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Stanford University
Archive Rooms
Exhibition

Archive Rooms

Selections from Special Collections at Stanford Libraries

July 17, 2024–Ongoing

a contact sheet from photogaphy on the left and a black and white photography of a woman on the right

Left: Lynn Hershman Leeson (American, born in 1941), Contact sheet from Forming a Sculpture Drama in Manhattan, 1974. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of Special Collections at Stanford University. Right: Bernice Bing in her North Beach Studio, c. 1958–1961. Photo: C.R. Snyder. Image courtesy of Special Collections at Stanford University. © The Beat Museum

Rowland K. Rebele Gallery (212)
Patricia S. Rebele Gallery (207)

 

The Cantor’s Archive Rooms—a new, pilot presentation at the museum—highlights the rich art historical resources available right here at Stanford. These small, single-gallery, single-artist installations feature engaging selections from the robust holdings of artist archives at Special Collections at Stanford Libraries and enhance our understanding of the artistic process. The inaugural Archive Rooms installations will feature Lynn Hershman Leeson and Bernice Bing, two individuals deeply influential in the history of art in the Bay Area, United States, and beyond.

 

 

a black and white photograph

Lynn Hershman Leeson (American, born in 1941), Wax masks and wig in Chelsea Hotel, 1974. Gelatin silver print. Courtesy of Special Collections at Stanford University.

 

 

Archive Room: Lynn Hershman Leeson

Patricia S. Rebele Gallery (207)

A San Francisco-based filmmaker and multimedia artist, Lynn Hershman Leeson is widely recognized for her prescient work in media-based practices and commentary on the relationship between people and technology. This single, small-gallery installation features a selection of videos, photographs, and ephemera related to select projects from the 1970s from the Lynn Hershman Leeson papers to consider the genesis of Hershman Leeson’s career-long exploration of ideas of personhood and identity, as well as her consistent challenge to rethink what and where art can be.

Stanford acquired Hershman Leeson’s archive (Special Collections, M1452) starting in 2004, with additional material arriving in subsequent years.

 


 

An image of an artwork in blue and black ink

Bernice Bing (American, 1936–1998), Panel #10 from unnamed Quantum series painting, undated. Acrylic on paper. Courtesy of Special Collections at Stanford University.

 

 

Archive Room: Bernice Bing

Rowland K. Rebele Gallery (212)

Bernice “Bingo” Bing was a queer Chinese American artist, community arts organizer, and arts administrator active in the Bay Area from the 1960s until her death in 1996. In the large-scale, gestural paintings that defined her oeuvre, Bing combined features of Bay Area Abstract Expressionism and traditional Chinese calligraphy and landscape painting, creating emotive works attuned to color and movement. This single, small-gallery installation highlights material from the Bernice Bing papers and is presented by the Cantor’s Asian American Art Initiative (AAAI). The installation features a selection of highlights from the archive from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, examining Bing’s use of art and writing as tools for self-exploration and discovery.

Stanford acquired Bing’s archive (Special Collections, M2651), in 2021.

 


 

Archive Room: Lynn Hershman Leeson is curated by Maggie Dethloff, Assistant Curator of Photography and New Media.
Archive Room: Bernice Bing is curated by Kathryn Cua, curatorial assistant for the Asian American Art Initiative.
We gratefully acknowledge support from The Hockwald Fund.

 

 


 

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