Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Cynthia Goodman Papers, circa 1944-2001, bulk 1975-1996, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.goodcynt
Creators:
Goodman, Cynthia
Dates:
circa 1944-2001
bulk 1975-1996
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
33.2 Linear feet
.340 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of curator and writer, Cynthia Goodman, date from circa circa 1944-2001, bulk 1975-1996 and measure 33.2 linear feet and .340 Gigabytes. The collection is comprised of artist files, records documenting computer and technological art, and research on Hans Hofmann and the New York School. The papers document Goodman's graduate and professional career including her studies in art history and early career writing and organizing exhibitions around Hans Hofmann and his legacy, and later her research related to the nascent computer art. The papers, organized primarily by project and artist files, include biographical material, interviews with artists, correspondence, writings, printed material, photographs and audio-visual material.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of curator and writer, Cynthia Goodman, date from circa circa 1944-2001, bulk 1975-1996 and measure 33.2 linear feet and .340 Gigabytes.
The artist file series is comprised of correspondence and promotional materials in various formats including resumes, invitations, slides, and audio-visual and born-digital portfolio submissions.
The computer and technological art series is comprised of research material, conference materials, writings, and exhibition files relating to two major exhibitions organized by Cynthia Goodman: Digital Visions: Computers and Art, Everson Museum of Art (1987), and the InfoArt Pavilion at Kwangju Biennale (1995), co-curated with artist Nam June Paik. Both shows were accompanied by exhibition catalogs, the latter in CD-ROM format, innovated as one of the first of its kind.
The Hans Hofmann and the New York School Material series consists of Goodman's early academic career studying Hofmann and his contemporaries, culminating in a PhD dissertation from University of Pennsylvania in 1982. This material includes records related to the Chester Dale Fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where Goodman worked on a catalogue raisonné for the artist. Also included are records related to the 1986 monograph on Hofmann as well as the exhibition file for a Hofmann retrospective staged at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1990, as well as other traveling exhibitions on Hofmann and his students, as well as Fritz Bultman. Research material includes numerous original sound recordings and interviews.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as three series:
  • Series 1: Artist Files, circa 1964-2000 (13.4 Linear feet: Boxes 1-12, 33-35)
  • Series 2: Computer and Technological Art, circa 1960s-2001 (14.6 Linear feet: Boxes 13-26, 33-35; 0.34 Gigabytes: ER0001)
  • Series 3: Hans Hofmann and the New York School, circa 1944-1996 (5.2 Linear feet: Boxes 26-32, 34)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Cynthia Goodman is an independent curator and writer born in, and currently based in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is particularly well-known for her work with emergent art technologies, particularly those relevant to Computer Art. Cynthia Goodman received her Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982. She curated the traveling exhibition Digital Visions: Computers and Art , Everson Museum of Art in 1987, and the InfoArt Pavilion at Kwangju Biennale (1995), co-curated with artist Nam June Paik. Both shows were accompanied by exhibition catalogs, the latter in CD-ROM format, innovated as one of the first of its kind. Following the success of the Digital Visions Cynthia briefly taught art history and aesthetics in the Master of Fine Arts program in Computer Art at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
Goodman's early career was devoted to her investigations into the work and legacy of artist Hans Hofmann and his contemporaries, culminating in a PhD dissertation from University of Pennsylvania in 1982. She was awarded the position of Chester Dale Fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where Goodman worked on a catalogue raisonné for the artist and towards the end of her time organized Hans Hofmann as Teacher: Drawings by His Students, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979. She also authored the monograph and exhibition catalog Hans Hofmann, for Abbeville Press in 1986 and organized a retrospective exhibition for the artist at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1990.
Goodman has acted as advisor to corporations including IBM, Polaroid, and Time Warner. In addition she acted as Director of the IBM Gallery of Science and Art, New York, New York from 1987-1990. She was appointed Fellow at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she was Director of Arttransition '90, an international conference on art, science and technology.

Administration

Author
Ryan Evans
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated in 2019 by Cynthia Goodman.
Processing Information
The collection was processed in 2022 by Ryan Evans. Additional finding aid description of the sound and video recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2023-2024.

Using the Collection

Terms of Use
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.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Preferred Citation
Cynthia Goodman papers, circa 1944-2001, bulk 1975-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Curators -- Ohio -- Cincinnati Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Authors -- Ohio -- Cincinnati Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Computer Art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women authors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Abstract expressionism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Moving images Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Motion pictures Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Panel discussions Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lectures Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kwangju Piennalle Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Everson Museum of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Paik, Nam June, 1932-2006 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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