Hunter Reynolds Papers and Collection
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Abstract
The Hunter Reynolds Papers and Collection comprise consists of source material, photographs, videotapes, sketches, press, and correspondence created and received by visual and performance artist and AIDS activist Hunter Reynolds. The processed portion of the collection is material related to Reynolds' Memorial Dress Project, which commemorates individual victims of the AIDS pandemic.
Biographical Note
Hunter Reynolds is a visual and performance artist and AIDS activist. An early member of ACT UP, in 1989 Reynolds co-founded Art Positive, an affinity group of ACT-UP to fight homophobia and censorship in the arts. Reynolds' performance, photography, and installations address his experience as an HIV-positive gay man living in the age of AIDS; the work speaks to issues of gender identity, political, social, and sexual histories, mourning and loss, survival, hope and healing. Among his projects are Patina du Prey's Memorial Dress, The Drag Pose Series, Blood Spot Series and Mummification Series. He has collaborated on major performance projects including The Banquet with Chrysanne Stathacos and I-Dea The Goddess with Maxine Heneryson.
Source: Visual AIDS (https://www.visualaids.org/artists/detail/hunter-reynolds)
Arrangement
The Hunter Reynolds Papers and Collection are subdivided into series organized by project and media-type.
The Memorial Dress and Book project (Series I, Subseries A and B) collects the material related to Reynolds' Memorial Dress project; it is arranged in alphabetical order between 4 boxes of printed material, 3 objects, and 1 oversized container. Series II includes the test fabrics for the Memorial Dress and the Memorial Dress. Oversize Series I includes two poster tubes containing the Memorial Dress plastic name templates.
Scope and Content
The Hunter Reynolds Papers and Collection consists of source material, photographs, videotapes, sketches, artworks, press, and correspondence created and received by artist and AIDS activist Hunter Reynolds. The processed portion of the collection is material related to Reynolds' Memorial Dress Project, which commemorates individual victims of the AIDS pandemic.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Series I and associated objects in Series II are open to researchers. The rest of the collection is unprocessed. Appointments are necessary for the use of manuscript and archival collections.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); Hunter Reynolds Papers and Collection; MSS 319; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.
Provenance
The collection was acquired by NYU's Fales Library & Special Collections from Hunter Reynolds in June 2011.
Appraisal
In May 2019, 29 boxes of unprocessed material, containing mostly clothing, were returned to Hunter Reynolds.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The bulk of this collection remains unprocessed and is not represented in this finding aid.
In May 2022, contract archivists working to stabilize the collection to move offsite cleaned materials in boxes 36 and 41, part of "My 911." During cleaning, a flashlight with corroded batteries was identified and discarded through hazardous waste disposal.
