The papers of New York artists Jari "WERC" Alvarez and Geraldine "Gera" Lozano measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 2005 to 2015. Drawings, correspondence, four scrapbooks, and fifteen sketchbooks document Alvarez and Lozano's graffiti and public art careers.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York artists Jari "WERC" Alvarez and Geraldine "Gera" Lozano measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 2005 to 2015. Drawings, correspondence, four scrapbooks, and fifteen sketchbooks document Alvarez and Lozano's graffiti and public art careers.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Series 1: Jari "WERC" Alvarez and Geraldine "Gera" Lozano papers, 2005-2015 (Boxes 1-2; 1.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Jari "WERC" Alvarez (1980- ) is a graffiti artist who was born in Mexico and raised in Texas. Geraldine "Gera" Lozano (1981- ) is a public artist from New Jersey. They both reside in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Alvarez and Lozano produce artwork independently but have collaborated on public works of art in Mexico, Paraguay, Brazil, Peru, New York, and Texas. Their mural, Portal Flow, done as part of the Gateways to Newark initiative in Newark, N.J., is the largest mural on the east coast. As collaborators, they focus on beautifying public environments through creating work that honors the surrounding communities.
Provenance:
The papers were donated in 2015 by Jari "WERC" Alvarez and Geraldine "Gera" Lozano.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Graffiti artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Murals without walls [videorecording] / WNET/Thirteen; director, Alfred Broderick; producer, Elizabeth Davis; artistic consultant, Ruth Bowman, 1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- Conservation and restoration Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- New Jersey -- Newark Search this
Describes the 1972 discovery and later conservation of Arshile Gorky's murals "Aviation" at the Newark, N.J. International Airport, executed in 1937 by Gorky as part of the Work Projects Administration art project. Art historian Ruth Bowman, N.J. Port Authority employees Saul Wenegrat and Stephen Staempler, and conservator Carroll Wales of Oliver Bros. are among those who describe their involvement. The murals are now in the Newark Museum.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
New York : WNET/Thirteen, 1979.
General:
Broadcast Dec. 1978 on WNET/Thirteen's Dateline, N.J. series. U-matic video produced April 16, 1979.
Based on the exhibition "Murals Without Walls: Arshile Gorky's Aviation Murals Rediscovered," Newark Museum, Nov. 1978-March 1979.
Provenance:
Donated by the American Federation of Arts, who sponsored a tour of the Newark Museum exhibition "Murals Without Walls: Arshile Gorky's Aviation Murals Rediscovered," July 1979-December 1980. The exhibit was curated by Ruth Bowman.
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- Conservation and restoration Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- New Jersey -- Newark Search this
Three photographs and two clippings about Stempler's discovery in 1972 of two mural panels by Gorky at the Newark, New Jersey Airport, executed while Gorky worked for the W.P.A. Federal Art Project in 1937. [Microfilm title: Arshile Gorky papers]
Biographical / Historical:
Stempler was an employee of the Port Authority of New York. He had known of the existence of the murals from Saul Wenegrat of the Port Authority's Architectural Services, and discovered them while surveying the art deco architectural details of the building.
Other Title:
Arshile Gorky papers (microfilm title)
Provenance:
Donated by Stephen Stempler, 1977.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York -- Photographs Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- Conservation and restoration Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- New Jersey -- Newark Search this
REEL LA 2: A clipping, August 28, 1955, about Lewis; a book, Murals by American Painters and Photographers, Museum of Modern Art, 1932; a catalog, "The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art", vol. 4, July 1937; a newsletter, "Conferences on Inter-American Relations in the Fields of Art, Music, Education and Publications and Libraries, 1939-1940," March 1940.
UNMICROFILMED: Personal and business letters; Lewis' curriculum vitae; photographs of Lewis' WPA murals projects in New York and New Jersey and a renderings of a design proposal for a New Jersey WPA project; price lists of works; two travel diaries (1930-1931) from a trip to Europe; and a scrapbook, 1928-1947, containing newspaper articles, exhibition catalogs, and announcements.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, muralist, educator; Coronado, Calif. Died 1997. Born in Cardiff, Wales, Lewis studied at the Art Students League in New York and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1930, studying architecture and related art forms. His mural commissions include the Museum of Man Building for the 1939 New York World's Fair and for public schools in New Jersey. He moved to Coronado, Calif. in 1942 and founded the Coronado School of Fine Arts in 1945, serving as its director until 1990. At the time of its founding, it was the only school teaching the art of fresco. The school practiced a stylized method of instruction that was highly individualistic and informal, allowing instructors complete freedom in their teaching procedures.
Provenance:
Printed material on reel LA 2 lent by Monty Lewis, 1965. Unmicrofilmed material donated 1998 by Kathryn Lewis Crane, daughter of Monty Lewis.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
