Studiovoice

]> pc_bmc_miscellaneous Finding Aid of the Black Mountain College Miscellaneous Collection, 1943 - 1945, 1975 - 2007 Processed by: Ashley Yandle; machine-readable finding aid created by: Ashley Yandle &hdrNcDncsa; State Archives of North Carolina. Western Regional Archives 2008 Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: June, 2002 Description is in English September 2008 Moved to EAD 2002 and added Alma Stone Williams memoir, an article, and several exhibition materials. Finding Aid of the Black Mountain College Miscellaneous Collection, 1943 - 1945, 1975 - 2007 State Archives of North Carolina. Western Regional Archives &tpNcDncsa; Descriptive Summary State Archives of North Carolina. Western Regional Archives. Black Mountain College Miscellaneous Collection, 1943 - 1945, 1975 - 2007 PC.1580 Materials in English; Japanese ca. 70 For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Western Regional Archives. Black Mountain College was an experimental school located in Black Mountain, N.C. Established in 1933 by John A. Rice and others, the purpose of the college was to educate the whole person, with an emphasis on the role of the arts and creative thinking. Despite the fact that Black Mountain College could rarely offer faculty more than room and board, a number of important teachers and artists were drawn to the school as part of the regular faculty or to participate in the school's Summer Institutes. The college closed in 1956. The Black Mountain College Miscellaneous Collection includes various materials that are related to Black Mountain College but are not part of the college records, the Black Mountain College Research Project, or other collections donated by individuals connected with Black Mountain. The collection includes general information about the college's origins and educational philosophy, copies of original college publications, photographs, memoirs, and printed materials dealing with either the college or with people associated with it. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Available for research.

Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], PC.1580, Black Mountain College Miscellaneous Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Western Regional Archives, Asheville, NC, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Eulogy and newspaper articles re. Erwin Straus received from Miss Mary Emma Harris, July 1975 and accessioned July 15, 1975. Eight bulletins and music programs were a gift of Mrs. Margaret Balzar Cantieni, Bethlehem, Pa.; presented via Mary Emma Harris, New York; accessioned July 19, 1976. The multiple copies of two posters were a gift of Mrs. Patricia H. Pitt, Black Mountain College Project, Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, 1978. Sixteen black and white glossy prints and one postcard were a gift of Mr. George Pickering, Camp Rockmont, Black Mountain, NC; donated April 12, 1978. One volume by Leverett T. Smith was a gift of the Leverett T. Smith, Jr., NC Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount; accessioned June 26, 1979. One typescript article was a gift of Patricia Hewitt Fitt, Goddard College, Plainsfield, Vermont; accessioned June 26, 1979. One book about Willem de Kooning was a gift of Dominique Bozo, Director, Centre George Pompidou, Musee national d'art modern, Paris; accessioned January 31, 1985. One pamphlet was a gift of F. A. Foster, Montreat; accessioned December 12, 1985. Three postage stamps were a gift of Mrs. Barbara T. Cain, Raleigh; accessioned February 10, 1981. Some materials relating to the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center were purchased in 1995; other materials were a gift of the museum, 1999. Two printed items were a gift of Dr. Irwin Kremen, Duke University, 1998. A photocopy of the Alma Stone Williams memoir was a gift of Alma Stone Williams, Savannah, Ga., 2002. The publication Studiovoice was a gift, ca. 2003. Two exhibition announcements were gifts of Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, England, 2005. Two announcements and one catalog were gifts of the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center, 2007. During March-April, 2012, these records were moved from the State Archives building in Raleigh to the Western Regional Archives, Asheville, N.C.

Processing Information

Processed by Ashley Yandle, February, 2002; an addition made in 2007 by George Stevenson; an addition made by Ashley Yandle, September, 2008.

Encoded by Ashley Yandle, June, 2002; additional encoding by Ashley Yandle, September, 2008.

This collection was processed in 2002 with the support of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical Note

Black Mountain College was an experimental school located in Black Mountain, N.C. Established in 1933 by John A. Rice and others, the purpose of the college was to educate the whole person, with an emphasis on the role of the arts and creative thinking. Despite the fact that Black Mountain College could rarely offer faculty more than room and board, a number of important teachers and artists were drawn to the school as part of the regular faculty or to participate in the school's Summer Institutes. Josef and Anni Albers, John Cage, Robert Creeley, Merce Cunningham, Max Dehn, Joseph Fiore, Buckminister Fuller, Edward Lowinsky, Robert Motherwell, Charles Olson, M.C. Richards, and Xanti Schawinsky were only a few of those who taught at Black Mountain College. In addition, the success of several of the college's students (such as Ruth Asawa, Edward Dorn, Kenneth Noland, and Robert Rauschenberg) helped to further the college's reputation in the area of the arts and the avant garde.

The character and focus of Black Mountain College shifted over time, according to the make-up of the faculty and students. Personal and ideological conflicts were common and sometimes lead to major changes in the college community. Lack of funds added to the stress of the situation, as did the school's physical isolation and its sometimes strained relations with the local population. Eventually, the student enrollment and available funds dwindled until the college was forced to close in 1956.

Collection Overview

This collection is designed to include various miscellaneous materials that are related to Black Mountain College but are not part of the college records, the Black Mountain College Research Project, or other collections donated by individuals connected with Black Mountain.

The collection includes general information about the college's origins and educational philosophy, copies of original college publications, exhibition materials, articles, and photographs. Among these materials are items relating to the activities of Willem de Kooning, Charles Olson, Kenneth Noland, M.C. Richards, Dr. Erwin Walter Straus, and Jonathan Williams. Also included in the collection are the masters paper Black Mountain College Retrospective: An Exploration in Arts Administration by Patricia Hewitt Fitt (1978); a memoir by Leo Krikorian, a former BMC student, concerning the Beats; and a memoir by Alma Stone Williams concerning the Summer Music Institute of 1944 at Black Mountain College, which includes descriptions of race relations, music classes and relations between various members of the college community. Another folder contains information about the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center including exhibition documentation, web site printouts, and publications about Joseph Fiore.

An oversized folder located separately from the rest of the collection contains two versions of posters for the Black Mountain College Retrospective and Seminar which ran in Asheville from March 20 - May 8, 1978.

Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Subject Terms African American students--North Carolina--Social conditions. Art--Exhibitions. Beat generation. Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, N.C.) Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center. Cage, John De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997. Fiore, Joseph Albert. Fitt, Patricia Hewitt. Krikorian, Leo, 1922- Music--Instruction and study. Noland, Kenneth, 1924- Olson, Charles, 1910-1970. Pottery--North Carolina. Richards, Mary Caroline. Straus, Erwin W. (Erwin Walter), 1891-1975 Williams, Alma Stone. Williams, Jonathan, 1929-2008 Universities and colleges--North Carolina--History. Geographic Terms Black Mountain (N.C.) Related Collections

Additional information on topics found in this collection may be found in the Manuscript and Archives Reference System (MARS) http://www.ncarchives.dcr.state.nc.us.

Container List General Information, 1984-2003 PC.1580.1 Pamphlet, Black Mountain College by F. A. Foster, 1984

Provides a short overview of the college's origins and educational philosophy

Postage stamps featuring Glow by Josef Albers, n.d.3 items Article on Black Mountain College published in the Japanese language magazine Studiovoice, April 20032 pages Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center, 1994-2007

Contains publications by or about the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center.

Articles of incorporation for the museum (1993) as amended to change the title of the organization, 1994 Newsletter, January Update, 1995

Two folders (3 copies of one) concerning the Black Mountain College reunion at Camp Rockmont.

Publicity card and handlist of exhibitors in the exhibition Remembering Black Mountain College, Oct. 14 - Dec. 16, 1995 at the Asheville Art Museum Publicity card for a retrospective exhibition featuring the work of Joseph Fiore Black Mountain and Beyond, at Zone One Contemporary Gallery, Asheville, 1995 Pamphlet, Black Mountain College Dossiers, no. 1, 1995, Joseph Fiore Draft, Vision Statement, May 19, 1999 List, Board of Directors, July 21, 1999 Brochure, Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center Print-outs from the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center website, printed out July 28, 1999

Includes About the Museum; Recent News; Museum Activities; Museum Publications; and Gallery.

Announcement of and catalog for exhibition entitled Breaking New Ground: The Studio Potter and Black Mountain College held at the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center, Asheville, from September 21, 2007 - January 18, 2008 Announcement of lecture entitled An Uneasy Relationship: The Leach School, Black Mountain, and Traditional North Carolina Pottery presented by Mark Hewitt at the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center, Asheville, on October 3, 2007 Black Mountain College Retrospective: An Exploration in Arts Administration, by Patricia Hewitt Fitt, July 15, 1978

Includes the masters paper Black Mountain College Retrospective: An Exploration in Arts Administration by Patricia Hewitt Fitt, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Maters of Arts, Goddard College (July 15, 1978). The paper was the culmination of the Black Mountain College Retrospective and Seminar which ran from March 20 - May 8, 1978 and was hosted by Warren Wilson College, The Asheville Art Museum and The Arts Journal. The retrospective featured lectures, discussions, poetry readings, exhibits, films, workshops, special publications, and a walking tour. Several former BMC students, faculty and experts took part including M. C. Richards, Mary Emma Harris, Whitney Jones, Harold Taylor, Jonathan Williams, Robert Creeley, and Paul Hoffman. The paper itself includes essays describing the history of the college and Fitt's reactions to that history. It also reprints excerpts from documents such as articles, personal reminiscences, poetry, college publications, etc. Xeroxed photographs featured in the paper are from the Black Mountain College Records.

College Publications, 1943-1945

Includes materials printed by or for the college.

Catalog, Black Mountain College Bulletin, vol. II, no. 3, December 1943 Concert programs, Summer, 1945 5 items Community Bulletins, July, 1945 2 copies Exhibitions, 1978-2006 Catalog for the exhibition Art and Education at Black Mountain College, 1933-1956 at The Rocky Mount Arts and Crafts Center, 1978, with text provided by Leverett T. Smith, Jr. Pamphlet and magazine article about an exhibition curated by Mary Emma Harris called The Arts at Black Mountain College, 1933-1957 at Bard College, 1987 Newspaper article and flyer dealing with the Gilliam & Peden exhibition The Black Mountain Connection, 1987 Announcements of exhibitions entitled Starting at Zero: Black Mountain College, 1933-57 and Playing John Cage at Arnolfini Gallery (Bristol, England) from November 5, 2005 - January 15, 20062 items Individuals

Information about people associated with Black Mountain College including Kenneth Noland, M. C. Richards, Dr. Erwin Walter Straus and Jonathan Williams.

Photographs17 items

Sixteen black and white photographs of Charles Olson and his family taken at Black Mountain College. Also includes a postcard of Ma Peak's Tavern.

The Time of Your Life, by Leo Krikorian

Memoir (n.d.) by Leo Krikorian, painter, former Black Mountain College student. The memoir primarily concerns the Beats in San Francisco, 1953-1960, and one of their hangouts The Place which was owned by Krikorian. Krikorian and other former Black Mountain College community members were considered part of the Beats, and the memoir includes references to Knute Stiles, Ilya Bolotowsky, Robert Duncan and Robert Creeley.

My Black Mountain Summer: A Personal Account by Alma Stone Williams, October 1995 Photocopy of a typescript with 1 title page, 1 unnumbered page, and 23 pages of text

Memoir (1995) by Alma Stone Williams, an African American student at Black Mountain College during the Summer Music Institute of 1944. The memoir includes: accounts of the Quiet House, North Lodge, and Studies Building; the creation of the murals Inspiration and Knowledge by Jean Charlot; experiences with fellow institute students; relations between students and teachers; World War II and BMC; tea time at BMC; Lotte Leonard's Musicianship for Singers class; piano practice with Joanna Graudan and the teacher's impact on her; the classes of Edward Lowinsky; chamber music classes; Rudolf Kolisch and Nikolai Graudan; Josef Albers; the art of Josef Breitenbach; the lectures of Bernard Rudofsky; concerts at BMC, including a concert of music by Franz Schubert; Heinrich Jalowetz; the controversy concerning Eric Bentley, Jeanne Wacker and Barbara Anderson (Dupee) and the resulting disagreements in the college community; and race relations at BMC as compared to the rest of the South in 1944.

Exhibition catalog, 1984 PC.1580.2 Willem de Kooning. Paris: Centre Georges Pompidou, 1984 Oversized Materials, 1978 6 items

Six posters for the Black Mountain College Retrospective and Seminar (March 20 - May 8, 1978), located with the oversized materials at the beginning of the Private Manuscript Collections.

PC.1580 - OversizedPoster featuring a black and white sketch of the Studies Building, the dates of the events, and Warren Wilson College as their sponsor.2 copies Red poster featuring Ile De France by Robert Motherwell4 copies

Posters advertise events held at the Asheville Art Museum as part of the retrospective and seminar.