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Long Beach Museum of Art Video Archive
2006.M.7
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Contributing Institution: Special Collections
Title: Long Beach Museum of Art Video Archive
Creator: Long Beach Museum of Art
Identifier/Call Number: 2006.M.7
Physical Description: 465 Linear Feet(127 boxes, circa 5,000 videos)
Date (inclusive): circa 1964-2003
Abstract: The Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA) was among the first museums in the United States to focus on video as an artistic medium.
The materials in the archive document LBMA's innovative approaches to collecting, producing and displaying video art, primarily
between 1974 and 1999. Materials include artist files; exhibition records; LBMA's administrative records pertaining to the
video program; materials on the museum's grant and cable television programs; photographic materials; and almost 5,000 videotapes.
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection. Click here for the
access policy .
Language of Material: Collection material is in English
Open for use by qualified researchers. Videos are unavailable until reformatted.
Long Beach Museum of Art Video Archive, circa 1970-2000. The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2006.M.7
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2006m7
Many videos have been reformatted. Some DVD use copies are available in the repository, as indicated in the catalog records
for individual video works; other videos are
available online to on-site Readers and Getty staff.
The following interns cataloged artists' tapes in Series VI and processed corresponding records in Series I under the supervision
of Jocelyn Gibbs and Andra Darlington: Amy Sloper (2006-2007), Leah Kerr (summer 2007), Tim Wilson (fall 2007), Patti Peregrine
(winter and spring 2008) and Holly Larson (fall 2008). Darlington cataloged the Woman's Building tapes in Series IX, many
artists' tapes in Series VI and exhibition tapes in Series VII (2007-2008). Devon Bella finished processing Series I-IV (2009-2010).
From 2009 to 2011 Annette Doss finished cataloging the artists' tapes in Series VI and cataloged many exhibition tapes in
Series VII. Under Doss's supervision, Natalie Snoyman processed the photographs in Series V (fall 2010) and Philip Leers processed
the tapes related to grant and cable programs in Series VIII (summer and fall 2011).
Currently the exhibition tapes are still being processed and cataloged, and a number of miscellaneous tapes also remain unprocessed.
Numerous videos have been digitized and are
available online to on-site readers and Getty staff.
The Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA) began collecting and exhibiting video art in 1974 and in three decades developed one of
the most significant video collections in the country, comprising approximately 5,000 videotapes. LBMA's video program started
when museum director, Jan Adlmann, hired curator David Ross to establish the museum's video program. Exhibiting video as an
artistic medium was at the forefront of LBMA's mission during the 1970s. The video program allowed artists to display their
videos through experimental exhibitions like the Southland Video Anthology (1975-1978), which featured work by hundreds of
video artists. Video art exhibitions were already taking place in Europe and on the East Coast in the mid-1960s, and LBMA
played a pivotal role in bringing video art to West Coast audiences.
In 1976, LBMA became the first museum to provide an in-house production facility where artists could produce and edit their
videos. The production facility was located in the museum's attic, and was internally known as the Artist's Post Production
Studio (APPS). APPS offered artists a place to create video art, and in exchange for this service, artists would leave a copy
of their work with the museum. Through APPS, the museum began to develop a video collection, albeit inadvertently. Artists
would also send copies of their work to the museum to be included in the collection.Around 1979, LBMA received a grant from
the Rockefeller Foundation to open the Video Annex (also known as the Station Annex), located next to a fire station the Belmont
Shore neighborhood of Long Beach, California. The Video Annex was primarily used as a post-production studio, and held two
editing studios, Studio A and Studio B. The Video Annex became a source of revenue for the museum, as artists rented the space
to edit their work using broadcast-quality equipment. LBMA established a residency program, allowing artists to live in the
Annex while producing and editing their work. Artists were also commissioned to create works for broadcast television at the
Annex, and the space eventually housed the museum's growing collection of videos.
In addition to supporting the work of video artists through exhibitions and the production facility, LBMA also offered grant
programs, including Open Channels Television Production Grant Program, the Video Access Program, and New Visions: Video Production
and Presentation Program. LBMA was able to present the medium to a wider audience by producing many cable series and live
broadcast events through local cable television networks, and in partnership with other institutions, such as The Kitchen
in New York, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Iowa. In the early 1980s, LBMA produced the
cable series,
Shared Realities: A Cultural Arts Cable Series, which featured interviews, art videos, music, and live performances. Other cable programs included
Viewpoints on Video,
Arts Revue, and
Art Off the Wall.
LBMA also acquired the video archive of the Los Angeles Woman's Building after it closed in 1991. Founded in 1973, the Woman's
Building was an independent feminist arts institution that served as a center for education and activism.
In the mid-1990s, the museum closed its video program, but kept the Video Annex open for a few more years to generate income.
California artists played an important part in creating video art history, and through the museum's innovative programming,
artists and curators were able to work together to create a substantial collection of video art. Collectively, the materials
in the archive trace LBMA's role in the early history of the medium through its multi-faceted efforts to support artists and
public understanding of video art.
See also the
chronology of film and video exhibitions at the Long Beach Museum of Art from 1974 to 1999.
Transferred from the Long Beach Museum of Art in 2006.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The Long Beach Museum of Art Video Archive documents more than three decades of LBMA's engagement with video art, from the
late 1960s through 2003. At the heart of the archive are approximately 5,000 videos collected or produced by LBMA, including
single-channel video artworks and installation works, taped interviews with artists, collectors, and curators, and video documentation
of exhibitions, performances and other events at the museum and throughout Southern California. The paper component of the
archive contains LBMA institutional records pertaining to the museum's activities in video art collecting, exhibition, production
and distribution.
Series I contains files on most, but not all, of the artists whose work is included in the video collection, as well as additional
artists whose works are not represented in the archive. Some materials relate to the artist in general and some pertain to
specific artworks. Artist files often include materials such as acquisition and donor forms, correspondence, artists' curriculum
vitae, press clippings, screening announcements, project proposals, and a few drawings and sketches. Artists with particularly
substantial files include Eleanor Antin, John Baldessari, Chris Burden, Gary Hill, Nam June Paik, Ilene Segalove, and Bill
Viola.
Series II documents video exhibitions organized by and/or presented at the Long Beach Museum of Art from 1975 to 1999. Exhibition
records often include press releases, printed announcements, catalogs, posters, text for printed materials, program notes,
screening schedules, installation notes and sketches, correspondence, mailing lists, acquisition forms, loan and payment receipts,
and press clippings. Among the exhibitions represented in the series are Southland Video Anthology (1975-1978), California
Video (1980), and The Artist and the Computer (1983).
Documenting LBMA's grant-making programs for video production, Series III contains press releases, subsidy applications, artists'
applications and video proposals. The primary grant programs were Open Channels Television Production Grant Program, the Video
Access Program, and New Visions: Video Production and Presentation Program. Also in Series III are records pertaining to LBMA's
distribution of video art through cable programs such as
Viewpoints on Video,
Arts Revue,
Art Off the Wall, and
Shared Realities. These materials often include programming notes, budgets, tape rental forms, and reports for the museum's collaborative
programs.
The Administrative records in Series IV are comprised of executive and managerial documents, such as the LBMA Foundation curatorial
grant applications and reports consisting of capital and operational support requests and supplementary materials. Also included
are papers relating to the production facility at the Video Annex; records documenting the development and preservation of
the video archive and library; David Ross papers, consisting of correspondence and files he kept on institutions; meeting
notes relating to advisory organizations, such as the Video Council and National Alliance of Media Art Centers (NAMAC); subscriptions,
serials, newsletters, and mailings.
Series V contains photographic materials, including artist portraits, documentation of installations, and video stills. This
series contains black and white prints, negatives, contact sheets, color photography, and transparencies. The majority of
the files include installation shots from exhibitions organized by and presented at LBMA between 1974 and 1998, as well as
video stills from individual artists' works. In addition, there are a few instances of correspondence in the series, usually
between the artist and staff members of LBMA.
Most of the artist videos Series VI and exhibition videos in Series VII have been cataloged and may be found in the
library catalog by searching for artists' names or the titles of works or exhibitions. To browse through all cataloged works, search for
the title, "Long Beach Museum of Art Video Archive."
Series VIII, Grant and cable program videos, is comprised of 237 videotapes that document video art, interviews, performances
and events that were produced by LBMA and aired on cable television from 1983 through 1993.
Series IX contains more than 250 tapes from the Los Angeles Woman's Building, and includes feminist performance videos, video
art, and documentation of the feminist movement in Southern California through interviews, performances, readings and other
events. The Woman's Building tapes have been cataloged and may be found by searching the
library catalog for the Woman's Building in the author field.
Videos are unavailable until reformatted.
Contact Reference for information about how to request reformatting.
Arranged in nine series: Series I. Artists' files, circa 1966-2002; Series II. Exhibition files, 1975-1999; Series III. Grant
and cable program files, 1976-1999, undated; Series IV. Administrative files,1972-2003, undated; Series V. hotographs, 1964-1998,
undated; Series VI. Artists' videos, circa 1970-circa 2003; Series VII. Exhibition videos, circa 1970-circa 2003; Series VIII.
Grant and cable program videos, 1983-1993; Series IX. Woman's Building videos, circa 1973-circa 1991.
Contact
Library Reproductions and Permissions .
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Videotapes
Color photographs
Videocassettes -- United States -- 20th century
Black-and-white prints (photographs)
Art museums -- Exhibitions -- United States
Art exhibitions -- 20th century
Long Beach Museum of Art -- Exhibitions
Administrative records
Video art -- United States -- 20th century
Exhibition announcements
Black-and-white negatives
Color slides -- United States -- 20th century