Judith Hoffberg
Encyclopedia
Judith Hoffberg was a librarian, archivist, lecturer, a curator and art writer, and editor and publisher of Umbrella, a newsletter on artists' books, mail art, and Fluxus
art. She received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA
in 1956. She went on to get an M.A. in Italian Language and Literature in 1960 and an M.L.S. from the UCLA School of Library Service in June 1964.
after serving as a cataloguer in 1964–65 at the Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center in Italy. At the Library of Congress, she was a cataloguer in the Prints & Photographs Division until 1967, when she served as the Fine Arts Librarian at the University of Pennsylvania
from 1967–1969. She went on to UCSD
from 1969 to 1971 as art, literature and language bibliographer and to the Brand Library in Glendale, CA as Director from 1971 to 1973. From 1974 to 1976, she worked for the Smithsonian Institution
as Archivist and Editorial Assistant for the Bicentennial Bibliography of American Arts.
In 1973, she co-founded Art Libraries Society of North America
(ARLIS). She served as the Society's first Chairman, editor of ARLIS/NA Newsletter from 1972 to 1977 and its Executive Secretary from 1974 to 1977.
In 1978, Hoffberg founded Umbrella Associates. Her work included consulting with archives and libraries. She edited and published Umbrella, a newsletter about artists' books and publications. In her work as a writer, editor, and curator, she enthusiastically championed Fluxus
, inexpensive artists' books
, mail art
, rubber-stamp art, and many other offbeat forms of expression of the second half of the 20th century. Hoffberg also lectured widely throughout the US and abroad. Her collection of artists books is split between the University of California at Los Angeles and the UCSB
; her collection of some 15,000 pieces of umbrelliana is at the UCSD
, in La Jolla.
In 2000, Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron founded the International Edible Book Festival
.
Hoffberg died on January 16, 2009.
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
art. She received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
in 1956. She went on to get an M.A. in Italian Language and Literature in 1960 and an M.L.S. from the UCLA School of Library Service in June 1964.
Biography
She was a Special Intern at the Library of CongressLibrary of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
after serving as a cataloguer in 1964–65 at the Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center in Italy. At the Library of Congress, she was a cataloguer in the Prints & Photographs Division until 1967, when she served as the Fine Arts Librarian at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
from 1967–1969. She went on to UCSD
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
from 1969 to 1971 as art, literature and language bibliographer and to the Brand Library in Glendale, CA as Director from 1971 to 1973. From 1974 to 1976, she worked for the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
as Archivist and Editorial Assistant for the Bicentennial Bibliography of American Arts.
In 1973, she co-founded Art Libraries Society of North America
Art Libraries Society of North America
The was founded in 1972. It is an organization made up of approximately 1,000 art librarians, library students and visual resource professionals.-Mission:...
(ARLIS). She served as the Society's first Chairman, editor of ARLIS/NA Newsletter from 1972 to 1977 and its Executive Secretary from 1974 to 1977.
In 1978, Hoffberg founded Umbrella Associates. Her work included consulting with archives and libraries. She edited and published Umbrella, a newsletter about artists' books and publications. In her work as a writer, editor, and curator, she enthusiastically championed Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
, inexpensive artists' books
Artists' Books
Artists' books are works of art realized in the form of a book. They are often published in small editions, though sometimes they are produced as one-of-a-kind objects referred to as "uniques"....
, mail art
Mail art
Mail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and involves sending visual art through the international postal system. Mail Art is also known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art...
, rubber-stamp art, and many other offbeat forms of expression of the second half of the 20th century. Hoffberg also lectured widely throughout the US and abroad. Her collection of artists books is split between the University of California at Los Angeles and the UCSB
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
; her collection of some 15,000 pieces of umbrelliana is at the UCSD
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, in La Jolla.
In 2000, Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron founded the International Edible Book Festival
Edible Book Festival
The International Edible Book Festival is an annual event usually held on or around April 1, which is also known as Edible Book Day. The global event has been celebrated since 2000 in various parts of the world, where "edible books" are created, displayed, and small events are held. The creations...
.
Hoffberg died on January 16, 2009.
Grants and Awards
- National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, Service to the Field, 1980, 1981 - Australia & New Zealand Arts Council grants, lecture tour, 1982
- Dutch Government Research Trant, 1982
- British CouncilBritish CouncilThe British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
Grant, 1983 - FulbrightFulbright ProgramThe Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
Research & Lecture Grant, 1984, (in New Zealand to work on Len Lye’s archives) - Fluxus Research Fellow, Sonja Henie & Niels Onstad Foundation, Oslo, Norway
Curatorial Activities
- Artwords & Bookworks, (LAICA), Los Angeles, which traveled to Herron School of ArtHerron School of ArtHerron School of Art and Design, a school of Indiana University, was ranked 45th overall by U.S. News and World Report among graduate schools of fine arts in 2008....
(Indianapolis) Contemporary Art Center (New Orleans), Franklin FurnaceFranklin FurnaceFranklin Furnace, also known as the Franklin Mine, is a famous mineral location for rare zinc, iron, manganese minerals in old mines in Franklin, New Jersey, USA. This locale produced more species of minerals and more different fluorescent minerals than any other location...
(New York), Australia & New Zealand (1978–79), co-curator: Joan Hugo - Book Exhibition, University of MassachusettsUniversity of MassachusettsThis article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
, Amherst, 1978 - The Umbrella Show, University of California, RiversideUniversity of California, RiversideThe University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system. UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United...
, 1979 - Art & Society: Bookworks by Women, Beyond Baroque, Venice, CA, 1981
- Ex Libris, Bookworks by Artists, Traction Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 1981
- Some Important Announcements, Santa Monica Public Library for the Santa Monica Arts Commission, 1985
- Editions & Additions: International Bookworks, Idea, Sacramento, CA, Northlight Gallery, Tempe, AZ, and UC Riverside, March 1986
- Undercover: The Book as Format, Fresno Arts Center, 1987
- Art from the Page: Bookworks, Salem Art Association, Bush BarnAsahel BushAsahel Bush was an American newspaper publisher and businessman in Salem, Oregon. As publisher the Oregon Statesman newspaper, he moved the paper to Salem when the territorial capital moved to that city...
, Salem, OregonSalem, OregonSalem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
and Texas Woman's UniversityTexas Woman's UniversityTexas Woman's University is a co-educational university in Denton, Texas, United States with two health science center branches in Dallas, Texas and Houston, Texas...
, Denton, TX, 1987 - A Book of His Own: Men’s Visual Diaries, Woodland Pattern Book Center, Milwaukee, WI, 1987
- A Book in Hand, Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, Arvada, CO, 1989
- A Book of His Own: Man’s Visual Diaries, UCLA Art Library, 1990
- Cross <+> Currents: Books from the Edge of the Pacific, travelling artists’ books exhibition beginning in California and travelling 1991–1993 to UCSBUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraThe University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
, Cal State Hayward, Ringling School of Art and Design, Oregon School of Arts & Crafts - Boundless Vision: Contemporary Bookworks, San Antonio Art Institute, 1991
- Freedom: International Mail Art Show, Armory for the Arts, Pasadena, CA, 1992
- The Amazing Decade: Women and Performance Art in America, 1970-1980, New Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 1993
- Shaped Structures: Bookworks in Form, Palos Verdes Art Center, Palos Verdes, CA, 1993
- Multiple World: An International Survey of Artists’ Books, co-curated by Peter Frank, at Atlanta College of ArtAtlanta College of ArtThe Atlanta College of Art , established in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1905, was the first non-profit college of visual art in the Southeastern United States....
, Atlanta, GA, 1994 - John O’ Brien: Passe-partout: A Revised Study, New Gallery, Santa Monica, 1994
- Barbara Turner Smith: Who are We?..Hirokazu Kosaka: Woman with Mole, New Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 1994
- Journey/Journals: Elsa Flores & Gronk, New Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 1994
- Boundless: Liberating the Book Form, San Francisco Center for the BookSan Francisco Center for the BookThe San Francisco Center for the Book is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Mary Austin and Kathleen Burch in San Francisco, California in the United States...
, 1998 - Women of the Book: Jewish Artists, Jewish Themes, travelling exhibition which opened in Finegood Art Gallery in 1997–1998 and has traveled to Kutztown, University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, Florida Atlantic UniversityFlorida Atlantic UniversityFlorida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...
, Brattleboro Art Museum, JCC of Minneapolis/Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Chicago, IL, La Jolla, CA and the La Sierra UniversityLa Sierra UniversityLa Sierra University is a Seventh-day Adventist co-educational university accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Adventist Accrediting Association...
, Riverside, CA, Missouri State University, Springfield, Missiouri,and Rutgers University, Camden, NJ.
Publications
- Co-Editor, Directory of Art Libraries & Visual Resource Collections in North America (New York, Neal Schuman, 1978)
- "Bibliography of Women Artists’ Books", Chrysalis (Spring 1978)
- "Artists’ Books" in Art & Technology: The History & Method of Fine Papermaking (San Francisco, World Print Council, 1979)
- Editor & Publisher, Artists’ Publications in Print, 1980–83
- "Art Book Column" in High Performance MagazineHigh Performance MagazineHigh Performance was a quarterly arts magazine founded in 1978 and published until 1997. Its editorial mission was to provide support and a critical context for new, innovative and unrecognized work in the arts....
, 1984–1994 - "Distribution and its Discontents" in Art Papers (Atlanta) May–June 1990
- Publisher, Cross<+>Currents: Books from the Edge of the Pacific (Pasadena, Umbrella Associates, 1992)
- "Learning to Read Art: The Art of Artists’ Books," The New Bookbinder, vol. 13, 1993
- Publisher, The Book Maker’s Desire: Writings on the Art of the Book by Buzz Spector (Pasadena, Umbrella Editions , 1995)
- Publisher, Umbrella: The Anthology (Santa Monica, Umbrella Editions, 2000)
- Editor and author, Women of the Book: Jewish Artists, Jewish Themes (Boca Raton, Friends of the Library, 2001)