Archival Collections Guide

Survey of Archives of Latino and Latin American Art

In July 2003 the Metropolitan Library Council (METRO) subcontracted The Museum of Modern Art Library to survey archives documenting Latino art in greater New York as part of METRO’s Documentary Heritage Program. The project was long overdue in this region, an epicenter of U.S. Latino and Latin American cultural pro- duction since the nineteenth century. Through the decades artists from Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and have come to New York, attracted by the city’s freedom, dynamism, and cosmopolitan flair. New York has also been the cradle of its own U.S. Latino art movement. Inspired by the Civil Rights movement and decolonization struggles of the 1950s and 60s, New York Puerto Rican—or Nuyorican—artists worked in conjunction with activists to make art a means for social change.

ABOVE: Emilio Sánchez. Los Arcos. c. 1970. Pen and ink on board, 40 x 60". Emilio Sánchez Foundation SOCIETY Latino and Latin American artists. The 680 Park Avenue systematic organization of these archives New York, NY 10021 makes them easy to search. Tel. (212) 249-8950 http://www.americas-society.org MUSEUM OF THE ARTS Nuyoricans, Latinos, and Latin Americans have been—and still are—instrumental in 1040 the establishment of a multicultural art scene in New York. They have not only participated Since 1966 the mission of the Americas Bronx, NY 10456 as artists, but also as sociocultural agents. Through the establishment of museums and Society has been to promote the under- Tel. (718) 681-6000 http://www.bronxmuseum.org alternative spaces such as The Bronx Museum of the Arts, El Museo del Barrio, El Taller standing of the political, economic, and Boricua, and Exit Art, among many others, Latino and Latin American artists in New York cultural issues that define and challenge The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA) have diversified and enriched the metropolitan art scene. the Americas. Its exhibition program cov- ers the continent and spans from Pre- was founded in 1971 to serve the cultural- The intensity of their activity and breadth of their contributions have not guaranteed Columbian times to the present. Today this ly diverse populations of the Bronx and that the documentation of Latino and Latin American art is accessible or has even survived. organization is recognized for its long- the greater New York metropolitan area. This is due to numerous factors, among them the strict boundaries of the modern art standing commitment to showcasing con- The content of the museum's archive canon. An equally important but more palpable reason has been the lack of archival prac- temporary avant-garde art from Latin reflects its mission to collect works from tices in institutions whose resources serve only to maintain an active exhibition program. America, as attested in its invaluable exhi- the latter half of the twentieth century to MoMA Library’s Survey of Archives of Latino and Latin American Art aims to docu- bition files. In 2003 the Americas Society the present by artists of Latin American, ment the archives of New York Latino institutions and establish a network of repositories. donated a large part of its artist files on Asian, and African descent and by artists Thanks to the support of METRO for three consecutive years, the survey team documented Latin American and Latino artists to The with strong ties to the Bronx. The artist the archival and bibliographic holdings of thirty institutions that have showcased or pro- Museum of Modern Art, with plans to files are the strength of the BxMA's moted Latino and Latin American art, including community centers, galleries, museums, donate the remainder as well. research materials and include slides of and academic research centers. works by Latino and Latin American con- The scope and research resources of each surveyed archive are described in detail on ART IN GENERAL temporary artists who are rarely repre- the project’s Web site. Despite the limited lifespan of the survey project and uncertain 79 Walker Street sented in other local slide collections. future of some of the archives and institutions, we hope that this guide will provide New York, NY 10013 researchers, scholars, curators, and the interested public with a general idea of the docu- Tel. (212) 219-0473 http://www.artingeneral.org ments they are likely to find at each repository. In the long term, we also hope that this guide and the survey’s Web site will promote individual and institutional responsibility in the preservation and accessibility of these archives. Art in General was founded in 1981 as a space where artists could exhibit uncon- Sharing and transparency are the key in this process. We are grateful for the model ventional work and exchange ideas with of the Archives of American Art and their Papers for Latino and Latin American Artists. their peers. Its archives document the his- At the same time, we note the emergence of a nationwide movement. Projects and visions tory of this alternative art space in New in different parts of the country, under the auspices of the Chicano Studies Research York. They consist primarily of operational Center at UCLA, the Institute for Latino Studies at Notre Dame University, and the records such as files and photography International Center for the Arts of the Americas at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, binders documenting exhibitions and pro- among others, are parallel efforts which strengthen our goal to document the history of grams organized at the space. Art in Latino and Latin American art in the . General’s exhibition files are of particular Miguel Angel Ríos. Una lengua extraña. 1994. Cibachrome on pleated canvas with push pins, 70 diam. x 1 1/4". The Bronx Museum of the Arts. Gift of interest, as this institution has served as a the artist and partial museum purchase with funds from Enid McKenna Soifer Taína B. Caragol jumping-off point for many contemporary in memory of Samuel and Lena Soifer, 2004.3 Project coordinator CENTER FOR CUBAN STUDIES/ also in . Although El Centro COOPER-HEWITT CUNY-DOMINICAN STUDIES SPACE Library and Archives is best known for its NATIONAL DESIGN MUSEUM INSTITUTE LIBRARY 124 West 23rd Street holdings in history, literature, sociology, 2 East 91st Street Cohen Library, Room 1/340 New York, NY 10011 and cultural anthropology, its holdings doc- New York, NY 10028 The City College, Tel. (212) 242-0559 umenting the are of comparable Tel. (212) 849-8330 City University of New York http://www.cubaupdate.org strength. Outstanding sources on this topic http://ndm.si.edu New York, NY 10031-9198 include current and out-of-print art histori- Tel. (212) 650-7170 The Center opened in 1972, organized by a cal publications, drawings, and prints by Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/dsi group of scholars, writers, artists, and other renowned Nuyorican and Puerto Rican Smithsonian Institution, is the only muse- professionals to create a communication artists, the films produced by the 1950s um in the United States devoted exclusively The CUNY-Dominican Studies Institute at link between the U.S. and Cuba. In 1999 the DIVEDCO, and a growing collection of to historic and contemporary design. The City College began as a pilot project to Center for Cuban Studies created the artist files. The Center for Puerto Rican Museum’s Latino- Archive was cre- address the lack of reliable information on Cuban Art Space to collect, exhibit, and sell Studies is one of the few places in the city ated in 1995 in response to the growing Dominicans for academic researchers and the art of artists born and living in Cuba, where these materials are catalogued and need for information about, and a fuller others. In 1994, it became an integral com- and occasionally of Cuban artists in other readily accessible. awareness of, the diversity of those working ponent of the City University of New York. Latin American countries and the United in American design. A part of the Library’s Currently it is the first and only university- States. The records of the Cuban Art Space Archive, the Latino-Hispanic Archive docu- based research institution in the United are a unique source of information for ments the work of contemporary designers States focusing on the study of Dominican researchers interested in Cuban art pro- of Latino and Hispanic descent, with a life in the diaspora. The CUNY-DSI Library duced on the island after the Revolution. focus on those working in the United States is the largest repository of bibliographic The Center’s Lourdes Casal Library comple- and the Caribbean. South American and and research materials devoted to the study ments the holdings on art with books and Central American designers are also repre- of the Dominican experience in the United periodicals on the history, culture, and poli- sented. The archive consists of slides, pho- States. Holdings documenting the visual tics of Cuba since 1959. tographs, exhibition catalogues, clippings, arts include exhibition catalogues, rare pub- promotional materials, and periodicals. The lications on history and crit- EL CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS Latino-Hispanic Archive at the Cooper- icism, clippings, and audiovisual materials. PUERTORRIQUEÑOS/ Hewitt National Design Museum represents Although limited in size, this collection is THE CENTER FOR PUERTO RICAN a remarkable resource on the contributions an outstanding resource for the study of the STUDIES—LIBRARY & ARCHIVES of Latinos to the fields of architecture, under-documented Dominican artistic Hunter College, design, and decorative arts. community in New York and beyond. City University of New York 695 Park Avenue New York, NY 10021 Tel. (212) 772-4197 http://centropr.org Poster for Jorge Soto's exhibition at Galería Nocturna, , 1983. 18 3/16 x 13 1/4". Archives of the Puerto Rican Diaspora, Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños, Hunter College, CUNY Founded in 1973, El Centro Library and Archives is devoted to collecting, preserv- ing, and providing access to resources docu- menting the history and culture of Puerto Consuelo Gotay. El enjambre de besos y el olvido. 1996. Linocut from artist’s book based on Pedro Mir’s Hay un país Ricans—primarily on the mainland, but en el mundo. Poema gris en varias ocasiones. Copy owned by the Dominican Studies Institute Library THE EMILIO SÁNCHEZ FOUNDATION EXIT ART able as sources documenting the history of FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES 19 West 21st Street, Suite 502 475 Tenth Avenue one of the main alternative art spaces and FOUNDATION New York, NY 10010 New York, NY 10018 centers of multiculturalism in New York 525 West 24th Street Tel. (212) 924-0786 Tel. (212) 966-7745 and the United States. Exit Art also holds New York, NY 10011 http://emiliosanchezfoundation.org https://www.exitart.org the personal papers of Papo Colo. Tel. (212) 627-6000

Founded in 1982 by artist Papo Colo and EN FOCO curator Jeanette Ingberman, Exit Art cre- 32 Kingsbridge Road ates and presents exhibitions and pro- Bronx, NY 10468 grams exploring the diversity of cultures Tel. (718) 584-7718 and voices that continually shape contem- http://www.enfoco.org porary art and ideas in America. Exit Art’s archives pertain mostly to the institution’s Founded in 1974 by three New York–based operations. Sources include, but are not Puerto Rican photographers—Charles Emilio Sanchez. Untitled, Shutters. c. 1968. Ink on board, 40 x 60". limited to, exhibition and artist files, slides Biasiny-Rivera, Phil Dante, and Roger Emilio Sánchez Foundation and digital images, catalogues, recordings Cabán—En Foco’s mission is to promote Felix Gonzalez-Torres. “Untitled” (Lovers – Paris). 1993. The Felix Gonzalez- The Emilio Sánchez Foundation is a non- of interviews and performances, and art- and exhibit work by photographers of color Torres Foundation. Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York profit organization that preserves and pro- work. The archives offer rich information (e.g. Latinos, , and The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation was motes the legacy of the Cuban-born on contemporary international artists, Asians) in the United States. En Foco has established in 2002 by Andrea Rosen with American artist Emilio Sánchez including many Latinos and Latin important institutional records and clip- the goal of fostering an appreciation for the (1921–1999) through research, exhibitions, Americans. These records are also invalu- pings documenting the history of the first work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres among and publications. The archival records of Puerto Rican photography group in New scholars, art historians, and the general the Emilio Sánchez Foundation represent a York, and the developments of a Puerto public. The Foundation provides guidance unique resource documenting the art of Rican and Latino photographic aesthetic. and assistance to those who are interested this artist who spent most of his career in Their slide registry and the photographs of in including his work in exhibitions. The New York. Sources include Sánchez’s art- the permanent collection are also useful Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation can facil- work, photographs that served as a basis sources for the study of established and itate access to the archival records and for his artwork, sketchbooks, and travel emerging photographers. research materials on the artist housed at journals. The singular focus of the archive Andrea Rosen Gallery. These include visual and its organization make it easy and documentation of his work, newspaper pleasant to consult. clippings, and catalogues that have featured his work. The Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s library and archives at Andrea Rosen Gallery are the most comprehensive in the world, and are thus a great resource for any- one studying the development of his career André Cypriano, Tatuagem, from the Devil's Cauldron (Caldeirão do Diabo) and practice. series. 1993. Gelatin silver print, 16 x 20". En Foco Archives

Exhibition poster for L Factor exhibition, November 22–February 15, 2004. Exit Art Archives THE HEMISPHERIC INSTITUTE LEHMAN COLLEGE ART GALLERY LONGWOOD ARTS PROJECT who have exhibited work at El Museo and FOR PERFORMANCE AND POLITICS 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West 450 Grand Concourse artists who have not. The institutional Tisch School of the Arts, Bronx, NY 10468-1589 Bronx, NY 10451 files, catalogues, and exhibition slides of El New York University Tel. (718) 960-8731 Tel. (718) 518-6728 Museo also constitute a major asset of the 721 Broadway, 6th Floor http://www.lehman.edu/gallery http://www.longwoodcyber.org library and archives, as they document the New York, NY 10003, USA history of the first museum in the United Tel. (212) 998-1631 Created in 1984, Lehman College Art The Bronx Council on the Arts created the States dedicated to Puerto Rican, and all http://hemi.nyu.edu Gallery presents works by leading figures Longwood Arts Project in 1981. Its mis- Caribbean, Latino, and Latin American art. in contemporary art, promising emerging sion is to give visibility and raise the tech- The Hemispheric Institute of Performance artists, and significant thematic shows. nical/creative ceiling of artists from under- THE ARCHIVES OF THE MUSEUM and Politics was founded in 1998 as a con- The archives at Lehman College Art represented groups, through exhibitions at OF CONTEMPORARY HISPANIC ART sortium of institutions, artists, scholars, and Gallery mainly comprise records generat- the Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos Hostos Community College, activists dedicated to exploring the relation- ed for the production of exhibitions. In Community College and the Longwood City University of New York ship between expressive behavior (broadly the last fifteen years, the gallery has had Cyber Residency program. The artist reg- Library, A-213K construed as performance) and social and numerous exhibitions showcasing the istry and exhibition records at Longwood 475 Grand Concourse political life in the Americas. The work of Latino and Latin American trace the institution’s instrumental role in Bronx, NY 10451 Hemispheric Institute is primarily a Web- artists, many of whom live in New York. supporting and displaying the work of Tel. (718) 518-4220 based project. Its Web site serves as an The gallery has also published exhibition established and emerging Latino and Latin http://www.hostos.cuny.edu extensive archive of digitized materials. The catalogues and gallery notes. Education American artists. Many of these artists are Institute is currently working with NYU and the use of technology have been main not extensively documented elsewhere. The Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Libraries to create the Hemispheric Institute components of the gallery’s mission. Art (MoCHA) was born in 1985 as an alter- Digital Video Library, a project that would Public Art in the Bronx and the forthcom- EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO native museum in SoHo, showcasing the art give access to curated collections of per- ing Bronx Architecture are Web-based 1230 Fifth Avenue of Latin American and Latino artists under- formance documentation. These materials projects that highlight contributions of New York, NY 10029 represented in mainstream institutions. will be accessible online through the Latinos and artists of diverse backgrounds Tel. (212) 831-7272 MoCHA operated under the umbrella of Hemispheric Institute’s Web site and in to the urban landscape of the borough. http://elmuseo.org Friends of Puerto Rico, Inc. (FOPR), a non- DVD format at NYU's Avery Fisher Center profit organization founded and incorpo- in Bobst Library. The Hemispheric Institute El Museo del Barrio, the leading Latino rated in 1956. From 1974 to 1984, FOPR has also partnered with NYU libraries to and Latin American cultural institution in administered the Cayman Gallery, which in create a physical archive for Hemispheric the nation, was founded in 1969 by artist- its lifetime was the only noncommercial Institute materials and other relevant col- educator Rafael Montañez-Ortiz in Hispanic arts center in the mainstream of lections from the Americas. This archive response to the interest of Puerto Rican American art. Despite its short existence, will be housed as part of NYU’s Tamiment parents, educators, artists, and community MoCHA helped launch the careers of Library & Wagner Labor Archives. activists in East . The institution numerous artists who became successful in has compiled and preserved a sizable the 1990s. After it closed in 1990, its biographical, bibliographical, and visual archival records were taken to Hostos archive on Latino artists. The strength of Community College, City University of Director Rafael Montañez Ortiz preparing to move from 425 West 125th Street to this archive is in its artist files, which con- New York, in an effort to preserve them. PS 206 at 508 East 120th Street. Grace Glueck, “Barrio Museum: Hope Si, Home No,” , 30 July 1970: 30. Archives of El Museo del Barrio tain slides, clippings, and invitations per- These invaluable records document the taining to Puerto Rican, Latino, and Latin history of the institution and the early American artists, and includes both those careers of many of the artists it exhibited. Primary sources include exhibition and The Museum Archives hold important PUERTO RICO AND THE AMERICAN tional artists. MediaNoche has an artist files, recorded symposia of public records including personal papers of former DREAM/MEDIANOCHE exhibition archive and has launched programs organized by the museum, Museum staff members and Trustees who 161 East 106th Street MediaNoche_wifi, extending its gallery and published exhibition catalogues. established connections with New York, NY 10029 beyond its walls onto 106th Street and Although accessible, these records (e.g. papers of Alfred Barr, René Tel. (212) 828-0401 across the street to White Park. remain unprocessed. d’Harnoncourt, and Elaine Johnson), oral http://www.prdream.com histories, and files documenting exhibitions http://www.medianoche.us EL TALLER BORICUA MUSEUM OF MODERN ART of Latin American artists organized at The Puerto Rican Workshop LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES MoMA. The Archives will soon have an 1680 Lexington Avenue 11 West 53rd Street inventory of the archival records of P.S.1 New York, NY 10029 New York, NY 10019 Contemporary Art Center, an affiliate of Tel. (212) 831-4333 Tel. Library: (212) 708-9433 The Museum of Modern Art and a venue http://www.tallerboricua.org Archives: (212) 708-9617 as well for contemporary Latino and Latin http://www.moma.org American artists. El Taller Boricua was founded in 1970 as one of the first institutions to provide The Library of The Museum of Modern ORGANIZATION OF PUERTO RICAN workshops and exhibition space to Puerto Art was founded in the 1930s. The ARTISTS INC. (O.P. ART) Rican artists in New York. Born from the Library’s collection holdings are devoted to 258 West 15th Street, # 4RE Nuyorican movement for cultural affirma- literature on modern and contemporary New York, NY 10003 tion, El Taller has always aimed to use art as art, dating from the 1880s to the present. Tel. (212) 989-3633 a tool for empowerment and social change The Krutch. 2005. Directed by Judy Escalona. Archives of PR Dream From the 1940s to the 1980s, the research http://www.op-art.org in the community of El Barrio, East materials on Latin American Art collected PR Dream was founded in 1998 to serve as Harlem. Despite El Taller Boricua's loss of by the Museum were united under the Founded in 1993, O.P. Art is a nonprofit a bilingual Web site on the history, culture, research material from over thirty-five years Latin American Archive at the Library. organization dedicated to the develop- and politics of Puerto Rico and the Puerto of operation, the administrative files, pho- Eventually, these materials were integrated ment and promotion of Puerto Rican Rican diaspora. The visual arts archive of tographs, videos, and publications that into the general holdings of the MoMA artists internationally. O.P. Art organizes PR Dream contains important documenta- remain are of great value in understanding Library. The Library contains over 15,000 exhibitions and advises its members on tion on the art of from the the interaction of the artistic and social volumes of literature on Latin American, matters related to exhibitions, confer- island and the mainland. Its highlights movements of the 1960s and 1970s and the Caribbean, and U.S. Latino art. ences, workshops, and scholarships. The include a curated Nuyorican film series, fea- history of pioneering Puerto Rican art insti- archival records of O.P. Art are com- turing films written or directed by Puerto tutions in New York. prised of correspondence, grant files, Ricans on the subject of the diaspora. PR minutes, press clippings, and catalogues Dream has also a growing collection of related to exhibitions organized by the videotaped interviews with Puerto Rican group in Puerto Rico as well as in the visual artists from the island and the main- United States. This archive also docu- land. Symposia and lectures on art are also ments the participation of some Puerto documented through video. A large part of Rican artists members of O.P. Art in the PR Dream’s archive is Web-based and thus AIDS awareness movement. easily accessible. PR Dream owns MediaNoche, a multi- Taller Boricua member Esperanza Martell teaching an outdoor ceramics workshop MoMA Ice Piece, included in the exhibition Information (Ree Morton and media gallery that showcases network-based East Harlem. c. 1973. Archives of El Taller Boricua Rafael Ferrer seated on steps). 1970. The Museum of Modern Art. July 2, 1970, through September 20, 1970. Department of Public Information Event art and other multimedia works by interna- Photos, 66. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York Other research resources on Latino and Latin American art developed nationwide include:

Archivos Virtuales: Papers of Latino and Latin American Art, Archives of American Art http://www.aaa.si.edu/guides/site-archivos/index.cfm

A Ver, Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles http://www.chicano.ucla.edu/research/ArtHistory.html

Proyecto CARIDAD Chicano Visual Arts Kit: A Guide, California Ethnic Multicultural Archives, Library of the University of California, Santa Barbara http://cemaweb.library.ucsb.edu/visual_arts_kit.html

Documents of 20th-century Latin American and Latino Art, International Center for the Art of the Americas (ICAA), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston http://www.mfah.org/main.asp?target=icaa&par1=1

Researching Latino Visual Arts: A Guide to Finding Archives and Collections of Primary Source Materials, The Institute for Latino Studies, Notre Dame University http://www.nd.edu/~latino/arts/research_guide.htm

Taína B. Caragol and Milan Hughston would like to thank Donald Woodward for conceiving the survey project; interns Jessica Hankey, Orlando Hernández-Ying, and Kimberly Randall; consultant archivist William Saffady; the members of the Advisory Committee to the Survey; and the New York Metropolitan Library Council and the New York State Archives. Without their help and the support of many others, the survey would not have accomplished its important goal.

The survey’s Web site is accessible at http://www.moma.org/research/library/latinosurvey/index.html