Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Loren Madsen papers, 1969-2019, in the Archives of American Art

Summary
Collection ID:
AAA.madslore
Creators:
Madsen, Loren, 1943-
Dates:
1969-2019
Languages:
The collection is in English.
Physical Description:
5.2 Linear feet
45.82 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of artist Loren Madsen measure 5.2 linear feet and 45.82 GB and date from 1969 to 2019. The collection primarily consists of project and exhibition files, and also includes personal business records, correspondence, writings, photographic material, and artwork. There are materials in physical and digital format.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The papers of artist Loren Madsen measure 5.2 linear feet and 45.82 GB and date from 1969 to 2019. The collection primarily consists of project and exhibition files, and also includes personal business records, correspondence, writings, photographic material, and artwork. There are materials in physical and digital formats.
Project and exhibition files consist of two subseries: exhibition files, and installations and proposals. These files include materials related to Madsen's solo and group exhibitions, installations, and proposals for unrealized projects. Correspondence, photographic material, sketches, planning documents, clippings, and other material are included in these files in physical and digital format.
Personal business records include materials related to Madsen's New Talent Purchase Award from the Modern and Contemporary Art Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, his NEA Fellowship and Pollock-Krasner Grant, gallery files, and sales and other financial information.
Correspondence consists of letters and cards both to and from Madsen. The majority of the correspondence is professional in nature.
Writings includes a work by Madsen completed in pursuit of his Master of Arts, notes, an article about Madsen by Jessica Pecorino, teaching materials, and notebooks. Teaching lectures and supporting materials are in digital format.
Photographic material consists of photographs, negatives, and slides of Madsen's artwork.
Artwork includes eleven sketchbooks; Long Scroll, a 30-foot timeline scroll on paper; and Ephemera, an ongoing series. Also included are extensive digital files depicting Madsen's artwork and work processes through video recordings, photographs, and documents.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in six series.
  • Series 1: Project and Exhibition Files, 1969-2005, 2011-2016 (Boxes 1-3; 3 linear feet, ER1-120; 9.28 GB)
  • Series 2: Personal Business Records, 1969-2017 (Box 4; 0.2 linear feet, ER121; 0.008 GB)
  • Series 3: Correspondence, 1973-2015 (Box 4; 3 folders)
  • Series 4: Writings, 1970-1983, 2001-2005 (Box 4; 0.2 linear feet, ER122-124; 0.399 GB)
  • Series 5: Photographic Material, 1969-2005 (Box 4; 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 6: Artwork circa 1973-1983, 1992-1999, 2012-2019 (Boxes 4-6, RD 7; 1.2 linear feet, ER125-160; 36.13 GB)
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Loren Madsen (1943- ) is an artist in Laytonville, California working mainly in sculpture. Madsen attended Reed College (1961-1963) and UCLA and graduated from UCLA with an MA in 1970. In the 1970s and 1980s he made sculpture using bricks and wood suspended, propped, or balanced in studies of countervailing forces. In the early 1990s, Madsen turned his attention to what he calls "data art," using statistics to determine sculptural form.
Administration
Author
Rayna Andrews
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of the collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews in 2017. Information about the addition was added in 2019. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2020 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Preferred Citation
Loren Madsen papers, 1969-2019. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Artists -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Installations (Art) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors -- California Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Awards Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketchbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pecorino, Jessica Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Los Angeles County Museum of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Endowment for the Arts Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Repository Contact
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions