Mattress Factory Archive Storage Project

FAIN: PG-51338-11

Mattress Factory Ltd. (Pittsburgh, PA 15212-4444)
Michael Olijnyk (Project Director: May 2010 to September 2012)

The purchase of storage furniture and supplies to rehouse three-dimensional objects and audio-visual materials from an archival collection documenting avant-garde art from 1977 to the present. Recommended by a NEH-funded preservation assessment in 2006, the storage supplies would better preserve and make accessible the remnants and recordings of installation, performance, and video art for historical research.

The Mattress Factory museum of contemporary art houses archival materials that document the major artists and development of new art genres of the last 35 years, including installation, performance and video art. The museum's collection of photographic, electronic, paper-based, and installation remnants are a rich record of the important artistic activity that took place in the United States in the past 35 years, including the work of more than 450 artists. Primary source materials document the work of major artists of these genres, including John Cage, James Turrell, Ann Hamilton, and Yayoi Kusama. This request is in response to recommendations of a general survey of the archival collection, which made the case for increased space for storage and examination of archive materials. The Mattress Factory requests funding from NEH to purchase additional storage furniture to be used in a new, expanded archival storage area.