Patty Mucha Papers
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Abstract
Patty Mucha (Patricia Muschinski) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 26, 1935. She and Claes Oldenburg were married in 1960 and divorced in 1970. Mucha appeared in Oldenburg films made by Rudy Wurlitzer and Robert Breer, as well as in films by Jean Dupuy, Rudy Burckhardt, Andy Warhol and Red Grooms. She also participated in the Happenings of Jim Dine, Robert Whitman, Dick Higgins, Alex Hay, Steve Paxton, Simone Forti, and Sally Gross. The Patty Mucha Papers include artwork, correspondence, ephemera, and manuscripts from artists, poets, dancers, and performers active in the New York City art world during the Pop Art, Happenings, E.A.T., Yippies, and Punk Movements in the 1960s and 1970s.
Biographical Note
Patty Mucha (Patricia Muschinski) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 26, 1935. She attended Wisconsin State Teachers College in Milwaukee (now the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee), where she majored in art. Patty first saw Claes Oldenburg while she was at the Oxbow Summer School of Painting and later went to visit him in his Chicago studio. In 1957, she moved to New York to become an artist and met Oldenburg by accident after being there for two months. At the time he was painting portraits, and Mucha became one of his nude models. The last painting that Oldenburg claims to have painted is of Mucha and is titled "Girl with Fur Piece, Portrait of Pat." She and Oldenburg were married in 1960 and divorced in 1970.
Patty Mucha was not only Oldenburg's muse for his main performance ensemble but collaborator for all of his early sewn sculptures. Her contribution to the invention of soft sculpture was the result of the immediate demand for Oldenburg's first exhibition at the Green Gallery in 1962. She appeared in his Ray Gun Theater, which they produced in 1962, and collaborated in sewing costumes and constructing objects and sets for his Happenings and installations. She appeared in Oldenburg films made by Rudy Wurlitzer and Robert Breer as well as in films by Jean Dupuy, Rudy Burckhardt, Andy Warhol and Red Grooms. She also participated in the Happenings of Jim Dine, Robert Whitman, Dick Higgins, Alex Hay, Steve Paxton, Simone Forti, and Sally Gross.
Patty Mucha farms, writes and paints near St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Her essential role in the Pop Art and Happenings scenes is revealed in her as-yet-unpublished memoir, Clean Slate: My Life in the 1960's New York Art World, which in 2022, the title was changed to Threads. Portions of the book have appeared in Art in America as well as in the catalog "Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958–1968." Her poetry books include Poems Traveling, 1971-1973 (Panorama, 1973) and See Vermont: Poems, 1974-1978 (Poets Mimeo Cooperative, 1979).
Biographical information provided by Granary Books with (granarybooks.com) adaptations from Billy Klüver and Julie Martin's entry on Patty Mucha in Jill Berk Jiminez's edition of Dictionary of Artists' Models (Routledge, 2001).
Arrangement
This material was arranged by Mucha and her original order has been retained.
Series I: Journals include Mucha's personal writing, which is organized chronologically.
Series II: Manuscripts include Mucha's professional writing, which is organized alphabetically by project title.
Series III: Subject Files contains artwork, clippings, collectibles, commercial audiovisual media, correspondence, and photography documenting the life and work of other artists, and is organized alphabetically by artist's name or subject.
Series IV: Media contains 16mm and Super 8mm footage, one complete film, related out-takes and soundtrack material, and assorted home movies. Material is organized by content and retains donor's original order at the box level.
Series V: Photographs contains prints, contact sheets, and negatives. Material is organized by subject and type.
Series VI: 2017 Accretion contains additional materials donated in 2017. These materials have not been arranged by an archivist.
Series VII: 2023 Accretion contains additional materials donated in 2023. These materials have not been arranged by an archivist.
Scope and Contents
The Patty Mucha Papers include artwork, correspondence, ephemera, and manuscripts from artists, poets, dancers, and performers active in the New York City art world during the Pop Art, Happenings, E.A.T., Yippies, and Punk Movements in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition, this collection contains Mucha's poetry and communication with artists including Olga Adorno, David Bradshaw, Joe Brainard, Gregory Corso, Jean Dupuy, Bob Dylan, Kenward Elmslie, Deborah Hay, Richard Hell, Jasper Johns, Ray Johnson, Ruth Kligman, Billy Klüver, Frosty Myers, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Clarice Rivers, Larry Rivers, Lucas Samaras, Carolee Schneemann and Andy Warhol.
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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; Patty Mucha Papers; MSS 342; box number; folder number or item identifier; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Patty Mucha Papers were acquired from a dealer in 2012. Accretions to the collection were donated by Mucha in January of 2017 and August 2022; the accession number associated with these addition are 2017.016 and 2023.017.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Access to some audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact special.collections@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions concerning the arrangement, description, and physical interventions taken on this collection prior to 2017 have not yet been recorded. In 2017 and 2023 accretions were incorporated into the collection as separate series in accordance with the collection's existing arrangement structure. These materials were rehoused in archival housing and described on the series-level.
