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Christopher D'Arcangelo Papers

Call Number

MSS.264

Dates

1965-2003, inclusive
; 1975-1978, bulk

Creator

D'Arcangelo, Christopher

Extent

9 Linear Feet
in 2 manuscript boxes, 3 oversize flat boxes, 1 box binder, 1 record carton, and 3 flat-file folders.

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Biographical Note

Christopher D'Arcangelo, an artist working during the 1970's, was born in 1955 and died in 1979. In 1975 he performed unauthorized pieces at New York's Whitney Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum, and in 1976 at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, CA. In January 1977, LAICA published his proposal "LAICA as an Alternative to Museums". Christopher was also a carpenter and contractor, and in September of 1977 he began work on functional constructions. During 1978 he performed unauthorized pieces at the Louvre in Paris and the Rosa Esman Gallery in New York City. Christopher also took part in an exhibition at Artists Space in New York City in 1978; from 1976 until his death, he was working on a proposal for the Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven.

Arrangement

Folder titles reflect D'Arcangelo's original titles. Small changes were made to facilitate access. The collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Missing Title

  1. Series I: Work Files
  2. Series II: Posthumous Files
  3. Series III: Objects
  4. Series IV: Media

Scope and Content note

This collection is comprised of materials created and compiled by Christopher D'Arcangelo in the course of his work as an artist and as an assistant to other artists, and includes correspondence, notes, receipts, photographs, floorplans, and objects. The collection is organized into four series:

Series I: Work Files consists of subject files kept by D'Arcangelo for projects he executed or hoped to execute, and files for projects he worked on with or for other artists. The latter include documentation of Daniel Buren's "Ballets" from 1977 and 1978.

Series II: Posthumous Files consists of documents that were collected by D'Arcangelo's executors after his death, including correspondence and articles. Subseries A contains files documenting the Christopher D'Arcangelo Homage, an exhibition held at Algus Greenspon Gallery in October 2011. Researchers who had accessed the Christopher D'Arcangelo Papers at the Fales Library were invited to respond to his work and their experiences working with D'Arcangelo's Papers. Exhibition attendees were also invited to respond.

Series III: Objects includes key artifacts D'Arcangelo used in his art pieces.

Series IV: Media consists of video, audio, and film elements. Access copies may not be available for research use at this time.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Conditions Governing Use

No reproduction, including photocopying and photography, is allowed of materials in this collection, unless indicated by a note in the folder inventory.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date (if known); Christopher D'Arcangelo Papers; MSS 264; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.

Provenance

The collection was donated to Fales by Cathy Weiner and the D'Arcangelo Family Partnership in 2009.

Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures

Access to some audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact special.collections@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.

Collection processed by

Lisa Darms with Lawrence Giffin, 2009.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-06 14:18:41 -0500.
Language: Description is in English.

Revisions to this Guide

March 2023: Updated by Rachel Mahre to state that some video materials are digitized and accessible to patrons

Repository

Fales Library and Special Collections
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012