Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Roberto Sifuentes papers, circa 1988-2006, bulk 1993-2000, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.sifurobe
Creators:
Sifuentes, Roberto, 1967-
Dates:
circa 1988-2006
bulk 1993-2000
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
4.3 Linear feet
0.054 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of performance artist and educator Roberto Sifuentes measure 4.3 linear feet and date from circa 1988 to 2006. The collection documents Sifuentes' work as a professional artist and educator through biographical material and interviews; correspondence including emails; project files including project descriptions, documentation of individual productions, audio and video recordings, and components of works for multimedia projects; conference files documenting symposia and conference participation; articles, versions of performance scripts, and other writings; printed material including press clippings, promotional press packets, and source material; as well as photographic material documenting performances and social events.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of performance artist and educator Roberto Sifuentes measure 4.3 linear feet and date from circa 1988 to 2006. The collection documents Sifuentes' work as a professional artist and educator through biographical material and interviews; correspondence including emails; project files including project descriptions, documentation of individual productions, audio and video recordings, and components of works for multimedia projects; conference files documenting symposia and conference participation; articles, versions of performance scripts, and other writings; printed material including press clippings, promotional press packets, and source material; as well as photographic material documenting performances and social events.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged in 7 series:
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1990-2000 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, 0.003 Gigabytes; ER01)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1990-2000 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, 0.004 Gigabytes; ER02-ER05)
  • Series 3: Project Files, circa 1986-2000 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 0.051 Gigabytes; ER06-ER15, ER18-ER19)
  • Series 4: Conference Files, circa 1995-2006 (0.2 linear feet; Box 3)
  • Series 5: Writings, circa 1993-2000 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, 0.002 Gigabytes, ER16-ER17)
  • Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1993-2000 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 4-5)
  • Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1990s (0.1 linear feet; Box 4)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Roberto Sifuentes, (born Los Angeles, 1967) is a Chicano performance artist and arts instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He completed his BA from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1989 and in 1993 founded La Pocha Nostra Performance Group with his career-long collaborator, Guillermo Gómez-Peña. La Pocha Nostra in its manifesto describes itself as a "trans-disciplinary arts organization...created out of our necessity to survive as Chicano artists in a racist Art World." Around 1992 Roberto began contributing as a collaborator and performer for performance works created by Gómez-Peña in collaboration with Coco Fusco, Couple in the Cage and New World (B)order. Sifuentes has continued his partnership with Gómez-Peña in creating new performance works and publications, as well touring widely to perform their works and deliver outreach programs including lectures and workshops.
Consistent with his work with La Pocha Nostra, Sifuentes has taken an activist sensibility and approach in incorporating stereotypical ritualistic and religious cultural imagery in his installations and performances, while engaging with emerging technologies. This juxtaposition between the futuristic and the traditional stereotype was reflected in his widely applied artistic persona Cybervato. Key works incorporating this persona include Borderscape 2000, Temple of Confessions, and Mexterminator. He has performed his works and contributed to symposia and conferences throughout the world at venues including National Review of Live Art, Glasgow; Center for Performance Research, Wales; Hemispheric Institute, New York University; Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC; De Young Museum, San Francisco; and El Museo del Barrio in New York City.

Administration

Author
Ryan Evans
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Roberto Sifuentes papers were donated by Roberto Sifuentes to the Archives of American Art in 2018.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Ryan Evans in 2018.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Roberto Sifuentes papers, circa 1988-2006, bulk 1993-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copy requires advance notice.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art teachers -- Illinois -- Chicago Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hispanic American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Latino and Latin American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Performance artists--Illinois--Chicago Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs 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
Chicano artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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