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Archival description
Murray Favro fonds
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Murray Favro fonds

  • LA.SC158
  • Fonds
  • [195-]-[200-]

Fonds consists of the personal and professional records of Murray Favro, documenting his life and activities as a multimedia artist and musician, as well as his personal interests and pursuits. It includes such textual records as notebooks, correspondence, contracts, grant applications, newspaper clippings, meeting notes, invitations, and records from Favro’s involvement with the 2020 Gallery and Forest City Gallery. Also included are records relating to exhibitions of Favro’s work, including two major retrospectives in 1983 and 1998. Throughout the fonds there are extensive notes and writings by Favro including installation instructions, project notes and ideas, drafts of documents and correspondence, and journal writings recording the artist’s thoughts on a wide range of topics. There are also textual records that were likely used for research and reference in Favro’s work, such as articles, photocopied pages from textbooks, catalogues, and other printed materials, often relating to technology and technical equipment such as projectors, computers, film and photography. Visual materials in the fonds include a watercolour painting, posters, photographs, drawings, and rough sketches and diagrams. Personal records include materials such as membership cards, schedules, and records from Favro’s interests and activities, such as flying lessons and motorcycles. Materials capturing his activities as a musician with the Nihilist Spasm Band include promotional posters and flyers, itineraries, set lists, expense lists for tours and performances, and other textual records. The fonds also includes one optical disc with samples from Favro’s digital projects.

The fonds has been arranged into a single series comprised of 64 files. The materials within each file may span a range of years and reflect a variety of activities. Details about the contents of each file can be found in the scope and content notes.

Favro, Murray

Earth Physics Branch photographs and correspondence

File consists textual records and graphic material, comprised mainly of correspondence and photographs. Includes a 1977 letter from Carmen Lamana, a printout of a 1996 email from Yoshiyuki Hiroshige with Alchemy Records, a 1998 letter from Matthew Teitelaum with the AGO, and a 2003 letter from Gallery Stratford. Also included are 8 B&W photographs from 1972-73 from the Department of Energy Mines, and Resources - Earth Physics Branch. Lastly, there is a page of installation instructions for “Van Gogh’s Room.”

Computer Samples

File consists of 1 CD titled "Computer Samples." On the cover is a digital rendering of a red train. Included are approximately 175 of electronic files relating to Favro's projects, including "Big Train," “Porch,” and "Arow[sic]." Includes images, text files, records relating to “Netscape,” and records relating to a possible movie project. Also contains a 16-bit version and a 32-bit version of “PKZIP for Windows,” a file archiving computer program.

Personal and professional invitations and other materials

File consists of textual records and graphic material, spanning from approximately 1963 to 2002. Included is an invitation to Favro and Judith Mae Byron’s wedding from 1968, a brochure for the Cape Spear National Historical Site, 2 copies of an invitation to the opening of "Murray Favro: A Retrospective" at the National Gallery of Canada from 1984, an invitation to the Members' Preview of "Murray Favro: A Retrospective" at the Art Gallery of Ontario, an invitation to "Murray Favro: Air Show" at the Carmen Lamanna Gallery, an invitation from the Canadian Ambassador in France, 9 postcards, a 1963 Vehicle/ Equipment Daily Work Ticket, a sketch on an aircraft, a small black notebook with notes and calculations from 1971, a program for “Kinotek” at the London Public Library and Art Museum, an invitation to a joint Murray Favro and Ron Martin exhibit at the McIntosh Gallery, a 1998 receipt for a delivery from the London Regional Art Gallery, a page of California Legislature from 1970, a number of pages of professional correspondence, a receipt from Fanshawe College, London, an advertisement and promotional booklet for the 2002 exhibit “Construction Compulsion” at Oakville Galleries, a Royal Canadian Academy of Arts bulletin from 1999, a photograph (possibly of an installation piece), and a number of pages of hand-drawn circuitry diagrams and other notes and sketches.

Film and photography information and reference material

File consists textual records mainly relating to film and photography. The contents of the file are wrapped in a Film House informational booklet cover, which Favro has handwritten notes on. The file includes approximately 10 sheets listing film, print, and equipment prices at Film House, Toronto, 2 photocopies of pages of camera film prices, a 2000-2001 Program from a Panamarenko installation at the Dia Center for the Arts, New York, a 1973 letter to Favro from DSC Limited regarding slides storage, 12 sheets of 1973 Film House price lists, and a 2002 flyer from Oakville Galleries for the exhibition “Construction Compulsion: Reconfiguring the Permanent Collection” featuring an image of Favro's work "Railway Tracks, 1996-96."

Nihilist Spasm Band 1996 Japan itinerary and expenses and other materials

File consists of textual records largely relating to the Nihilist Spasm Band's 1996 Japanese tour (originally scheduled for 1995). Includes an itinerary, related correspondence, a 1994 Alchemy Records Catalog, and a list of expenses and revenues for the Nihilist Spasm Band. Also included is a blank grant application to the Ontario Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation and a checklist for an "Arts Abroad Programme" grant application. There are also 2 copies of a 2002 advertisement and booklet for “Construction Compulsion” at Oakville Galleries and a number of pages relating to the Forest City Gallery, including a “Structure and Objectives” document and a 1994 general ledger. Lastly, there are also 2 pages of hand-drawn sketches of an unidentified object and a circuitry diagram.

Installation instructions, Nihilist Spasm Band materials and other materials

File consists of textual records and graphic material relating to Favro's professional work and projects. Included are approximately 20 pages of professional correspondence, largely from the Carmen Lamanna Gallery, but also includes a 1995 letter in French from Patrice Carre and printed emails from 2001. Also included is an invitation from the 2020 Gallery, a Pit Crew pass for the Deutscher Automobil Club for a 1967 race, two postcards, a Notification of Award for a Canada Council Bursary from 1970, 3 pages of song lists for Nihilist Spasm Band from 1998, approximately 16 pages of notes and sketches relating to installation instructions for at least 5 different works including Hydro Pole (1995-96), Washing Machine (1970), Still Life (The Table) (1970), Van Gogh's Room (1973-74), and Studio Window (1989), and a B&W photo of the Nihilist Spasm Band printed on a poster for "Construction Limited London."

Video Ring and Projekt '74 materials and other materials

File consists of textual records relating to a variety of Favro's work and interests between the 1960s and early 2000s. There are approximately 8 pages of correspondence from between 1973 and 2001, including a letter requesting permission to include Favro's work in a children's book titled "A First Book of Canadian Art." Also included are 2 pamphlets from the 2020 Gallery in London, ON, a 1967 letter and Bulletin from the Nortown Motorcycle Club, an installation sketch for "Synthetic Lake," handwritten notes and drafts, a newspaper article clipping titled "Unreasonable demands of artists criticized," a notice for a Community Computing meeting, an page of information regarding an Arts Bursary from the Canada Council, a list of contacts and equipment requests for the Ontario Arts Council regarding "Video Ring," notes from a 1971 Canadian Artists’ Representation (C.A.R.) meeting, typewritten notes on “Projekt ’74,” an announcement for “Slides Eye View – London,” and an empty envelope from Queen’s University Art Centre.

Test Instruments - Building Oscilliscope AND - Notes on Scope Tube uses etc.

File consists of approximately 48 undated loose pages of textual materials, with "Test Instruments - Building an Oscilliscope [Oscilloscope?] AND Notes on Scope Tube uses etc." written on the front page. Circuit diagrams and handwritten notes make up the majority of the contents, with a few pages of photocopied textbook materials and some typed pages on mechanology. Also included are some handwritten notes regarding "Tatlin's Ornithopter."

Aircraft sketches, handwritten notes and other materials

File consists of largely undated textual and graphic materials, mainly comprised of Favro's handwritten notes and sketches. A number of sketches depict or are related to aircrafts and jets, and others relate to undefined projects and ideas. A number of handwritten notes are included, which relate to potential and existing projects, Favro's thoughts on different topics, and drafts of correspondence. Also included is a 1971 letter to Favro from Dennis Young at the AGO, a map of the Paris Metro system, and a 1970 catalogue for the 2020 Gallery.

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