The Nancy Buchanan papers document the Los Angeles-based artist's career from the 1970s to the 2010s. Research and production files for her projects, including her major performances and video works, reflect Buchanan's exploration of politics, commerce, environmentalism, and feminism, and highlight her use of art as a tool for raising awareness of social issues. Audiovisual and digital components are present for many of Buchanan's performance pieces, as are photographs of her artworks, exhibitions, and performances. The collection also includes assorted personal and professional correspondence, printed ephemera, teaching files from Buchanan's tenure at the California Institute of the Arts, personal and family materials, papers related to her curatorial projects and collaborations, and artworks and artists' books created or collected by Buchanan.

Nancy Buchanan is a Los Angeles-based artist known for her performance, conceptual, and video art that focus on themes of power and personal place. She played an integral role in the feminist art movement in Los Angeles in the 1970s and continues to have an active studio practice, with work that centers on political and social issues, shifts between personal experience and global politics, and which often incorporates a feminist approach or capitalist critique.

73.55 Linear Feet (128 boxes, 3 flatfile folders. Computer media: 9.84 GB [489 files])

Contact Library Reproductions and Permissions.

Open for use by qualified researchers. Born digital content and audiovisual materials are unavailable until reformatted. Contact reference for reformatting.