Description
The
Gronk Papers include a diverse range of materials that span the entirety of
Gronk's career, from approximately 1969 to 2007. These include materials related to his work with Asco, his collaborative works and
correspondence with artist Jerry Dreva, documentation of the artist's exhibitions, photographic materials (slides, transparencies
and prints), thousands of original drawings and watercolors (both loose and in sketchbooks), materials related to his production
designs for theater, correspondence and mail art, press clippings and realia and artwork collected by the artist.
Background
Born in Los Angeles in 1954,
Gronk began his artistic career at a young age by organizing performance pieces with a group of collaborators that included Robert
"Cyclona" Legorreta and Mundo Meza. In the early 1970s, he co-founded the art collective Asco, along with Harry Gamboa Jr.,
Willie Herrón and Patssi Valdez. Through their public, guerilla art interventions and conceptual practices like "No Movies,"
the group constituted a unique tendency within the Chicano art movement, while it also actively engaged prevalent avant-garde
movements. During his tenure with Asco,
Gronk also developed his career as an individual artist working in a diverse range of media: murals, canvas painting, drawing,
live performance, mail art, printmaking and photography. By 1985,
Gronk had secured representation with the Daniel Saxon Gallery and embarked upon a successful career as an exhibiting artist. He
quickly became one of the most prominent Chicano painters in the United States, and was featured in many of the major exhibitions
featuring Latino and/or Hispanic art over the course of the next two decades. Throughout his career, however,
Gronk has remained a uniquely multi-faceted artist, and has recently completed large-scale installation paintings, critically acclaimed
set designs for theater and opera productions, and a digital animation short.
Extent
22.8 linear feet
(50 boxes, 2 flat boxes, 2 oversize flat boxes)
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center. All requests for permission to publish must be
submitted in writing to the Chicano Studies Research Center Library. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the
UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission
from the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Availability
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies
Research Center Library and Archive for paging information.