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Chris Kraus Papers

Call Number

MSS.442

Date

1975-2015, inclusive

Creator

Kraus, Chris, 1963-

Extent

54 Linear Feet
in 68 manuscript boxes, 19 record cartons, 4 half manuscript boxes, 7 flat boxes, 1 media box, and 3 flat file folders

Extent

215 Reels
in 170 Super 8 reels and 45 16mm reels

Extent

86 audiocassettes
in 68 compact audio cassettes, 14 DAT cassettes, and 4 micro-cassettes

Extent

68 videocassettes
in 19 VHS cassettes, 42 UMatic cassettes, 3 Betacam cassettes, 1 Betamax cassette, 2 Hi-8 cassettes, and 1 Mini-DV cassette

Extent

13 DVDs

Extent

40 Reels
in 40 1/4" audio reels

Extent

2 1_Inch_Video_Reel

Extent

8.6 Gigabytes
in 4508 computer files

Extent

5.3 Gigabytes
in 23 email archives containing 74,164 messages

Extent

44 video disc (dvd) images

Extent

3 audio files

Language of Materials

Materials primarily in English, with some publications in French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese.

Abstract

Chris Kraus (born 1955) is an American writer, art critic, editor, filmmaker, writing instructor, playwright, and theatre director. She is best known for her autobiographical novel, I Love Dick. Her other novels include Aliens & Anorexia and Torpor, and her non-fiction writing includes the collections Video Green: Los Angeles Art and the Triumph of Nothingness and Where Art Belongs, as well as the biography After Kathy Acker. Her films include The Golden Bowl or Repression and Gravity & Grace. The Chris Kraus Papers date from 1975 to 2015 and document Kraus's career as a writer, art critic, editor, filmmaker, playwright, and theatre director. The collection consists of paper, audiovisual, and born-digital material and includes drafts of Kraus's critical writing and books, audiovisual material documenting all stages of production for her films, research materials for her writing, correspondence with friends and collaborators, and Kraus' personal diaries.

Biographical note

Chris Kraus (born 1955) is an American writer, art critic, editor, filmmaker, writing instructor, playwright, and theatre director. She is best known for her autobiographical novel, I Love Dick. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, she worked in New York City as a playwright and theatre director. She wrote and directed the plays Disparate Action/Desperate Action and Readings from the Diaries of Hugo Ball, and co-wrote I Talked about God with Antonin Artaud with Sylvère Lotringer. They later collaborated on the film How to Shoot a Crime. Kraus was married to Lotringer from the late 1980s through the late 1990s. While working in theatre in the early 1980s, Kraus began to write and produce short films. These include The Golden Bowl or Repression and Gravity and Grace. In 1990, she started as co-editor with Lotringer at Semiotext(e), a journal and small publishing house he founded 1974, and she started the Native Agents Series there at the time. At the time of this writing (2019), Kraus was still co-editor at Semiotext(e). In the late 1990s, she moved to Los Angeles, California and began focusing on art criticism, fiction writing, and teaching. Some of her notable works include the autobiographical novels I Love Dick, Aliens & Anorexia, and Summer of Hate; the non-fiction collections Video Green: Los Angeles Art and the Triumph of Nothingness and Where Art Belongs; and the biography After Kathy Acker.

Arrangement

This collection has been arranged in five series: Series I. Writing, Series II. Film, Series III. Diaries, Series IV. Correspondence, and Series V. The Chance Event.

Scope and Contents

The Chris Kraus Papers document Kraus's career as a writer, art critic, editor, filmmaker, writing instructor, playwright, and theatre director. The collection dates from 1975 through 2015 and contains paper, born-digital, and audiovisual materials documenting her work through this time. These materials include drafts of Kraus's plays, films, novels, and critical writings; research materials used in her work; video, audio, and film recordings for her films; correspondence with friends and collaborators; and Kraus's personal diaries. Well documented in the collection is her work as a writer of fiction and non-fiction, and as a filmmaker. The collection includes her autobiographical novels I Love Dick, Torpor, and Summer of Hate. Kraus's work on these novels is documented through paper and born-digital material, including diary entries regarding experiences that served as the basis for the novels, notes and drafts, research and source materials, galley proofs, publicity and reviews, and correspondence regarding all aspects of the creative process. Similar material for her critical art writing and films is included in the collection, particularly the collections of her critical writing, Video Green: Los Angeles Art and the Triumph of Nothingness and Where Art Belongs; her biography After Kathy Acker; and her films Golden Bowl or Repression and Gravity and Grace. Also included in the collection are paper and born-digital typescripts, notes, and publicity materials for her plays and theatre work, as well as video, audio, and film recordings of these performances. Also in the collection are correspondence, drafts, and notes documenting Kraus's work as a co-editor at Semiotext(e) and material from The Chance Event, a three day event curated by Kraus in Nevada in 1996 that focused on philosophy, music, and culture.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions, with the exception of Series III. Diaries, and email and select correspondence in Series IV. Correspondence which require donor permission to access. Please contact the Fales Library & Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, (212) 998-2596.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Chris Kraus Papers; MSS 442, box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.

Location of Materials

Some materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please request materials at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Collection received from Chris Kraus in two installments in October 2015; the accession numbers associated with these donations are 2015.442.001 and 2015.442.002. In March 2016, an accretion was added; the accession number associated with this donation is 2016.015. In February and June 2017 two small accretions were added; the accession numbers associated with these donations are 2017.036 and 2018.095.

Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures

Access to 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. Some audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact fales.library@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.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted.

An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.

Appraisal

In 2023, 41 moldy audiovisual recordings from Series II: Films were digitized and deaccessioned following digitization.

Related Materials

For more information on Kraus's work at Semiotext(e), see the Sylvère Lotringer Papers and Semiotext(e) Archive (MSS 221).

Collection processed by

Megan O'Shea and Jennipher Ambrose

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-06 14:23:28 -0500.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Processing Information

During the pre-processing survey in 2016, a considerable amount of mold was found in both paper and audiovisual materials. If mold was spread throughout an entire box of material, that entire box was quarantined. If mold was contained to part of a box, the moldy material was separated from the non-moldy material and quarantined. Separation sheets were created for material removed from its original location; copies were placed in the material's original location and with the separated material. The project archivist worked with Barbara Goldsmith Preservation & Conservation Department staff to distinguish moldy items from dirty items and to return the non-moldy items to their original boxes. Some moldy paper materials were cleaned by Preservation Department staff and others by an outside vendor. Once cleaned and returned, the materials were returned to their original boxes by the project archivist.

In 2018, select film, video, and audio materials were separated from the collection by the audiovisual archivist for rehousing and digitization. The original items were returned once digitization was complete. As of April 2019, some of these items were still in the Media Preservation Department awaiting rehousing and digitization.

Between March and May 2019, the collection was arranged and described by an archivist. Series were created according to the arrangement in which the collection was received and material was arranged together intellectually within these series. Paper material for each series was brought together physically, with oversized paper materials, audiovisual material, and physical digital media housed together as appropriate. Where necessary, separation sheets were created to sustain the intellectual relationship between materials of different formats that were initially housed together.

Paper material was housed in archival folders and boxes. Physical digital media and audiovisual material were housed in archival boxes. Preservation photocopies were created for material originally printed on thermal fax paper.

Floppy disks, hard drives, and optical media containing data files were forensically imaged, analyzed, and arranged in Forensic Toolkit. Video DVDs were imaged and arranged on local storage. Audio CDs were ripped to the WAV file format and arranged on local storage. Directories were created for material arranged together intellectually in the collection.

New York University Libraries follows professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity of the content.

In 2022 twelve film reels were removed from quarantine sent to a vendor for mold remediation. In the same year, 48 moldy audio and video items which were previously quarantined were cleaned by preservation staff. These cassettes are currently isolated from other items by housing them in a polyethylene bag with a desiccated board and RH monitor strip. If this strip indicates an RH greater than 50%, contact the Preservation Department immediately. Do not open this packaging without contacting the Preservation Department.

Revisions to this Guide

November 2022: Updated by Rachel Mahre to reflect the digitization of audio materials
January 2023: Updated by Anna Björnsson McCormick to note preservation treatments.
December 2023: Updated by Weatherly Stephan to reflect deaccession of moldy media after digitization

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