Foresta - Artists unframed : snapshots from the Smithsonians Archives of American Art

dec. 25, 1976

Suzi Gablik, Leo Castelli, and Ton Simons on Saint Martin

Suzi Gablik Papers, 1960 2013

Snapshots are everywhere. Some are meticulously labeled and organized in photograph albums, while others are haphazardly thrown into shoe boxes and stashed in closets. In the digital era, snapshots are stored on our smartphones and shared widely on social-media sites. Snapshots are fertile ground for moments of rediscovery, when someone holds a little picture and remembers the moment or life captured within it. This book takes the ubiquitous snapshot that is central to the lives of so many of usincluding artistsand recognizes its varied roles, from a simple document of time and place to an evocative work of art in and of itself.

The Archives of American Arts deputy director, Liza Kirwin, conceived the theme of this book in response to the increasing attention given to snapshots in art history and popular media. Major museums have organized exhibitions around the snapshot, including The Art of the American Snapshot, 18881978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson at the National Gallery of Art in 2007 and Now Is Then: Snapshots from the Maresca Collection at the Newark Museum in 2008. In 2010 the social-networking site Instagram launched, allowing users to snap photographs comparable to Polaroid snapshots, complete with filters and borders that mimic vintage prints.

The Archives first exploration of snapshots was the 2011 exhibition Little Pictures, Big Lives: Snapshots from the Archives of American Art, guest curated by photography specialist Merry Foresta, the former director of the Smithsonian Photography Initiative. Foresta adeptly framed these personal items within the history of photography, and in this book she explores the snapshot further, as it relates to a variety of themes.

Among the Archives collections of more than twenty million items are thousands of snapshots. I have found some new favorites among the scrapbooks of art critic, artist, and teacher Suzi Gablik, who recently made a generous donation of her papers to the Archives. In them we discover Gablik with Leo Castelli, Kenneth Noland, Anthony Caro, Claes Oldenburg, and many other famous art-world figures. But here they have stepped away from the studio or the gallery or the writing desk and are engaged in the familiar, quotidian activities that help to shape each of usunself-conscious moments from vacations, Thanksgiving dinners, birthday parties at home. In this book you will find many similar images that offer intimate insight into the everyday lives of artistsfrom snapshots taken by artists just after the 1900 introduction of the Kodak Brownie camera to contemporary examples.

Through our own publications and by supporting the research of others, the Archives of American Art tells the backstory of art in America. These snapshots and the ever-growing number of letters, diaries, oral histories, and other personal and business documents preserved at the Archives are the building blocks of that backstory, adding dimension and depth to our understanding of this countrys rich visual culture.

Kate Haw, director, Archives of American Art

Artists Unframed features snapshots selected from thousands of images scattered throughout the documents, letters, and diaries of artists in the collections of the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. These photographs invite consideration not as simple or inconsequential little pictures, but rather as complex evidence of the intimate lives of larger-than-life people.

Like all publication projects, this book was the effort of many talented individuals. My thanks go first to Kate Haw, director of the Archives of American Art, who entered this project midstream and quickly gave her blessing to our work. Liza Kirwin, the Archives deputy director, not only provided the initial idea for a project about snapshots, but throughout was generous with her deep knowledge of and unique perspective on the rich materials held in the collections. Mary Savig, curator of manuscripts, has been more than helpful with archival research. With her enthusiasm for little pictures, she contributed not only information and access to images, but also her delightful encouragement, which was appreciated all along the way. I wish to thank, among the Archives staff who also deserve recognition for shepherding this book, Wendy Hurlock Baker, rights and reproductions coordinator; Marv Hoffmeier, digital imagist; Bettina Smith, digital projects librarian; Kathryn Donahue, intern; Susan Cary, registrar and collections manager; and Suzanne Bybee, administrative officer. I would also like to thank Jennifer N. Lippert, editorial director at Princeton Architectural Press, for her enthusiasm and guidance during a project long in the making, as well as Sara Stemen, senior editor.