, Allen  Search this

Graham, Dan  Search this

Graves, Michael  Search this

Halleck, DeeDee  Search this

Hanhardt, John G.  Search this

Hassan, Ihab  Search this

Hayes, Woody  Search this

Heinecken, Robert  Search this

Higgins, Dick  Search this

Hine, Lewis Wickes  Search this

Kienholz, Edward  Search this

Kirschenbaum, Baruch David  Search this

Knowles, Alison  Search this

König, Kasper  Search this

Kosuth, Joseph.  Search this

Kozloff, Max  Search this

Kramer, Hilton  Search this

Krauss, Rosalind E.  Search this

Liebling, Jerome  Search this

Lifson, Ben  Search this

Little Richard  Search this

Lonidier, Fred  Search this

Lord, Catherine  Search this

Lunn, Harry  Search this

Mac Low, Jackson  Search this

Mandel, Mike  Search this

Matta  Search this

Mayer, Grace M.  Search this

Michelson, Annette  Search this

O'Doherty, Brian  Search this

Pommer, Richard  Search this

Ramsden, Mel  Search this

Raskin, Jef  Search this

Reagan, Ronald  Search this

Rosler, Martha  Search this

Ross, David A.  Search this

Ruby, Jay  Search this

Ruscha, Edward  Search this

Salle, David  Search this

Salvesen, Britt  Search this

Schimmel, Paul  Search this

Segalove, Ilene  Search this

Stein, Sally  Search this

Steinmetz, Philip  Search this

Sultan, Larry  Search this

Van Riper, Peter  Search this

Wakoski, Diane  Search this

Wall, Jeff  Search this

Artforum  Search this

California Institute of the Arts  Search this

The Ohio State University  Search this

Rhode Island School of Design  Search this

Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.)  Search this

University of California, San Diego  Search this

Type:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Citation:

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Allan Sekula, 2011 August 20-2012 February 14. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Activism  Search this

Antisemitism  Search this

Architecture  Search this

Art -- Exhibitions -- Economic aspects  Search this

Art -- History  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Documentary photography  Search this

Korean War, 1950-1953  Search this

Music -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Photography  Search this

Realism  Search this

World War, 1914-1918  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)16239

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)370420

AAA_collcode_sekula11

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_370420

Creator:

Artists Talk on Art  Search this

Names:

Barnet, Will, 1911-2012  Search this

Bourgeois, Louise, 1911-2010  Search this

Christo, 1935-  Search this

De Niro, Robert, Sr., 1922-1993  Search this

Denes, Agnes  Search this

Goldberg, Michael, 1924-2007  Search this

Jeanne-Claude, 1935-2009  Search this

Longo, Robert  Search this

Mendieta, Ana, 1948-1985  Search this

Morris, Robert, 1931-2018  Search this

Murray, Elizabeth, 1940-  Search this

Neel, Alice, 1900-1984  Search this

Pavia, Philip, 1915-2005  Search this

Sleigh, Sylvia  Search this

Wilke, Hannah  Search this

Wojnarowicz, David  Search this

Extent:

64.4 Linear feet

317.43 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Photographs

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Transcripts

Video recordings

Date:

circa 1974-2018

Summary:

The records of Artists Talk on Art (ATOA) measure 64.4 linear feet and 317.43 gigabytes and date from circa 1974-2018. The bulk of the records consist of extensive video and sound recordings of events organized by the group featuring artists, critics, historians, dealers, curators and writers discussing contemporary issues in the American art world in hundreds of panel discussions, open screenings, and dialogues held in New York City. Events began in 1975 and continue to the present; recordings in the collection date from 1977 and 2016. A smaller group of records include administrative files, panel flyers, three scrapbooks, as well as photographs, slides, and negatives of panel discussions and participants.

Scope and Contents:

The records of Artists Talk on Art (ATOA) measure 64.4 linear feet and 317.43 gigabytes and date from circa 1974-2018. The bulk of the records consist of extensive video and sound recordings of events organized by the group featuring artists, critics, historians, dealers, curators and writers discussing contemporary issues in the American art world in hundreds of panel discussions, open screenings, and dialogues held in New York City. Events began in 1975 and continue to the present; recordings in the collection date from 1977 and 2016. A smaller group of records include administrative files, panel flyers, three scrapbooks, as well as photographs, slides, and negatives of panel discussions and participants.

ATOA's recordings chronicle the American art world, covering critical discussions and significant art world issues over five decades. Thousands of artists such as Will Barnet, Louise Bourgeois, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Robert De Niro, Agnes Denes, Michael Goldberg, Robert Longo, Ana Mendieta, Robert Morris, Elizabeth Murray, Alice Neel, Philip Pavia, Howardena Pindell, Larry Rivers, Sylvia Sleigh, Kahinde Wiley, Hannah Wilke, David Wojnarowicz, and others speak about their work. The original recordings exist in a variety of formats, including U-Matic and VHS videotape, MiniDVs, sound cassettes and sound tape reels. ATOA digitized most of the video and sound recordings prior to donating the collection.

The collection also includes printed histories, board and program committee meeting minutes, financial statements, general correspondence files of the president and chair, attendance statistics, grant files, panel participant release forms, sixteen panel transcripts, a complete set of panel flyers (many are annotated) and other printed materials, three dismantled scrapbooks, as well as photographs, slides, and negatives of panels and panel participants.

Arrangement:

The records are arranged into nine series.

Series 1: Adminstrative Files, 1974-2013 (0.4 linear feet, Box 1)

Series 2: Director's and Chairman's Correspondence, 1977-2006 (0.4 linear feet, Box 1)

Series 3: Grant Files, 1977-2009 (1 linear foot, Boxes 1-2)

Series 4: Panel Release Forms, 1978-2012 (1 linear foot, Boxes 2-3)

Series 5: Panel Transcripts, 1981, 1986, 1988, 2017-2018 (1 folder, Box 3; 0.002 GB, ER01)

Series 6: Printed Materials, 1975-2015 (0.8 linear feet, Boxes 3-4; 0.434 GB, ER02)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1975-1989 (0.2 linear feet, Box 4)

Series 8: Photographic Materials, circa 1975-circa 2000 (1 linear foot, Boxes 4-5)

Series 9: Video and Sound Recordings of Events, 1977-2016 (59 linear feet, Boxes 6-65; 317.43 GB, ER03-ER04)

Biographical / Historical:

Established in 1974 and still active in New York, Artists Talk on Art is the art world's longest running and most prolific aesthetic panel discussion series organized by artists for artists. Founded by Lori Antonacci, Douglas I. Sheer, and Robert Wiegand, the forum has presented 6,000 artists in nearly 1,000 documented panels or dialogues. ATOA held its first panel, "Whatever Happened to Public Art," on January 10, 1975 and it drew a "crowd" of 77 people. In the decades that followed, ATOA presented dozens of panels or dialogues a year, tackling such diverse topics as "What is Happening with Conceptual Art," with Louise Lawler and Lawrence Weiner; "Painting and Photography: Defining the Difference," with Sarah Charlesworth, Jack Goldstein, Joseph Kosuth, Barbara Kruger, and Robert Mapplethorpe; "Organizing Arts Activism," with Lucy Lippard; "The Artist and the Epidemic—an information panel about AIDS"; "Cross-generational Views of Feminism"; and hundreds more.

Provenance:

The Artists Talk on Art (ATOA) records, including digital files of the video and sound recordings, were donated to the Archives in 2016 by Douglas Sheer, Chairman of ATOA.

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 born-digital records or 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:

Art critics  Search this

Art dealers  Search this

Art historians  Search this

Artists  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

Historians  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Transcripts

Video recordings

Citation:

Artists Talk on Art records, circa 1974-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.artitalk

See more items in:

Artists Talk on Art records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c4de66ef-397b-4e6e-9fde-d6deca12fa3a

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-artitalk

Interviewee:

Huyghe, Pierre 1962-  Search this

Writer of foreword:

Obrist, Hans Ulrich  Search this

Editor:

Lewin, Rebecca  Search this

Grabowska, Natalia  Search this

Stenne, Anne  Search this

Writer of supplementary textual content:

Hantelmann, Dorothea von  Search this

Issuing body:

Serpentine Gallery  Search this

Contributor:

Fondation LUMA  Search this

Luma Arles  Search this

Physical description:

447 pages chiefly illustrations (chiefly color) 21 cm

Type:

Exhibitions

Interviews

Expositions

Interview

Exhibition catalogs

Catalogues d'exposition

Date:

2019

21st century

21e siècle

Topic:

Conceptual art  Search this

Art, Modern  Search this

Art--Exhibition techniques  Search this

Art conceptuel  Search this

Art  Search this

Art--Techniques d'exposition  Search this

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_1155820

Creator:

Sarchiapone, Cosmos Andrew, 1931-2011  Search this

Names:

Parsons School of Design -- Faculty  Search this

Push Pin Studios  Search this

School of Visual Arts (New York, N.Y.) -- Faculty  Search this

Arbus, Diane, 1923-1971  Search this

Cage, John, 1912-1992  Search this

Glaser, Milton  Search this

Hay, Alex  Search this

Huebler, Douglas  Search this

Israel, Marvin  Search this

Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this

Kelly, Ellsworth, 1923-  Search this

Scull, Robert C.  Search this

Sonneman, Eve  Search this

Extent:

49.2 Linear feet

0.367 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Drawings

Ephemera

Illustrations

Music

Photocopies

Photographs

Posters

Prints

Sketchbooks

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Place:

New York (State) -- New York City -- Photographs

Date:

circa 1860-2011

bulk 1940-2011

Summary:

The papers of New York City photographer, conceptual artist, and musical composer Cosmos Sarchiapone measure 49.2 linear feet and 0.367 GB and date from circa 1860-2011, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1940-2011. The collection includes biographical material and personal business records; correspondence; extensive writings, including written and recorded music compositions; teaching files; printed material and published sound and video recordings; photographic material; artwork; artifacts; and unpublished sound recordings and born-digital material. Highlights of the collection are more than 40,000 photographic images documenting New York's avant-garde art scene of the 1970s, along with celebrity parties, concerts, exhibition openings and other occasions in the art, music, and theater world. Extensive and somewhat rare printed materials offer users a visual chronical of the downtown art world in the form of posters from the 1970s, including a number of Milton Glaser's, and hundreds of exhibition announcements, theater programs, and playbills.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of New York City photographer, conceptual artist, and musical composer Cosmos Sarchiapone measure 49.2 linear feet and 0.367 GB and date from circa 1860-2011, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1940-2011. The collection includes biographical material and personal business records; correspondence; extensive writings, including written and recorded music compositions; teaching files; printed material and published sound and video recordings; photographic material; artwork; artifacts; and unpublished sound recordings and born-digital material. Highlights of the collection are more than 40,000 photographic images documenting New York's avant-garde art scene of the 1970s, along with celebrity parties, concerts, exhibition openings and other occasions in the art, music, and theater world. Extensive and somewhat rare printed materials offer users a visual chronical of the downtown art world in the form of posters from the 1970s, including a number of Milton Glaser's, and hundreds of exhibition announcements, theater programs, and playbills.

Biographical material and personal business records include address books, calendars, legal paperwork, life documents, resumes, and other material. Correspondence is both personal and professional in nature. Personal correspondence is between Cosmos and friends, family, and pen pals. Professional correspondence is with curators, publishers, and estates and mostly concerns Cosmos's artwork, photographs, or objects he lent for exhibition or publication.

Writings include general writings and notes, including a book layout for a book never realized; fifteen notebooks containing Cosmos's writings about projects, dreams, and miscellany; music compositions in both written form and on sound recordings; and scattered writings by others, including manuscripts and theater scripts.

Teaching files document photography courses taught by Cosmos at the School of Visual Arts in 1974-1976, and the Parsons School of Design in 1980.

Printed materials and commercially published sound and video recordings in the collection are extensive and reflect Cosmos's unique interests and inspirations, and his tendency to save and collect material discarded or rejected by others. There are books and periodicals featuring Cosmos's work, annotated by Cosmos, or of special significance to Cosmos. There is also a list of books in Cosmos's library. Some of the periodicals concern Push Pin Studios and Milton Glaser. There is a large group of ephemera, such as announcements, catalogs, press releases, programs, playbills, posters, and assorted items covering several decades of New York exhibitions, events, concerts, and performances. There are posters for exhibitions, events, performances, film screenings, and concerts. Some of the clippings and other ephemera may have been removed from scrapbooks or other compilations, and some remain collated and mounted on mat board. Some of the printed materials may have been used by Cosmos as source materials.

Photographic material makes up a significant portion of the collection (14.5 linear feet), and illustrates the breadth of Cosmos's documentation of New York City, capturing the avant-garde art and theater worlds, the people and streets, self-portraits, and numerous other subjects. There are images of named people and people at parties, of exhibitions and performances, of New York City streets and buildings, of a more personal and family nature, of artwork, and of miscellaneous subjects. There are also collected photographs, some of which are vintage. There is a large group of unidentified and unsorted negatives, slides, and contact sheets. Where they existed, labeling and descriptive notes have been preserved with the unidentified materials.

Artwork is also quite extensive (10.5 linear feet) and found in a variety of genre, format, and media. There is also a small subseries of artwork by others. One group of artwork consists of titled or named art projects and series, often executed in the form of series that spanned decades. This group includes Cosmos's Reciprocal project that incorporated his photographic work. For this project, he would photograph notable figures, including John Cage, Robert Scull, and others, and ask them to photograph him. There are also several folders of Cosmos's work focusing on photographer Diane Arbus.

A group of artwork identified as "compilations" consist primarily of photocopies of compiled presentations of documents, photographs, fragments, writings, drawings, printed materials and ephemera, and bits and pieces of Cosmos's titled work. These compilations were prepared by Cosmos for individuals in the art world to whom he was close. The original compilations were then photocopied and presented to the intended receiver. The subseries of compilations contains both originals and photocopied versions that do not always correlate with one another. Also found among the artwork are drawings, illustrations, a few paintings, collages, and sketchbooks by Cosmos. Artwork by others includes an artist book, drawings, a sketchbook, and prints by Milton Glaser, Alex Hay, Douglas Huebler, Marvin Israel, Ray Johnson, Ellsworth Kelly, and Eve Sonneman.

Found within the collection are three dimensional artifacts, including eight cameras and other items Cosmos saved and collected to incorporate into his photographs.

There is a large series of unpublished sound recordings and born-digital material, some of which is clearly identified and labeled, and some of which is unidentified. When known, labeling has been incorporated into the folder titles in the container inventory. Users should note that sound recordings that were clearly identified and associated with other projects were arranged in context with those related materials.

Printed material (series 5), photographic material (series 6), and artwork (series 7), include many photocopies. Cosmos used the photocopy process to make copies of his work to share with others, and as a creative form of art in itself, experimenting with tonality, collage, and the degeneration of images from repeated copying. Photocopies were also made of articles, newspapers, and various source material and ephemera that he collected. Many photocopies have descriptive labeling on the back. For some photographs and projects, photocopies are the only form of documentation located in the collection.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as nine series

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material and Personal Business Records, circa 1949-2011 (1 linear foot; Box 1, 44, OV 49)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1940s-2011 (.7 linear feet; Box 1-2)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1947-2000s (4.2 linear feet; Box 2-6, 44, OV 50-51)

Series 4: Teaching Files, 1970s-1980s (1.9 linear feet; Box 6-8, 44, OV 52)

Series 5: Printed Material, Published Sound, Video Recordings, 1894-2000s (8.3 linear feet; Box 8-13, 44-45, OV 53-73, RD 105)

Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1860-2000s, bulk 1970-2010 (14.5 linear feet; Box 14-26, 46-47, OV 74-80)

Series 7: Artwork, 1947-2000s (10.5 linear feet; Box 27-34, 47-48, OV 81-104)

Series 8: Artifacts, 1960s-2000s (1.5 linear feet; Box 34-35)

Series 9: Sound Recordings and Born-Digital Material, 1950s-2000s (6.6 linear feet; Box 36-43, 0.367 GB; ER01-ER02)

Biographical / Historical:

Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone (1931-2011) was a documentary photographer, musical composer, and conceptual artist who worked in New York City.

Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone was named Cosime Sarchiapone at birth, and was also known as Cosmos, Cosmos Savage, and Richard Savage. His parents, Lois and Aldo, had seven children, including twins Cosmos and Damian. Born in Manhattan, Cosmos graduated from the La Guardia High School of Music and Art in New York City in 1948 and from Syracuse University in 1958 with a concentration in music composition and studio art. After college, he studied musical composition with John Cage at the New School in 1961, art history with Meyer Schapiro at Columbia University from 1963-1965, illustration with Marvin Israel from 1966-1971, design with Milton Glaser from 1968-1973, and photography with Diane Arbus from 1970-1971. He taught photography at the School of Visual Arts from 1974-1976, and at Parsons School of Design in 1980. In the early 1970s, he led experimental theater workshops at Columbia-Barnard University.

Between 1968-1969, Cosmos worked with Milton Glaser and Seymour Chwast at their Push Pin Studios, a graphic design and illustration studio.

Sometime between the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Cosmos began photographing New York City, capturing the art and theater worlds, the people and streets, self-portraits, and numerous other subjects. As a freelance photographer for New York magazine (founded by Milton Glaser) and other mass-market publications, Cosmos photographed Andy Warhol and his circle, Halloween parties at the Waldorf, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon convention, the Jesus Joy Jubilee at Carnegie Hall, the Beat Poets' reunion and private parties attended by Hollywood actors and directors, often capturing the overlapping worlds of art, movies and music. Cosmos's photographs have been published in numerous books and publications. His work was featured in several exhibitions in the 1970s, including shows at the Jamie Gallery, the Fine Arts Building, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. But he created the bulk of his work for himself and much of it remains unpublished.

Throughout the 1970s, Cosmos documented the avant-garde art scene in New York City. He captured performances at The Kitchen and La Mama, the offices of New York magazine and Push Pin Studios, Tom O'Horgan's Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, and much more. He photographed performances and installations at 112 Greene Street in SoHo, an interdisciplinary art space that nurtured the experiments of a number of now significant American artists, dancers and musicians, including Chris Burden, Vito Acconci, Suzanne Harris and Phillip Glass, all of whom were photographed by Cosmos. He also photographed numerous images of 112 Greene Street's sister space, Matta-Clark's FOOD, an artist-run eatery at the corner of Prince and Wooster Streets where exotic meals were offered up as both performance art and nourishment. Cosmos used his camera as a way to get close to artists he admired, including Diane Arbus, Milton Glaser, and Marvin Israel.

According to Milton Glaser, "Cosmos was a brilliant photographer who was never without a camera….He was always everywhere. In terms of documentation of that period, there was no one like him."

Cosmos often incorporated aspects of his photography into conceptual art pieces, including two serial works that Cosmos made from fragments of Diane Arbus' discarded photographs, transforming her iconic work. Many of Cosmos's conceptual art pieces often took the form of a series, and were continuously revisited. In Reciprocal, Cosmos photographed figures—including those he admired like John Cage, Meyer Schapiro, Robert Scull, and others—then asked each to photograph him. Many of Cosmos's art projects were based in photographic documentation of his "performances", as in Sheet Music, where he is seen tearing a white sheet outside Bloomingdale's during the 'white sale.' Cosmos's convictions about smoking, its hazards, and the nefarious actions of tobacco companies led to several related projects, among them, Photo Arrest, where Cosmos captured on camera people smoking illegally in hospitals, classrooms, grocery stores, and elevators.

Cosmos created scores for plays and dance performances, including Churchyard by the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1970, and numerous Off-Off Broadway theater productions in the 1960s. He wrote an opera, Vox Humana #3. The opera is about three heroines of history: Antigone, Joan of Arc, and Patty Hearst, and synthesizes a variety of media, including music composition, stage direction, and video (Patty Hearst in Chains), into a four hour performance that was staged at La Mama in 1976 and The Kitchen in 1977.

Cosmos lived at Westbeth Artists' Community from 1970-2011, but had largely withdrawn from the world by the 2000s. Cosmos Sarchiapone died in 2011.

Provenance:

Donated to the Archives of American Art in 2015 by Tom Sarchiapone, Cosmos Sarchiapone's brother, via Catherine Morris, curator and friend of Cosmos.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Use of archival audiovisual recordings 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.

Occupation:

Composers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Conceptual art  Search this

Music--New York (State)--New York  Search this

Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Photography -- Study and teaching  Search this

Photography--New York (State)--New York  Search this

Theater--New York (State)--New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Ephemera

Illustrations

Music

Photocopies

Photographs

Posters

Prints

Sketchbooks

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Citation:

Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone papers, circa 1860-2011, bulk 1940-2011. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.sarccosm

See more items in:

Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9bf441ea1-b8c9-46c4-a9ec-01ea133658fb

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-sarccosm