At the Kennedy Maxwell Productions studio, featured Banic, Larson, Googin, Keim, and Livingston on the development of calutrons for uranium separation, c. 1943-1945, including: early designs at the University of California at Berkeley; improvement of c...
Called "Work" files by Ramírez Jonas, project files, like the exhibition files, provide a fairly comprehensive record of over two decades of projects, including large scale public art installations and smaller, more intimate projects that trace evolving themes in Ramírez Jonas's work, such as creating art whose meaning exists in the encounter it creates between the artist and the viewer. Files include unrealized projects as well as those that were executed.
Many of the project files intersect with records found in the exhibition files, such as detailed records demonstrating how Ramírez Jonas developed instructions for his kites used in Heavier Than Air, and how he developed the Key to the City project explored in the Open exhibition.
Files relating to a project involving 50 state summits, include maps and photographs of Ramírez Jonas at the sites used in the project. Files for the water wheel he created for the Hudson River Park, include multiple sketches with notes showing the evolution of his ideas, questions, and solutions to challenges in this complex project. Files also includes architecture plans, schematic drawings with Ramírez Jonas's notes, correspondence and memoranda about the project, contractual documents, budgets, invoices and receipts for payment.
Files on miscellaneous ideas and source material include many sketches and notes. Some of the materials are in digital format.
Arrangement:
Records are arranged chronologically by year, and alphabetically by name of project within each year. Undated projects are housed at the beginning of the series; records of miscellaneous ideas and source material are housed at the end of the series.
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 born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Paul Ramírez Jonas papers, circa 1989-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of New York multimedia artist and educator Paul Ramírez Jonas, measure 6.3 linear feet and 19.73 GB and date from circa 1989-2014. The collection documents the work of this social practice artist through correspondence, exhibition and project files, and professional files, and provides relatively thorough coverage of Ramírez Jonas's work and development to late mid-career.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York multimedia artist and educator Paul Ramírez Jonas, measure 6.3 linear feet and 19.73 GB and date from circa 1989-2014. The collection documents the work of this social practice artist through correspondence, exhibition and project files, and professional files, and provides relatively thorough coverage of Ramírez Jonas's work and development to late mid-career.
Correspondence and personal files include greeting cards and postcards sent to Ramírez Jonas from individuals and galleries, and includes the artist's file arrangement lists documenting his organization of the records prior to donation to the Archives of American Art. Extensice email correspondence remains unprocessed.
Exhibition files provide a comprehensive survey of Ramírez Jonas's participation in group and solo exhibitions over more than two decades. Files include correspondence, notes, sketches, and printed, photographic and digital material for multiple exhibitions, and record Ramírez Jonas's relationships with gallery owners as well as the evolution and execution of many installations.
Project files provide a relatively comprehensive record of over two decades of projects, including large scale public art installations and smaller, more intimate projects, that trace evolving themes in Ramírez Jonas's work. Files include correspondence, architect's plans and schematic drawings, artist notes, financial and contractual records, printed and digital material, and photographs.
Professional files document other professional activities in which Ramírez Jonas was involved, such as boards and committees, conferences, panels, and seminars. Also found are a few files relating to teaching appointments, including documentation of his Combined Media Class at Hunter College.
Arrangement:
Prior to donation, Ramírez Jonas organized the bulk of his archives chronologically and thereafter into three categories which he titled "Shows," "Work," and "Other." This core arrangement has been maintained in the series Exhibition Files (Shows), Project Files (Work) and Professional Files (Other). A few additional files that did not fall into these three categories are arranged at the beginning of the collection as Series 1: Correspondence and Personal Files.
Series 1: Correspondence and Personal Files, 1991-circa 2014 (0.25 linear feet; Box 1, 2.20 GB; ER10)
Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1990-2009 (3.05 linear feet; Boxes 1-4, OV 7, 14.99 GB; ER01-ER05)
Series 3: Project Files, 1990-2014 (2.4 linear feet; Boxes 4-6, OVs 8-9, 2.54 GB; ER06-ER09)
Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1989-2014 (0.6 linear feet; Box 6, OV 8)
Biographical / Historical:
Paul Ramírez Jonas (1965-) is a multimedia artist and educator in New York, New York.
Ramírez Jonas was born in Pomona, California and raised in Honduras. He earned a BA in Studio Art and an MFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1989. As a social practice artist Ramírez Jonas explores definitions of art and the public and seeks to engage active audience participation in much of his work. He uses pre-existing texts, models, and materials in work ranging from monumental sculpture to smaller and more intimate projects involving drawings, textiles, musical instruments, video and performance art, and other media.
Ramírez Jonas has had an ongoing association with Creative Time, a public arts organization in New York City which funded, amongst other projects, his 2010 project Key to the City, in which he replaced locks around the city with new locks that could be opened with keys he distributed. Keys have had an important role in Ramírez Jonas's work; his Taylor Square park project in Cambridge, for example, juxtaposes the locked gates of the public space with 5000 keys he distributed to the public to be duplicated endlessly, as a symbol of "this relationship between public space and the public."
Ramírez Jonas is an educator who has taught at institutions including the Rhode Island School of Design and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He is currently an Associate Professor at Hunter College, City University of New York.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2015 and 2017 by Paul Ramírez Jonas.
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:
Educators -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn Search this
Multimedia artists -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn Search this
National Museum of American History. Department of Exhibits Search this
Extent:
35.58 cu. ft. (35 record storage boxes) (1 12x17 box) (1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Floor plans
Manuscripts
Exhibition catalogs
Brochures
Architectural drawings
Posters
Black-and-white photographs
Black-and-white transparencies
Illustrations
Date:
1957-1992
Descriptive Entry:
These records consist of exhibition design, production, and installation information including proposals and narratives, scripts, schedules, graphic designs, construction
contracts and specifications, floor plans, blueprints, schematic drawings, and photographs. The records also include Department of Exhibits administrative files such as correspondence,
memoranda, monthly progress reports, budget information, space planning, and meeting minutes of the Museum Advisory Committee, 1983.
Historical Note:
The Department of Exhibits was created in 1973 to design and produce exhibitions within the National Museum of American History (NMAH), then known as the National Museum
of History and Technology. Prior to 1973, the Office of Exhibits Programs was responsible for the design and production of NMAH exhibitions.
The Department of Exhibits is responsible for the design, production, installation, and disassembly of the permanent and temporary exhibitions at the National Museum of
American History. The records include the project files and the administrative files of the Department dating from its establishment in 1973. Also included are project files
and administrative files of the Office of Exhibits Programs, 1969-1973, and the Office of Exhibits, 1959-1968. Staff represented in the records include John E. Anglim, chief,
Office of Exhibits, 1957-1968, chief, Office of Exhibits Programs, 1969-1970, and director, Office of Exhibits Programs, 1971-1972; Benjamin W. Lawless, assistant director
of the Museum for design and production, 1974-1976, and assistant director for exhibits, 1977-1981; J. Michael Carrigan, assistant director for exhibitions and public spaces,
1982- ; and Richard J. Nicastro, deputy assistant director for exhibitions and public spaces, 1985- .
In the Diffusion Cell and Control Area of the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, featured Huber, Parsons, and Vanstrum on the design and operation of the first gaseous diffusion plant, the K-25, c. 1943-1945, including: principles of t...
Bell Telephone Exhibition Drawings, 1957. Materials consist of schematic drawings of electrical circuits for an exhibit on the telephone by Bell Telephone Laboratories, and prints of exhibit panels.
Collection Creator::
National Museum of American History. Department of Exhibits Search this
Container:
Box 36 of 36
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 551, National Museum of American History. Department of Exhibits, Exhibition Records
The Redstone engine is one of the most significant developments in US rocket technology. This collection consists of 36 pages of 17 x 11 inch schematic drawings of the Redstone launch vehicle's advanced electrical systems.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 36 pages of 17 x 11 inch schematic drawings of the Redstone launch vehicle's advanced electrical systems. The drawings have been marked and corrected ("redlined"). The packet is stamped "Systems Test Section" on the first page.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
The Redstone engine is one of the most significant developments in US rocket technology. As the power plant for the Redstone missile, it was this country's first large-scale operational rocket engine. It went on to power the Jupiter-C, a modification of the Redstone missile that placed the US's first artificial satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. In 1961, another modified Redstone, the Mercury-Redstone 3, launched the first American into space, Alan B. Shepard. The thrust of the engine as used in the Redstone missile was 78,000 lbs. As modified for use as a booster for Shepard's Mercury spacecraft, it produced 83,000 lbs of thrust.
Provenance:
Tom Hancock, Gift, 2008, NASM.2008.0014
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Mercury Project, Redstone Launch Vehicle Search this
Genre/Form:
Technical drawings
Citation:
Mercury Project, Redstone Launch Vehicle Advanced Electrical Schematic Drawings, NASM.2008.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center Search this
Extent:
2 cu. ft. (2 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Electronic records
Compact discs
Floppy disks
Drawings
Color transparencies
Date:
1988-2012
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records documenting displays and interactive elements in the visitor center in the Smithsonian Institution Building (better known as "The
Castle") as well as outdoor wayfinding signage throughout the vicinity of the Smithsonian Institution. Materials include memoranda, proposals, specifications, schematic drawings,
schedules, images, and related materials. Some materials are in electronic format. In 2012, the Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center was renamed the Office
of Visitor Services.
Rights:
Restricted for 15 years, until Jan-01-2028; Transferring office; 5/21/2002 memorandum, Alers to Klein; Contact reference staff for details.
National Museum of American History. Department of Exhibits Search this
Extent:
5 cu. ft. (5 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Manuscripts
Architectural drawings
Drawings
Floor plans
Date:
1970-1995
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of the records of the Department of Exhibits and, to a much lesser extent, material dating back to its predecessor, the Office of Exhibits Programs,
which document exhibition development at the National Museum of American History, previously the National Museum of History and Technology. The records consists of the correspondence
and memoranda of Benjamin W. Lawless, J. Michael Carrigan, and Richard J. Nicastro; blueprints, floor plans, and schematic drawings; design and production proposals; construction
contracts and specifications; exhibition scripts, brochures, and articles; and budget information.