Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Philip Brookman Papers, 1977-1993, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.broophil
Creators:
Brookman, Philip
Dates:
1977-1993
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
3.5 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of curator Philip Brookman measure 3.5 linear feet and date from 1977 to 1993. The collection documents Brookman's exhibition, writing, and filmmaking projects in the form of artist files, exhibition files, professional files, and subject and research files. Much of the material concerns the production and distribution of Brookman's 1988 video documentary about Chicano art in California, Mi Otro Yo (My Other Self), that grew out of the exhibition and conference "Califas: An Exhibition of Chicano Art and Culture in California," held at University of California, Santa Cruz in 1981 and 1982.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of curator Philip Brookman measure 3.5 linear feet and date from 1977 to 1993. The collection documents Brookman's exhibition, writing, and filmmaking projects in the form of artist files, exhibition files, professional files, and subject and research files. Much of the material concerns the production and distribution of Brookman's 1988 video documentary about Chicano art in California, Mi Otro Yo (My Other Self), that grew out of the exhibition and conference "Califas: An Exhibition of Chicano Art and Culture in California," held at University of California, Santa Cruz in 1981 and 1982.
Artist files are for David Avalos, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Louis Hock, Elizabeth Sisco, and others. Exhibition files include correspondence, notes, loan agreements, and printed material concerning Made in Aztlán, Photographing Ourselves: Contemporary Native American Photography, Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation/CARA among others. Professional files provide documentation on "El Centro Cultural de la Raza - Fifteen Years," Culture Wars: Documents from the Recent Controversies in the Arts, and various projects at Washington Project for the Arts.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as five series.
  • Series 1: Artist Files, 1981-1991 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1982-1992 (Boxes 1-2; 1.0 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Professional Files, 1982-1991 (Boxes 2-3, OV 5; 0.8 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Subject and Research Files, 1977-1993 (Box 3; 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Califas Documentation, 1981-1993 (Boxes 3-4, OV 5; 0.8 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Philip Brookman is a curator in California and Washington, D.C. He was director of the Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery at the University of California at Santa Cruz from 1974 to 1983, a curator at El Centro Cultural de la Raza in San Diego from 1985 to 1986, and a curator at the Washington Project for the Arts from 1987 to 1997. Brookman was also Curator of Photography and Media Arts at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and is a consulting curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Amy Brookman, co-directed the documentary Mi Otro Yo (My Other Self) about Chicano art in California which grew out of the Califas conference held at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) in 1982.

Administration

Author
Sarah Mundy
Sponsor
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The papers were donated by Philip Brookman in 1999.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2019.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Philip Brookman papers, 1977-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art museum curators -- Washington (D.C.) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art museum curators -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mexican American art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Latino and Latin American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chicano art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Washington Project for the Arts (D.C.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Avalos, David Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hock, Louis Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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