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Matt Mullican papers

Archives of American Art

Object Details

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)
Provenance
Donated to the Archives of American Art in 2014-2017 by Matt Mullican.
Creator
Mullican, Matt, 1951-
See more items in
Matt Mullican papers
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.
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.
Extent
27.8 Linear feet
Date
circa 1968-2017
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.mullmatt
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Notebooks
Diaries
Writings
Citation
Matt Mullican papers, circa 1968-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as eight series. 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)
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Hilary Price in 2017.
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.
Existence and Location of Copies
The notebooks series was digitized in 2017-2018 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
Genre/Form
Interviews
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Notebooks
Diaries
Writings
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.
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.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1562712661500-1562712661521-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b03f0ef5-d634-41f3-a571-cf1f9ac4ff5c

In the Collection

Pages

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  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "Mary Boone Exhibition Planning"

  • Notebook, "Fictional Reality Like Rapidograph" (single work, book 1/3)

  • Notebook, "Major Small Book, Charts, etcetera"

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts"

  • Notebook, "Overall Projects"

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series No.3)"

  • Notebook

  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "Charts, Production Notes"

  • Notebook, "Fictional Reality Like Rapidograph" (single work, book 3/3)

  • Notebook, "High School/CalArts"

  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "Fictional Reality Like Rapidograph" (single work, book 2/3)

  • Notebook, "Signs, 3D Charts, etcetera"

  • Notebook

  • Notebook

  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "Major Formative Book Outlining All Projects"

  • Notebook

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series No.13)

  • Notebook Covers

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series No.12)"

  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "Major Formative Book Outlining All Projects"

  • "Binder with Letraset Pictograms" (disbound single work)

  • Notebook, "The City Plans Computer Project"

  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "High School/CalArts"

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Acetone Transfers)"

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts"

  • Notebook, "High School/CalArts"

  • Notebook, "Ludwig Sketchbook, 'Learning from That Person's Work'"

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts Acetone Transfers (Black Book Series No.7, 'One of a Bunch')"

  • Notebook, "Major Small Sketchbooks Outlining 5 Worlds, etcetera"

  • Notebook, "Notating the Cosmology" (single work, book 2/4)

  • Notebook, "Mary Boone Rubbings, Plans, Symbols, etcetera"

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series)"

  • Notebook, "Orphan Annie /The Importance of Measurement" (single work)

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts"

  • Oversized Notebook, "Early Conceptual Text-based Works

  • Notebook, "Major Sketchbook, Signs, Posters, etcetera"

  • Notebook, "Outlining Cosmology Texts"

  • Notebook, "High School/CalArts"

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series No.1)"

  • Oversized Notebook, "Major Generative Fictional Reality, Hypnosis, Stick Figures"

  • Notebook

  • Oversized Notebook, "Major Book, Fictional Reality" (single work)

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series)"

  • Notebook, "Notating the Cosmology" (single work, book 4/4)

  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "CalArts, Early Conceptual Work"

  • Notebook, "Multiple Project Sketches"

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series No.2)"

  • Notebook, "Signs, Flags, etcetera"

  • Notebook, "The Green Book, Major Formative Book Outlining All Projects"

  • Notebook

  • Notebook

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series)"

  • Notebook, "Dance, Music, Theater; Major Lists, Signs, Concepts, and Imaginary Universe"

  • Notebook, "The Human Senses Stick Figure Drawings" (single work)

  • Notebook, "Project Proposal and Planning"

  • Notebook, "Newark Proposal and Various Exhibition Outlines"

  • Notebook, "Dallas Project"

  • Notebook, "Plans for a Large Project"

  • Notebook

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series No.5)"

  • Oversized Notebook, "Only Charts"

  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "Solway 1 Plans"

  • Notebook, "CalArts Handbook with Drawings"

  • Notebook, "High School/CalArts"

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series No.9')"

  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "Tours, Buried Series" (single work)

  • Notebook, "Major Early Signs"

  • Notebook, "High School/CalArts, First Studio Experiments?"

  • Notebook, "Eindhoven Plans"

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Car Album 1)"

  • Notebook, "Outlining Multiple Projects, Show Layouts, etcetera"

  • Oversized Notebook, "Early Gouaches"

  • Notebook, "Notating the Cosmology" (single work, book 1/4)

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts"

  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "Overall Projects, Exhibition, Mapping, etcetera"

  • Oversized Notebook, "Major Overall Book, Conceptual Texts, Fictional Reality"

  • Loose Notebook Pages

  • Oversized Notebook, "High School/CalArts (Black Book Series)"

  • Diary

  • Notebook, "High School/CalArts"

  • Notebook

  • Notebook, "Notating the Cosmology" (single work, book 3/4)

  • Notebook, "Flags, etcetera (full color high quality drawings)"

  • Notebook, "Project Outlines"

  • Notebook, "Lille, Antwerp, Many Projects"

  • Notebook, "'That Person,' Hanne Darboven Notes, Exhibition Planning"

  • Notebook, "Book 3, High School/CalArts"

  • Notebook, "Buwog, Lille Sketchbook, Project Notes and Layouts"

  • Notebook, "High School/CalArts, Early Conceptual Work"

  • Notebook

Pages

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Notebook, "High School/CalArts"
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International media Interoperability Framework
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