Robert Delford Brown papers, 1964-2009
Object Details
- Place of publication, production, or execution
- United States
- Physical Description
- 3.9 Linear feet; 7.98 Gigabytes
- Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as 8 series: Series 1: Biographical Material, 1992-2009 (Box 1, 5; 0.7 linear feet, ER01; 2.23 GB) Series 2: Correspondence, 1970-2009 (Box 1; 4 folders) Series 3: First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. Records, 1968-2000s (Box 1, 4, 5; 0.7 linear feet) Series 4: Printed Material, 1964-2008 (Box 1-2; 0.4 linear feet) Series 5: Photographic Material, 1965-2009 (Box 2-3; 1.1 linear feet, ER02; 0.785 GB) Series 6: Video Recordings of Performance Art, 1994-2005 (Box 3; 0.4 linear feet, ER03-ER05; 4.96 GB) Series 7: Scrapbook, 1964-1974 (Box 5; 4 folders) Series 8: Artwork, circa 1965-2008 (Oversize 6-7)
- Access Note / Rights
- Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
- Summary
- The papers of painter, sculptor, and performance artist Robert Delford Brown measure 3.9 linear feet and 7.98 GB and date from 1964-2009. The papers document his career as an artist and in particular the arts space "church" he founded in New York City, known as The First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, church records, printed and digital material, photographic material, and video records of performance art. Brown's early career is documented in one scrapbook containing photographs, notes, press materials, and select artwork and documentation of ephemeral and performance artworks.
- Citation
- Robert Delford Brown papers, 1964-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Use Note
- The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
- Biography Note
- Robert Delford Brown (1930-2009) was a painter, sculptor, and performance artist practicing in New York City, N.Y. Brown was a participant in many art happenings in New York during the 1960s and frequently performed in the persona of a religious leader and founder of his own religion and church, The First National Church of the Exquisite Panic, Inc. which functioned as a community arts space.
- Brown was born in Portland, Colorado. His family later moved to Long Beach, California, and he recived bachelor's and master's degrees at University of California, Los Angeles. He began his career as a Surrealist and Abstract Expressionist painter, and in 1959 moved to New York City. In 1963 he married Rhett Cone. While visiting Paris he met the artist Allan Kaprow who encouraged him to participate in a 1964 performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Originale." This performance served as the inspiration for founding The First National Church of Exquisite Panic, Inc. That same year Brown also gained media attention for his "Meat Show," an installation of raw meat which he created in a refrigerated room at the Washington Meat Market in New York City.
- In 1967 Brown selected a former New York City branch library as a home for his church and hired Modernist architect Paul Rudolph to redesign the interior. He called the space "The Great Building Crack-Up" and lived there until 1997, hosting art exhibitions, happenings, and preaching his philosophy known as Pharblongence. During Brown's later career he organized many participatory art events, such as "Collaborative Action Gluings." He moved to Houston, Texas in 1997 and later moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, in preparation for a solo exhibition at the Cameron Art Museum in 2008. Robert Delford Brown died in 2009.
- Language Note
- English .
- Provenance
- Donated in 2010 and 2018 by Lynda Roscoe Hartigan who purchased the collection at auction.
- Location Note
- Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
- Data Source
- Archives of American Art
- Record number
- (DSI-AAA_CollID)15978
- (DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)305121
- AAA_collcode_browrober
- Creator
- Brown, Robert Delford, 1930-2009
- Subject
- Oldenburg, Claes
- Amaya, Mario
- Type
- VHS (videotape format)
- Diaries
- Transcripts
- Interviews
- Video recordings
- Scrapbooks
- Photographs
- Theme
- Lives of artists
- Topic
- Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
- Performance artists -- New York (State) -- New York
- Theme
- Lives of artists
- Record ID
- AAADCD_coll_305121
