Matt Mullican papers, circa 1968-2017

Biographical material dates from 1968-2002 and includes addresses and address books; course materials from CalArts; family papers including a few letters, photographs of Luchita Hurtado Mullican's paintings, a script by John Mullican, loan agreements, and printed material; a high school notebook; identification cards; interview correspondence and transcripts; two books of phone messages; a resume; travel agenda; and a few writings by Mullican about his work, some of which are photocopies.

The small amount of correspondence found here dates from 1986-2000s and is both personal and professional. Items include letters, cards, postcards, emails, and faxes from friends, artists, colleagues, and fans of Mullican's work. Notable correspondents include artist Lawrence Weiner and museum director Kasper König. Additional professional correspondence is located in the Gallery and Exhibition Files, as well as the Project and Commission Files.

Over 100 notebooks document nearly five decades of Mullican's work process, dating from circa 1968-2017. Central to Mullican's practice from the time he was a student up until the present, the notebooks richly illustrate both his material and conceptual exploration. The term 'notebook' is used here to encompass the breadth of content collected in the books, including drawings and sketches, conceptual frameworks, notes, lists, calendars, travel logistics, as well as diary entries. In most cases, Mullican created titles for the notebooks in retrospect. Early subjects tackled as a high school student (including comics, superheroes, and cars) evolve during his time at CalArts and beyond to form the basis of his text-based, conceptual, performance works. The 1970s notebooks demonstrate the development of Mullican's cosmology, the stick figure 'Glen,' and his alter ego 'That Person.' Notebooks from the 1980s-2000s contain plans for public artworks, commissions, exhibition installations, and books. Mullican experimented with a variety of media and techniques throughout the notebooks including pencil, pen, marker, crayon, acetone transfer, and collage. Mullican has identified a few of the notebooks as single works of art, including artist books and altered books. Also arranged here are a diary from 1975 and an undated collection of watercolor studies.

This series has been digitized.

Gallery and exhibition files date from 1985-2000s and encompass a wide variety of material documenting Mullican's extensive solo and group exhibition history throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Items include correspondence, sketches, notes, source material, checklists, shipping receipts, sales records, floorplans, installation photographs, catalog essays, reproduction requests, travel logistics, schedules, and printed material including announcements, catalogs, and press clippings. A bulk of the correspondence was conducted through faxes, and is with Mullican's studio, curators, gallerists, institutions, and art consulting agencies. A few digital files in the Mai 36 Galerie folder contain a digital image and two animations featured in an exhibition. File titles include exhibition titles and dates when known.

Project and commission files date from the 1980s-2000s and contain documentation of international public and corporate commissions, academic engagements, performances, publishing projects, print editions, illustrations, grants, residencies, and other project based artwork. Public and corporate commissions include artworks and installations for banks, airports, office complexes, university buildings, public transit stations, and other spaces. Documentation is particularly extensive for the commissions at Flushing Meadows, Corona Park; the Los Angeles Convention Center; and the Lyon Parc Auto. Types of materials found in the files include correspondence, sketches, mock-ups, notes, research, source material, proposals, contracts, invoices, maps, installation slides and photographs, travel and installation logistics, schedules, insurance documents, and printed material including corporate reports and brochures. A large sequence of assorted project and commission files toward the end of the series are unorganized and unsorted. Included here are many working drawings provided to fabricators working in stone and glass. Digital media items with unidentified contents occupy the last folder in the series.

Personal business records date from 1978-2000s and relate to bookkeeping and sales, donations, inventories, publication, copyright, supplies, invoicing, recommendations, residences, storage of works, and studio administration. Files relating to Mullican's residences and properties contain leases, financial reports, management reports, cooperative meeting minutes, by-laws, and documentation pertaining to constructions, repairs, and legal issues. Studio records relate to the operation of Mullican's studio and management of his projects. Items found here include correspondence between Mullican and his studio assistants, project schedules, notes, and calendars.

Printed material dates from 1971-2000s and includes announcements, posters, articles, reviews, exhibition catalogs, and periodicals related to Mullican's career. Research and source material provides insight into his artistic process and inspiration, and includes comics, photocopies from encyclopedias and text books, and other photocopied sources relating to urban planning, history, graphics, and textiles. A few other printed items include press releases, programs, and guides.

One folder of photographs dates from the 1980s-1990s. Subjects include Mullican, his family, and installations of his work at various venues and exhibitions.