Fonds LA.SC123 - Barbara Astman fonds

Identity area

Reference code

LA.SC123

Title

Barbara Astman fonds

Date(s)

  • 1951–2021 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

7.5 m of textual records and other material
ca. 22,970 photographs
8 videocassettes
1 audio cassette
8 optical discs
1 USB drive
1 floppy disc

Note: Other material includes a diverse range of graphic material and objects relating to Astman’s artistic projects. Because of the nature of the artist’s experimental and pioneering practice, this fonds contains a wide variety of materials used by the artist. Further detail about the physical extent of this fonds can be found in the Series- and File-level extent and scope and content notes.

Context area

Name of creator

(1950-)

Biographical history

Barbara Astman (1950- ) is a Toronto-based artist who has worked in a wide range of photographic and mixed-media formats. Born in Rochester (NY), Astman was educated at the Rochester Institute of Technology School for American Craftsmen and, after moving to Toronto in 1970, the Ontario College of Art. She was a pioneer in the field of colour xerography, and her practice has included a mix of camera art, new media, sculpture and light projection installations. Thematically, her work has explored issues of identity, history, memory, systems of representation and gender perspectives, often involving her own body as a subject. She has executed a number of public art commissions for clients including the Calgary Winter Olympics, the City of Ottawa (St. Laurent Complex Recreation Project), Hayter Street Developments (Bay/Hayter Condominiums, Toronto) and Cadillac Fairview Corporation (Simcoe Place, Toronto). Astman is now a professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, where she has been teaching since the mid-1970s. She is represented by the Corkin Gallery. Her work is found in prominent public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, The Art Gallery of Ontario, The Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris, France), and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Archival history

The materials now constituting the Barbara Astman fonds were transferred by the artist to the AGO in 2009.

A second accrual of material was transferred by the artist to the AGO in 2018. This material comprised accruals to Series 1 to 6, 8 to 10, and established Series 11 to 16.

A third accrual of material was transferred by the artist in 2023. This material comprised an accrual to Series 5: Teaching related records

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

AGO credit line: Gift of Barbara Astman, 2012-2023

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Fonds consists of records of the artistic and academic career of Barbara Astman, chiefly in Toronto from the 1960s to the second decade of the 21st century, including photographs of her projects and exhibitions, correspondence and textual documentation of projects, personal and other photos and journals, and some audiovisual materials.

Contains series:

  1. Photographic documentation of art works
  2. Project records
  3. Portrait photographs
  4. Installation photographs of gallery exhibitions
  5. Teaching-related records
  6. Publicity material
  7. Audio and video recordings
  8. Journals
  9. Address books and notebooks
  10. Experimental work
  11. Process and preparatory material
  12. Art supplies, ephemera and found objects
  13. Personal correspondence
  14. Works by other artists
  15. Juvenilia
  16. Financial records

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

Further accruals are expected.

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Certain files in the accrual to Series 2 (Project and Exhibition Records), Series 13 (Personal Correspondence), and Series 16 (Financial Records) are restricted. See series-level descriptions for details.

Access to Special Collections is by appointment only. Please contact the reference desk for more information.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright is held by the creator or her heirs. Copyright belonging to other parties, such as that of photographs, may still rest with the creator of these items. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the fonds/collection.

Language of material

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Art Gallery of Ontario

Rules and/or conventions used

Rules for Archival Description

Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

Archivist's note

Originally prepared by Amy Marshall Furness, 2010-2011. Revised by Eva Lu, 2017; re-revised and completed by Hannah Johnston, 2018.
Uploaded and adapted by Nirvana Chainani, 2019.
Updated by Camille McDayter, 2024.

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

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