Object Details
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- Matt Mullican papers
- Identifier
- AAA.mullmatt
- Creator
- Mullican, Matt, 1951-
- Processing Information
- The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Hilary Price in 2017.
- Biographical / Historical
- Matt Mullican (1951- ) is a multi-media and conceptual artist working in New York City and Berlin, Germany. Born in Santa Monica, he is the son of abstract surrealist painters Lee Mullican and Luchita Hurtado Mullican. Educated at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in the early 1970s, and mentored by John Baldessari, Mullican moved to New York City after earning his BFA and became associated with the "Pictures Generation" artists, including friends Troy Brauntuch, Jack Goldstein, James Welling, and Robert Longo. His multi-disciplinary practice encompasses drawing, painting, collage, video, installation, and performance under hypnosis as his alter ego, 'That Person.' Through these media, Mullican explores systems of knowledge, the construction of reality, as well as meaning, language, and signs. Throughout his career, Mullican has participated in international solo and group exhibitions, and has undertaken dozens of public and corporate commissions.
- Date
- circa 1968-2017
- Provenance
- Donated to the Archives of American Art in 2014-2017 by Matt Mullican.
- Extent
- 27.8 Linear feet
- Summary
- The papers of New York City and Berlin, Germany based multi-media and conceptual artist Matt Mullican measure 27.8 linear feet and date from circa 1968-2017. The collection consists of biographical material, including a few interview transcripts; correspondence; over 100 notebooks; gallery and exhibition files; project and commission files; personal business records; printed material; and photographs. The notebooks document nearly five decades of Mullican's work process and illustrate his material and conceptual explorations. Large sequences of gallery and exhibition files, as well as project and commission files comprise the remaining bulk of the collection, providing detailed documentation of his professional career, particularly from the 1980s-2000s.
- Restrictions
- Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of born-digital records requires advance notice.
- Existence and Location of Copies
- The notebooks series was digitized in 2017-2018 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Interviews
- Photographs
- Sketchbooks
- Notebooks
- Diaries
- Writings
- Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as eight series. Missing Title Series 1: Biographical Material, 1968-2002 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1) Series 2: Correspondence, 1986-2000s (0.2 linear feet; Box 1) Series 3: Notebooks, circa 1968-2017 (7.2 linear feet; Box 1-8) Series 4: Gallery and Exhibition Files, 1985-2000s (6.1 linear feet; Box 9-13, OV and RD 23-25) Series 5: Project and Commission Files, 1980-2000s (10.3 linear feet; Box 14-19, OV and RD 26-43) Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1978-2000s (1.7 linear feet; Box 19-21) Series 7: Printed Material, 1971-2000s (1.5 linear foot; Box 21-22, RD 44) Series 8: Photographs, 1980s-1990s (1 folder; Box 22)
- Scope and Contents
- The papers of New York City and Berlin, Germany based multi-media and conceptual artist Matt Mullican measure 27.8 linear feet and date from circa 1968-2017. The collection consists of biographical material, including a few interview transcripts; correspondence; over 100 notebooks; gallery and exhibition files; project and commission files; personal business records; printed material; and photographs. The notebooks document nearly five decades of Mullican's work process and illustrate his material and conceptual explorations. Large sequences of gallery and exhibition files, as well as project and commission files comprise the remaining bulk of the collection, providing detailed documentation of his professional career, particularly from the 1980s-2000s. Biographical material includes address books, high school and college ephemera, papers and photographs relating to Mullican's family, identification cards, interview transcripts, a resume, and a few writings. The small amount of correspondence arranged in Series 2 is with friends, artists, colleagues, fans, and museum professionals. Notable correspondents include artist Lawrence Weiner and museum director Kasper König. Additional professional correspondence is located in the Gallery and Exhibition Files, as well as the Project and Commission Files. Over 100 notebooks document nearly five decades of Mullican's work process and artistic explorations from the time he was a student up to the present. A large sequence of gallery and exhibition files encompass a variety of material documenting Mullican's extensive solo and group exhibition history throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Extensive project and commission files contain documentation of international public and corporate commissions, academic engagements, performances, publishing projects, print editions, illustrations, grants, residencies, and other project based artwork. Public and corporate commissions include artworks and installations for banks, airports, office complexes, university buildings, public transit stations, and other spaces. Personal business records relate to bookkeeping and sales, donations, inventories, publication, copyright, supplies, invoicing, recommendations, residences, storage of works, and studio administration. Printed material includes announcements, posters, articles, reviews, exhibition catalogs, and periodicals related to Mullican's career. One folder of photographs documents Mullican, his family, and installations of his work at various venues and exhibitions.
- Genre/Form
- Interviews
- Photographs
- Sketchbooks
- Notebooks
- Diaries
- Writings
- 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.
- Creator
- Mullican, Matt, 1951-
- Names
- König, Kasper
- Mullican, Lee, 1919-1998
- Weiner, Lawrence
- Occupation
- Conceptual artists -- Germany -- Berlin -- Interviews
- Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
- Topic
- Artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews
- Multimedia (Art)
- Citation
- Matt Mullican papers, circa 1968-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Art
- Record ID
- ebl-1562712661500-1562712661521-0
In the Collection
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