Franklin Furnace Ephemera Collection, Compiled by Matthew Hogan
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Abstract
Since its inception in 1976, Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc. has been devoted to documenting and preserving ephemeral art forms. The Franklin Furnace Ephemera Collection contains invitations, flyers, postcards, and advertisements collected by Franklin Furnace. The collection is international in scope, comprising materials in numerous languages related to art events in numerous countries. Materials date from 1970 to 2014.
Historical Note
Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc.> is an organization whose mission is to present, preserve, interpret, proselytize and advocate on behalf of avant-garde art, especially forms that may be vulnerable due to institutional neglect, their ephemeral nature, or politically unpopular content. The Archive was founded by Martha Wilson in New York City in 1976; since then, Franklin Furnace has been one of the strongest driving forces behind the documentation and preservation of ephemeral and avant-garde art forms.
Arrangement
Materials in the Franklin Furnace Ephemera Collection are arranged alphabetically by venue. Fales archivists have operated under a processing scheme which retains a broad definition of the term "venue," used to refer to the entity that is primarily responsible for a given event or work. In this way not only are museums, galleries, nightclubs and performance spaces classified as venues, but collectives, institutions and individual artists as well. For each box, the alphabet range and a short list of any notable venues are given in the finding aid; the full list of venues is available, please contact Fales Library staff (fales.library@nyu.edu) to see the list.
Note on alphabetization: In instances where a proper name is the first part of a corporate name, the venue has been arranged based on the first letter of the first name (e.g. "Leo Castelli Gallery" has been placed under "L" for Leo). Wherever an individual has been identified as a venue, the first letter of the last name takes priority (e.g. "Tehching Hsieh" has been placed under "H" for Hsieh).
Materials added to the collection in 2018 and 2020 do not follow the original arrangement scheme. Materials that were pre-sorted by venue name are listed as "Unarranged" after the alphabetical list of venues. Materials that were not pre-sorted have been listed at the end as "Unalphabetized". These materials have not been arranged by an archivist, and are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor.
Scope and Contents
The Franklin Furnace Ephemera Collection contains fliers, invitations, promotional objects and other printed ephemera related to events hosted at more than 9000 international venues. The contents of the collection are the result of a massive collection process undertaken by Matthew Hogan, a Franklin Furnace archivist. The venues documented in the collection span the globe, with particular strengths in New York and California. Materials are in several languages, including English, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian and French. Specific strengths include performance spaces like Highways Performance Space and St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, as well as nightclubs such as the Limelight, Tunnel and Palladium. Materials date from 1970 to 2014.
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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 (if known); The Franklin Furnace Ephemera Collection, Compiled by Matthew Hogan; MSS 206; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by the Franklin Furnace Archive, 2007. The accession number associated with this gift is 2007.206. Additional donations were made in 2009-2020. The accession numbers associated with these gifts are 2009.2067, 2011.206, 2013.206, 2014.206, and 2020.009.
About this Guide
Processing Information
In 2018, 4 record cartons of materials from accretions 2009.206, 2013.206, and 2014.206 were processed and incorporated into the collection. Materials were housed in archival folders and boxes. In 2020, an accretion of 5 boxes was rehoused in archival boxes and folders, and incorporated into the collection as Boxes 103-107.
