Skip to main content Skip to main navigation
NYU Libraries logo
Guide to the Laura Foreman Papers, 1949-2001 MSS.122

Laura Foreman Papers

Call Number

MSS.122

Dates

1949-2001, inclusive
; 1967-2001, bulk

Creator

Foreman, Laura

Extent

137.94 Linear Feet
in 122 records cartons, 9 manuscript boxes, 27 photo binders, 2 document cases, 5 oversize boxes, 1 folder in a shared oversized box, and a shared CD box

Extent

10 CDs

Extent

13 kilobytes
in 1 document

Language of Materials

Materials are written primarily in English.

Abstract

Laura Foreman was a dancer, choreographer, visual artist, writer and director of dance at New School University. She lived and worked in New York City from the mid-1960s until her death. Material in the Laura Foreman Papers related to Foreman's art includes project notes, sketches and drafts, photographic and audiovisual documentation, grant applications, props, art objects, and press clippings. Material related to Foreman's personal life includes correspondence, personal notes, journals, and appointment books. The collection also contains course planning materials and administrative files related to Foreman's career at the New School.

Biographical Note

Laura Foreman was a dancer, choreographer, visual artist, writer and director of dance at New School University. She lived and worked in New York City from the mid-1960s until her death.

Foreman worked primarily in dance for the first decade of her time in Manhattan, operating both the Laura Foreman Dance Company and Composers' and Choreographers' Theatre with her husband, John Watts. In the late 1970s she began working in more abstract performance and visual art. Perhaps her most well-known piece was 1981's "Wallwork," a collaboration with Watts which took the form of a rigorous advertising campaign for a nonexistent performance.

After Watts's death in 1982, Foreman's work shifted towards visual art and writing. She created an extensive sculpture series, "Birdhouse as Metaphor," which consisted of numerous functional and non-functional birdhouses and showed in 1990 at Souyun Yi Gallery. In 1997, Close Encounters, a volume of Foreman's short stories, was published by Outloud Books.
Foreman died of cancer in Manhattan in 2001.

Source:
Dunning, Jennifer. "Laura Foreman, 64, Director Of Dance at the New School." The New York Times, July 5, 2001.

Stage Works:
- Solo Suite (1967)
- A Time (1968)
- Perimeters (1969)
- Untitled (1970)
- Epicycles (1970)
- Signals (1970)
- glass and shadows (1971)
- Laura's Dance (1971)
- Songandance (1972)
- Margins (1972)
- Spaces (1972)
- Locrian (1973)
- Performance (1973)
- city of angels (1974)
- a deux (1974)
- Postludes (1974)
- Bud / Monopoly (1975)
- Program (1976)
- Heirlooms (1977)
- Entries (1978)

Artworks:
- TimeCoded Woman (1979-80)
- Coney Island Cray-Pas (1981)
- Philadelphia Story (1981)
- Poetry Peep Show (1981)
- Roomwork (1981)
- Wallwork (1981)
- Reclining Nudes (1982)
- Sweet Land of Liberty (1983)
- Word Painting / I have nothing to paint and I'm painting it (1983)
- Birdhouse as Metaphor (1989-93)
- Cry Uncle (1991)
- Window on the World (1995)
- Shacks of America (undated)

Written Works:
- A Message to Michael (1990)
- Close Encounters (1997)

Arrangement

Materials are arranged almost entirely as they were received. The collection was processed at the box level; a description of contents is given for each box. These descriptions are in no way comprehensive. See the Arrangement Notes for each series for more specific details. Loose items and those in need of special preservation attention were appropriately housed, and all efforts were made to preserve the collection's original arrangement. In October 2026, the accretion was processed and loosely arranged chronologically at the end of Series I.

  1. Series I: Files
  2. Series II: Notebooks, Address Books and Date Books
  3. Series III: Correspondence
  4. Series IV: Photographic Material
  5. Series V: Artworks, Sketches and Posters
  6. Series VI: Video recordings
  7. Series VII: Films
  8. Series VIII: Sound recordings
  9. Series IX: Objects
  10. Oversize Series I: Files
  11. Oversize Series IV: Photographic Material
  12. Oversize Series V: Artworks, Sketches and Posters

Scope and Contents

The Laura Foreman Papers contain materials pertaining to Foreman's life as a dancer, choreographer, visual and performance artist, as well as her personal life and career as Director of the Dance Department at the New School. Material related to Foreman's works includes project notes, sketches and drafts, photographic and audiovisual documentation, grant applications, props, art objects, and press clippings. Material related to Foreman's personal life includes correspondence, personal notes, journals, and appointment books. The collection also contains course planning materials and administrative files related to Foreman's career at the New School. Items in the collection date as far back as 1949, but the bulk of the collection covers a range from 1967 until Foreman's death in 2001.

The collection is divided into nine series:

SERIES I: Files contains documents and items related to Foreman's personal life, artistic career, and teaching career, including project drafts, personal notes, source material and press clippings.

SERIES II: Notebooks, Address Books and Date Books contains bound notebooks relating to Foreman's personal and artistic life, as well as originally collocated notecards.

SERIES III: Correspondence contains correspondence, primarily addressed to Foreman and dealing mostly with her personal life. A small portion of the correspondence pertains to her professional and artistic life.

SERIES IV: Photographic Material contains photographic prints, color slides, contact sheets and negatives pertaining both to Foreman's personal life and to her work as a choreographer and visual artist.

SERIES V: Artworks, Sketches and Posters contains primarily visual material produced by Foreman, including sketches, drafts, and posters from her own as well as others' performances and exhibitions.

SERIES VI: Video recordings contains Foreman's collection of video documentation of her dance performances and other artworks and exhibitions.

SERIES VII: Films contains a small amount of moving image documentation captured on film instead of video.

SERIES VIII: Sound recordings contains audio recordings.

SERIES IX: Objects contains various items once owned by Foreman or employed in her artworks, including props from dance performances.

OVERSIZE SERIES includes materials too large to be stored in a records carton or photo binder.
Series I: Files
Series IV: Photographic Material
Series V: Artworks, Sketches and Posters

Subjects

Genres

People

Topics

Places

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Laura Foreman Papers; MSS 122; box number; folder number or item identifier; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please request materials at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was donated by Laura Foreman in 1999; the accession number associated with this gift is 2000.122. The accretion was donated in 2005, provenance unknown; the accession number associated with this gift is 2005.122.

Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures

Some audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact NYU Special Collections (special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596) with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.

Born-Digital Access Policies and Procedures

Advance notice is required for the use of computer records. Original physical digital media is restricted. An access terminal for born-digital materials in the collection is available by appointment for reading room viewing and listening only. Researchers may view an item's original container and/or carrier, but the physical carriers themselves are not available for use because of preservation concerns.

Separated Materials

The following materials have been removed to Fales Downtown Collection, Fales Special Collections and Fales American Collection:

Art now 74: a celebration of the American arts. Washington, D.C.: Artrend Foundation, 1974.
The comics journal. Vol. 111. Bethel, CT: Comics Journal, 1986.
Downtown. No. 40. New York, N.Y.: Arts Weekly, 1987.
Foreman, Laura. Close encounters: a book of short stories. Claryville, N.Y.: Outloud Books, 1997.
Fujimura, Makoto. Makoto Fujimura: works '90-'92. Tokyo: Tamaya Gallery, 1992.
Fujimura, Makoto, and International Arts Movement. Wouldest thou love.... New York, N.Y.: International Arts Movement, c1991.

Related Materials

John Watts Papers (MSS.093)

Robert Alexander Papers (MSS.114)

Collection processed by

Nicholas Martin, 2010.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-11-03 18:10:58 UTC.
Language: Description written in English

Processing Information

In February 2019, materials in boxes 164 and 165 were rehoused.

In March 2025, container instances for access copies were updated in the inventory. In October 2026, the accretion was processed; materials were rehoused into 9 manuscript boxes and 1 folder in a shared oversized box. Materials from the accretion are now located in boxes 163-165, 169-174, and Shared Fales Box 164. All materials were added to the end of Series I. Six floppy disks were forensically imaged, analyzed, and arranged in Forensic Toolkit. New York University Libraries follow professional standards and best practices when imaging, ingesting, and processing born-digital material in order to maintain the integrity of the content.

Revisions to this Guide

March 2017: Updated by Jacqueline Rider to reflect incorporation of video preservation master and sub-master files.
March 2025: Edited by Emily Teller to update container instances for access copies
October 2026: Updated by Lauren Stark to reflect processing of accretion

Repository

Fales Library and Special Collections
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012
https://library.nyu.edu/locations/special-collections-center/