Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Nina Yankowitz Papers, circa 1950-2017, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.yanknina
Creators:
Yankowitz, Nina
Dates:
circa 1950-2017
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
5.6 Linear feet
0.689 Gigabytes
Repository:
The papers of feminist and new media artist, Nina Yankowitz measure 5.6 linear feet and 0.698 GB, and date from circa 1950-2017. Included in the collection is a small amount of biographical material; letters and postcards from artist colleagues and friends; writings by Yankowitz and others; project files pertaining to artwork, proposals, and Yankowitz's involvement in the Heresies Collective; a few exhibition files; printed material including booklets, catalogs, poetry chapbooks, and announcements, generated mostly by Yankowitz and her circle of Feminist, Minimalist, and New Media artists; as well as photographs of Yankowitz and documentation of her artwork through thousands of photographs and slides. The collection also contains a small amount of born-digital material including video and sound recordings pertaining to projects, and spreadsheets relating to an exhibition. Notable correspondents include Ross Bleckner, Joyce Kozloff, Frances Lewis, Sol LeWitt, Ree Morton, Miriam Shapiro, Peter Schjeldahl, Blythe Sonfist, Marjorie Strider, Robin Tewes, and Susan Yankowitz.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of feminist and new media artist, Nina Yankowitz measure 5.6 linear feet and 0.698 GB, and date from circa 1950-2017. Included in the collection is a small amount of biographical material; letters and postcards from artist colleagues and friends; writings by Yankowitz and others; project files pertaining to artwork, proposals, and Yankowitz's involvement in the Heresies Collective; a few exhibition files; printed material including booklets, catalogs, poetry chapbooks, and announcements, generated mostly by Yankowitz and her circle of Feminist, Minimalist, and New Media artists; as well as photographs of Yankowitz and documentation of her artwork through thousands of photographs and slides. The collection also contains a small amount of born-digital material including video and sound recordings pertaining to projects, and spreadsheets relating to an exhibition. Notable correspondents include Ross Bleckner, Joyce Kozloff, Frances Lewis, Sol LeWitt, Ree Morton, Miriam Shapiro, Peter Schjeldahl, Blythe Sonfist, Marjorie Strider, Robin Tewes, and Susan Yankowitz.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as eight series.
  • Series 1: Biographical Material, 1957-2017 (Box 1; 5 folders)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1970-2012 (Box 1; 0.6 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Writings, circa 1968-2012 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Reproductions of Illustrated Notebooks, circa 1967-2000 (Box 2; 0.4 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Project Files, 1970-2014 (Box 2, OV 7, 0.7 linear feet; ER01-ER03, 0.688 GB)
  • Series 6: Exhibition Files, 1972-circa 2009 (Box 3, 0.2 linear feet; ER04, 0.001 GB)
  • Series 7: Printed Material, 1969-2016 (Boxes 3-5; 2 linear feet)
  • Series 8: Photographic Material, circa 1950-2010 (Boxes 5-6, OV 8; 1.3 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Nina Yankowitz (1946- ) is a feminist and new media artist in New York, New York. Born in New Jersey, Yankowitz attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1964-1967, and completed her graduate studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1969. She began exhibiting her work in galleries in New York in the late 1960s, first at Kornblee Gallery and later at Deson-Zaks Gallery, Rosa Esman Gallery, and Stefanotti Gallery. In 1972 she was a resident at the MacDowell Colony. Yankowitz has worked in a variety of media over the decades including painting, sculpture, mosaic, installation, sound, and new media. She has completed numerous public and private commissions, including a sculpture for Central Park in 1969 and a tile mosaic for New York's Arts in Transit program in 1989. Yankowitz was a member of the Heresies Collective, a group of feminist political artists founded in 1976. She has held teaching positions at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and her alma mater, the School of Visual Arts. Her husband, architect Barry Holden, is a frequent collaborator, especially for public works projects.

Administration

Author
Hilary Price
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated to the Archives of American Art in 2018 by Nina Yankowitz.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Hilary Price in 2018.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Conditions Governing Use
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that he or she may own.
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.
Preferred Citation
Nina Yankowitz papers, circa 1950-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Nina Yankowitz conducted by Christopher Lyon in 2018.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Artists -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Feminism and art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Heresies Collective, Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kozloff, Joyce Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Strider, Marjorie Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Heresies Collective, Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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