Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Search Results

Collections Search Center
14 documents - page 1 of 1

Oral history interview with Gronk, 1997 Jan. 20-23

Interviewee:
Gronk, (Glugio Gronk Nicandro), 1957-  Search this
Interviewer:
Rangel, Jeffrey J.  Search this
Subject:
Dreva, Jerry  Search this
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (Gallery)  Search this
Four (Art group)  Search this
Asco (Group of artists)  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Gronk, 1997 Jan. 20-23. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Chicano artists  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Theme:
Latino and Latin American  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13586
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216258
AAA_collcode_gronk97
Theme:
Latino and Latin American
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216258
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Harry Gamboa, Jr. and Gronk, 1999 Apr. 1-16

Interviewee:
Gamboa, Harry, 1951-  Search this
Interviewer:
Rangel, Jeffrey J.  Search this
Subject:
Gronk, 1954-  Search this
Asco (Group of artists)  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Harry Gamboa, Jr. and Gronk, 1999 Apr. 1-16. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Chicano artists  Search this
Chicano movement  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Photography  Search this
Theme:
Latino and Latin American  Search this
Photography  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13552
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216608
AAA_collcode_gamboa99
Theme:
Latino and Latin American
Photography
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216608
Online Media:

Jerry Dreva papers

Creator:
Dreva, Jerry, 1945-1997  Search this
Names:
Gronk, 1954-  Search this
Extent:
1 Linear foot
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1964-1984
Summary:
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
Authors -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Educators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Performance artists -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee  Search this
Topic:
Gay artists  Search this
Mail art  Search this
Activists (LGBTQ)  Search this
Artists (LGBTQ)  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Sound recordings  Search this
Citation:
Jerry Dreva papers, 1964-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.drevjerr
See more items in:
Jerry Dreva papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93651c7ad-554e-49e2-987f-1a12d12cd12e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-drevjerr
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Gronk

Interviewee:
Gronk, 1954-  Search this
Interviewer:
Rangel, Jeffrey J.  Search this
Names:
Asco (Group of artists)  Search this
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (Gallery)  Search this
Los Four (Art group)  Search this
Dreva, Jerry, 1945-1997  Search this
Extent:
6 Sound cassettes (Sound recording (ca. 6 hrs.), analog)
94 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1997 Jan. 20-23
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Gronk conducted by Jeffrey Rangel for the Archives of American Art.
Gronk discusses differences between two artists' group, Los Four and and Asco; the Chicano artists view of Asco; isolation from the Chicano arts movement as well as the mainstream avant-garde art scene; his relationship with Jerry Dreva and the development of mail art and the Dreva/Gronk Show: 1968-1978 at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions; and his 1983 NEA fellowship for performance/conceptual work.
Biographical / Historical:
Gronk (1954-) is an artist from California. Gronk, whose full name is Glugio Gronk Nicandro, was born in Los Angeles in 1954. As a member of the 1970s activist performance group, Asco (nausea), with Harry Gamboa, Jr., Patssi Valdez, and Willie Herron, Gronk arranged anti-war protests and painted graffiti murals.
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. Funding for the interview provided by the Smithsonian Latino Fund.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Chicano artists  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.gronk97
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99a1cb4e6-baff-400d-8ad5-19af44f0a177
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-gronk97
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Harry Gamboa, Jr. and Gronk

Interviewee:
Gamboa, Harry  Search this
Gronk, 1954-  Search this
Interviewer:
Rangel, Jeffrey J.  Search this
Names:
Asco (Group of artists)  Search this
Extent:
5 Sound cassettes (Sound recording (270 min.), analog)
90 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1999 Apr. 1-16
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Harry Gamboa, Jr. conducted 1999 Apr. 1-16, at various cafes in Los Angeles, Calif., by Jeffrey Rangel, for the Archives of American Art. The artist, Gronk, joined the interview for the second session.
Photographer, painter, video artist, and writer, Harry Gamboa, Jr. (b. 1951), has been involved in creating visual and performance works that interpret the contemporary urban Chicano culture. A native of Los Angeles, Gamboa began the interview by reflecting on his book Urban Exile (University of Minnesota Press, 1998), which he considers only a fragment of his creative work, feeling photography his primary medium. He expressed a need to maintain his identity as a Chicano artist while at the same time trying to balance financial survival, family maintenance, and creative spontaneity. He described growing up in East Los Angeles, a period that tested his personality and developed his quick wit and humor as a means of survival and his sense of being the "participant viewer." He remembers his educational experiences as "highly damaging," due to the physical violence from a few teachers and the stereotyping of Chicanos. His views about the Vietnam War and his disillusionment of the political process which led to a discussion about the Civil Rights Movement and the African-American culture's influence on his work. He emphasized the lack of an awareness by the art community of black and Chicano artists that was underscored in the Armand Hammer Museum's LA and Noir [Sunshine and Noir: Los Angeles Art, 1960-1990, at the UCLA/Armand Hammer Art Center] exhibition, 1998.
The second session began and ended with Gamboa reflecting on his relationship with his wife and fellow artist, Barbara Carrasco. In the interim, he and Gronk, who joined the interview, discussed the dynamics that brought the artists together in Asco; the differences and competitiveness within the Chicano Arts Movement; and the vulnerabilities of an artist's surviving while trying to maintain an artistic vision. Despite these challenges and an opressive dominant culture that has not embrased Chicano art, Carrasco have continued as artists because they feel a need to create and to present their work as a means of expanding a perception of reality.
Biographical / Historical:
Harry Gamboa, Jr. (1951-) is a painter, writer, photographer, and video artist from Los Angeles, Calif.
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. Funding for the interview and transcription provided by the Smithsonian Institution Latino Initiatives Fund.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Chicano artists  Search this
Chicano movement  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Photography  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.gamboa99
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c97bcf38-e62a-4b4b-83ec-9c1eb5e3320a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-gamboa99
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Patssi Valdez

Interviewee:
Valdez, Patssi  Search this
Interviewer:
Rangel, Jeffrey J.  Search this
Names:
Asco (Group of artists)  Search this
Otis Art Institute  Search this
Self-Help Graphics and Art, Inc.  Search this
Gamboa, Harry  Search this
Gronk, 1954-  Search this
Mesa-Bains, Amalia  Search this
Extent:
80 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1999 May 26-June 2
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Patssi Valdez conducted 1999 May 26-June 2, by Jeffrey Rangel, for the Archives of American Art.
The interviews were conducted at the artist's home/studio in Los Angeles, California. Valdez discusses her current show at the Laguna Art Museum, "A Precarious Comfort," and the intensely personal nature of the work being exhibited; the liberating aspects of painting and her journey from dealing with the problems and concerns of the Chicano community to a more internal focus in which she examines her personal emotional life through symbol and imagination; how, in her work, landscape has come to represent emotions and states of mind; health problems and her turning to alternative methods of healing; her relationship with Asco and her eventual break from the group to pursue her art studies at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles (now Otis College of Art and Design) and in New York, and with a NEA grant to Europe and Mexico; difficulties she experienced with her decision to focus on art school and on her survival as an artist, while trying to keep in touch with friends and peers; friendships with Amalia Mesa Bains, Christina Fernandez, and Gronk, as well as with Sister Karen Boccalero whose Self-Help Graphics contributed so much to the growth of a younger generation of Chicano artists; fellow Asco artist Harry Gamboa, Jr., and their mutual goals in their art to subvert Chicano stereotypes; what constitutes Chicano art and how the Les Demon des Anges show changed her perspective; and her ability to create change through her art.
Biographical / Historical:
Patssi Valdez (1951-) is a painter, and installation artist from Los Angeles, California. Valdez is known for her boldly rendered works that vary in themes from homages to female deities to mystical environments.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 32 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. Funding for the interview and transcription provided by the Smithsonian Institution Latino Inititatives Fund.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Artists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Topic:
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Mexican American artists  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.valdez99
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99fadeaa6-d1c4-4d55-8020-baac612dfa3a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-valdez99
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Willie Herrón

Interviewee:
Herrón, Willie, 1951-  Search this
Interviewer:
Rangel, Jeffrey J.  Search this
Names:
Asco (Group of artists)  Search this
Gronk, 1954-  Search this
Extent:
7 Sound cassettes (Sound recording (6 hrs.), analog)
109 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2000 Feb. 5-Mar. 17
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Willie Herrón conducted 2000 Feb. 5-Mar. 17, by Jeffrey J. Rangel, for the Archives of American Art.
The interviews took place in a restaurant, City Terrace, East Los Angeles, Calif. Herrón describes his childhood growing up in East Los Angeles, culminating with an extensive discussion of the circumstances surrounding the painting of his most acclaimed mural, "The Wall that Cracked Open" in City Terrace; founding the avant-garde Chicano art group Asco along with Harry Gamboa, Jr., Patssi Valdez, and Gronk; his experience as leader of the band Los Illegals and as a cofounder of the alternative music space Club Vex with Self Help Graphics' Sister Karen Boccalero; the Chicano mural movement, particularly his undertakings in City Terrace, Boyle Heights, and at the Estrada Courts and Ramona Gardens housing projects in East Los Angeles; his commitment to working with at-risk youth and his strong desire to expand the stylistic and iconographic parameters of the medium through the incorporation of graffiti; and an assessment of Asco's role in expanding the continuum of Chicano art and identity.
Biographical / Historical:
Willie Herrón (1951-) is a painter, graphic artist, muralist, and musician from Los Angeles, Calif. Herrón is known as one of the premiere artists and musicians to emerge out of the Chicano arts movement during the 1970s.
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. Funding for this interview and transcription provided by the SI Latino Fund of 1997.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Muralists -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Art and music  Search this
Graffiti art  Search this
Street art  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Chicano artists  Search this
Chicano art movement  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.herron00
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9406c73bf-2830-43b6-a99a-71ce903b67fa
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-herron00
Online Media:

Gronk, 1954- [Folder]

Contents:
Folder(s) may include exhibition announcements, newspaper and/or magazine clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations, illustrations, resumes, artist's statements, exhibition catalogs.
Topic:
Artists  Search this
Location:
Art & Artist files at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/ National Portrait Gallery Library
Data source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:SILAF_29367

Gronk, Hotel senator : paintings : 7 September- 6 October 1990, Daniel Saxon Gallery

Title:
Hotel senator
Author:
Gronk 1954-  Search this
Daniel Saxon Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Gronk 1954-  Search this
Physical description:
[16] p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Place:
California
Date:
1990
C1990]
Topic:
Narrative art (Art movement)  Search this
Call number:
ND237.G668 A4 1990
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_920827

Gronk : Grand Hotel : paintings and drawings : 3 February- 4 March, 1989, Saxon Lee Gallery

Title:
Grand Hotel
Author:
Gronk 1954-  Search this
Frank, Peter 1950-  Search this
Saxon-Lee Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Gronk 1954-  Search this
Physical description:
[24] p. : chiefly col. ill. ; 26 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Place:
California
Date:
1989
C1989
Topic:
Narrative art (Art movement)  Search this
Call number:
ND237.G668 A4 1989
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_917224

Gronk! a living survey 1973-1993 : The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, August 4-November 21, 1993 / curated by René Yañez

Author:
Gronk 1954-  Search this
Yanez, Rene  Search this
Mexican Museum  Search this
Los Angeles County Museum of Art  Search this
El Paso Museum of Art  Search this
Subject:
Gronk 1954-  Search this
Physical description:
40 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Date:
1993
Call number:
ND237.G668 A4 1993
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_833008

Gronk / Max Benavidez ; foreword by Chon A. Noriega

Author:
Benavidez, Max  Search this
Noriega, Chon A. 1961-  Search this
La Ponsie, Steve 1957-  Search this
Subject:
Gronk 1954-  Search this
Physical description:
xii, 120 p. : ill. (chiefly col.), ill., ports. ; 24 cm. + 1 DVD (4 3/4 in.)
Type:
Biography
Date:
2007
Topic:
Mexican American artists  Search this
Hispanic American gays  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_815133

Inaugural installations [videorecording] / produced by Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art

Title:
Installations, Summer 2002-Spring 2003
Author:
Welch, Aaron  Search this
Dougherty, Patrick 1945-  Search this
Gronk 1954-  Search this
Howard, Mildred  Search this
Simpson, Buster 1942-  Search this
Remann Hall Women's Project  Search this
Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art  Search this
Subject:
Dougherty, Patrick 1945- Call of the wild  Search this
Gronk 1954- Glass kingdom  Search this
Howard, Mildred Blackbird in a red sky  Search this
Simpson, Buster 1942- Incidence  Search this
Remann Hall Women's Project Remorse reconstructed  Search this
Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art  Search this
Physical description:
1 videodisc (32 [i.e. 54] min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
Type:
Videorecordings
Place:
Washington (State)
Tacoma
Date:
2003
[2003]
Topic:
Installations (Art)  Search this
Glass sculpture  Search this
Documentary films  Search this
Call number:
video 000691
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_811826

Fascinating slippers = Pantunflas / Gronk

Author:
Gronk 1954-  Search this
San Jose Museum of Art  Search this
Mexican Museum  Search this
Subject:
Gronk 1954-  Search this
Physical description:
[6] p. : ill. ; 28 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Place:
California
San Jose
Date:
1992
C1992
Topic:
Installations (Art)  Search this
Call number:
N6537.G668 A4 1992
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_690234

Modify Your Search







or


Narrow By