The papers of curator Philip Brookman measure 3.5 linear feet and date from 1977 to 1993. The collection documents Brookman's exhibition, writing, and filmmaking projects in the form of artist files, exhibition files, professional files, and subject and research files. Much of the material concerns the production and distribution of Brookman's 1988 video documentary about Chicano art in California, Mi Otro Yo (My Other Self), that grew out of the exhibition and conference "Califas: An Exhibition of Chicano Art and Culture in California," held at University of California, Santa Cruz in 1981 and 1982.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of curator Philip Brookman measure 3.5 linear feet and date from 1977 to 1993. The collection documents Brookman's exhibition, writing, and filmmaking projects in the form of artist files, exhibition files, professional files, and subject and research files. Much of the material concerns the production and distribution of Brookman's 1988 video documentary about Chicano art in California, Mi Otro Yo (My Other Self), that grew out of the exhibition and conference "Califas: An Exhibition of Chicano Art and Culture in California," held at University of California, Santa Cruz in 1981 and 1982.
Artist files are for David Avalos, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Louis Hock, Elizabeth Sisco, and others. Exhibition files include correspondence, notes, loan agreements, and printed material concerning Made in Aztlán, Photographing Ourselves: Contemporary Native American Photography, Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation/CARA among others. Professional files provide documentation on "El Centro Cultural de la Raza - Fifteen Years," Culture Wars: Documents from the Recent Controversies in the Arts, and various projects at Washington Project for the Arts.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series.
Series 1: Artist Files, 1981-1991 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1982-1992 (Boxes 1-2; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 3: Professional Files, 1982-1991 (Boxes 2-3, OV 5; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 4: Subject and Research Files, 1977-1993 (Box 3; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 5: Califas Documentation, 1981-1993 (Boxes 3-4, OV 5; 0.8 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Philip Brookman is a curator in California and Washington, D.C. He was director of the Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery at the University of California at Santa Cruz from 1974 to 1983, a curator at El Centro Cultural de la Raza in San Diego from 1985 to 1986, and a curator at the Washington Project for the Arts from 1987 to 1997. Brookman was also Curator of Photography and Media Arts at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and is a consulting curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Amy Brookman, co-directed the documentary Mi Otro Yo (My Other Self) about Chicano art in California which grew out of the Califas conference held at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) in 1982.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by Philip Brookman in 1999.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Art museum curators -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
An interview of David Avalos conducted 1988 June 16-July 5, by Margarita Nieto, for the Archives of American Art. Avalos speaks of his childhood, education at the University of California at San Diego; his involvement with the Centro Cultural de la Raza; the socio-political environment that produced the San Diego Chicano Muralist movement (specifically Chicano Park); the formation of the Border art Workshop (BAW/TAF); the collaboration between the Centro and the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art (presently the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art); art activity in San Diego; Chicano activity distinct from Los Angeles; his philosophy on conceptual art; and his art career.
Biographical / Historical:
David Avalos (1947-) is a painter and administrator from San Diego, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 44 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives' 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 others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Painters -- California -- San Diego -- Interviews Search this
Hispanic American artists -- Interviews Search this