Janice Lowry papers, 1957-2009

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A Finding Aid to the Janice Lowry Papers, 1957-2009, in the Archives of American Art, by Erin Kinhart and Jessica Byler

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Table of Contents:

• Biographical Information
• Overview of the Collection
• How to Use the Collection
• Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Biographical Information

Janice Lowry (1946-2009) created paintings, collages, and assemblages in Arizona and California. She is best known for her boxes: homemade frames filled with found objects that often questioned and commented on life, death, journeys, and rites of passages.

Lowry was born in 1946 in Phoenix, Arizona. She started writing diaries when she was 11, and, with the exception of a decade, continued journaling until 2007. She married Jan Gilbert in 1965 and had two sons, Brandon and Kevin. During this period Lowry also set up a studio and started showing her artwork. In 1973, the family moved to California. Shortly after, she began her long battle with depression, and she divorced Jan in 1976.

Remaining in California, Lowry went to Art Center College of Design where she earned a BFA with honors in 1979 and a MFA in painting in 1980. She married Jon Gothold in 1983, and had another son, Brent. Her work sold well in the 1980's, but after her studio was destroyed in an earthquake in 1987, she took a break from making art.

Janice Lowry's first solo show was at Art Space in 1980, and the gallery continued to showcase and sell her work for many years. She taught at Art Center, Cypress College, and Oakridge Private School. Among other shows, she was part of an exhibition about 9/11 at Legacy Arts Gallery in 2001. In 2007, she was named the region's "Best Visual Artist" by the Orange County Weekly. After several health issues, Janice Lowry died of liver cancer in 2009.

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Overview of the Collection

Scope and Contents

The papers of collagist and painter Janice Lowry measure 15.1 linear feet and date from 1957 to 2009. Lowry's career as an artist in Arizona and California is documented through biographical material, printed material, and photographs. The bulk of the papers consist of six diaries; thirteen morning journals; 119 art journals which include both text and artwork in the form of sketches, paintings, and collages; notebooks, fourteen hand-made artist books, and six notebooks with sketches from Lowry's college days.

Biographical material includes artist statements, price lists, guest books, scattered correspondence, and exhibition, consignment, and sales records. Diaries and Morning Journals contain writings by Lowry. Six diaries document Lowry's childhood from the age of 11 to 16. Morning journals date from 1998 to 2008 and are almost entirely stream of consciousness text. In these journals Lowry records her daily life, thoughts, and dreams.

Janice Lowry kept art journals for most of her adult life, averaging about four per year. Some journals are mainly text, whereas others include very little writing. The journals are filled with sketches which depict vacation spots, objects around the house, studies for works, and people. Collages include photographs, ephemera such as ticket stubs and receipts, and other common household objects. Artist books were handmade by Lowry and include comic book stories about her family, collage booklets, and children's books. Six notebooks, which also contain sketches, are primarily from the period that Lowry was in school at Art Center College of Design.

Printed material includes newspaper clippings, magazines, press releases, posters, and gallery catalogs and guides. Also found in this collection are personal photographs of Janice Lowry as well as slides of her work.

Arrangement and Series Description

The collection is arranged as 6 series:

• Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1964-2009 (Box 1; 1.0 linear foot)
• Series 2: Diaries, 1957-1962 (Box 2; 6 folders)
• Series 3: Morning Journals, 1998-2008 (Box 2; 0.6 linear feet)
• Series 4: Art Journals, Artist Books, and Notebooks, circa 1973-2007 (Box 3-15, 17; 12.5 linear feet)
• Series 5: Printed Material, 1974-2009 (Box 15-16; 0.5 linear feet)
• Series 6: Photographs, 1965, circa 1980s-1990s (Box 16; 3 folders)

Subjects and Names

Provenance

The collection was donated in 2007 and 2009 by Janice Lowry.

How the Collection was Processed

The collection was fully processed by Jessica Byler in 2011. A finding aid was prepared by Erin Kinhart and Jessica Byler also in 2011.

How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Ownership & Literary Rights

The Janice Lowry papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

How to Cite this Collection

Janice Lowry papers, 1957-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1964-2009 (Box 1; 1.0 linear foot)

Biographical material includes numerous artist statements written by Lowry, four guest books from her exhibitions, price lists, art supply receipts, a passport, papers and drawings from her children and grandchildren, and various drafts of her proposal for a journaling book. Also included are one folder of correspondence primarily with art galleries and universities and letters to her first husband Jan Gilbert. Additional documentation on her professional activities includes scattered exhibition records, consignment and sales records, and mail order forms for her artwork. Also of note is an "Art Catalog" created by Lowry and containing photographs and statements on her artistic process.

The biographical material is sorted by type and subject, and arranged alphabetically.

Series 2: Diaries, 1957-1962 (Box 2; 6 folders)

Six diaries written by Janice Lowry as a child from the age of 11 to 16 include short, dated entries, mainly recording daily activities.

Diaries arranged chronologically.

Series 3: Morning Journals, 1998-2008 (Box 2; 0.6 linear feet)

Thirteen Morning Journals primarily record Lowry's thoughts, dreams, and life sporadically from 1998 to 2008. The journals are almost entirely written text in spiral notebooks filled with stream of consciousness writings. Some years she went through multiple journals, whereas other years she did not keep a journal in this style.

Morning journals were named and numbered by Janice Lowry in chronological order.

Series 4: Art Journals, Artist Books, and Notebooks, circa 1973-2007 (Box 3-15; 12.2 linear feet)

This series consists of Janice Lowry's artwork combined with her personal writings in three sets of "books" - art journals, artist books, and notebooks. Best classified as artwork, they contain drawings, collages, paintings, illustrations, prose, notes, and other text. The notebooks contain notes and sketches primarily from her art classes.

The series is arranged as 3 subseries:

• 4.1: Art Journals, circa 1973-2007
• 4.2: Artist Books, circa 1978-2007
• 4.3: Notebooks, 1976, 1979, 2004

Titles of each set of "books" are Janice Lowry's.

4.1: Art Journals, circa 1973-2007

Janice Lowry kept journals for most of her adult life, averaging about four per year. This series totals 119 journals from 1973 to 2007. The journals include both text and artwork in the form of sketches, paintings, and collages. The media she used in the journals included various colors of pen and pencil, watercolors, acrylic paint, crayon, marker, and ink stamps. Inside, she kept phone numbers, studies, plans, diagrams, and pockets of loose papers, letters, photographs, and objects.

Some journals are mainly text, occasionally written sideways, whereas others include very little writing. Topics of Lowry's writings include travel, thoughts, lists, dreams, finances, critiques, correspondence, timelines, and her relationship with her mother. She often included definitions, quotes, things she had recently learned, and notes for lesson plans. Inserted are many articles about crime, politics, and death, as well as newspaper adverts for art shows. Evident are both the Catholicism of her childhood and her later exploration of Buddhism. Many of the art journals reflect her depression wherein she wrote about her fears and worries.

The journals are filled with sketches that depict vacation spots, objects around the house, studies for works, and people. She glued in some of her children's artwork, and let them draw directly in her journals. Lowry also created storyboard journal entries, combining small, square sketches with commentary. Her sketches become more simplified and less realistic throughout the journals. However, her collages become more colorful and complex. Within the pages, Lowry kept small objects from her life. Some pages are collaged with ephemera such as ticket stubs, pictures, newspaper clippings, receipts, appointment cards, IDs, comics, cards, maps, and bills. Other objects and materials were used in the artwork, such as fabric, graph paper, sewing patterns, measuring tape, string, stickers, glitter, tape, stamps, and pieces cut out of a dictionary. She also included dried flowers, butterfly wings, leaves, and seeds.

Journals were named and numbered by Lowry and are arranged in chronological order.

4.2: Artist Books, circa 1978-2007

Janice Lowry wrote and illustrated these fourteen homemade books. These include comic book stories about her family, collage booklets, and children's books. Some are photocopied and bound. Both "The Cat and the Fiddle" and an untitled 1988 book combine the lyrics of a well-known song and photocopied and hand-colored magazine collages. A few are comic books about her life.

The artist books were named by Lowry and are arranged in chronological order.

4.3: Notebooks, 1976, 1979, 2004

The notebooks in this series are from the period that Janice Lowry was in school at Art Center College of Design, dating from 1976 to 1979, and a single notebook from 2004. Books contain notes from her classes and sketches. For the most part, the sketches are studies of objects. One notebook from 1976 contains sketches with notes of critique.

Series 5: Printed Material, 1974-2009 (Box 15-16; 0.5 linear feet)

Printed materials document Janice Lowry's career and include newspaper clippings, magazines, press releases, posters, and gallery catalogs and guides. The exhibition invitations are mainly postcards for her shows, ranging from 1979 to 2009, but also include announcements for other artists.

Series 6: Photographs, 1965, circa 1980s-1990s (Box 16; 3 folders)

Photographic material consists of both personal photographs of Janice Lowry as well as slides of her works. One folder contains photographs from her wedding to Jan Gilbert in 1965. Most of the photographs are neither labeled nor dated.