Archives of American Art
Jorge Tacla papers
Tacla, Jorge, 1958-
AAA.tacljorg
Archival Resource Key
5.05 Linear feet
1966-2019
bulk 1980-2009
The papers of Chilean born painter Jorge Tacla measure 5.05 linear feet and date from 1966-2019. Included are biographical material; letters from friends and other artists; project and exhibition files; photographs consisting of snaphots of Tacla, friends, and paintings; eleven illustrated journals; and printed material. The papers document Tacla's creative process and his relationships with other artists.
The collection is in English and Spanish.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
- Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1980-circa 1992 (0.2 linear feet, Box 1)
- Series 2: Correspondence, 1981-2013 (0.7 linear feet, Box 1, 7)
- Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1991-2009 (0.1 linear feet, Box 1)
- Series 4: Legal Records, 1996 (0.3 linear feet, Box 1-2)
- Series 5: Printed Material, 1980-2019 (2.3 linear feet, Box 2-3, 7-10)
- Series 6: Artwork, 1986-2019 (0.9 linear feet, Box 3, 5-6, 10)
- Series 7: Photographic Material, 1981-2018 (0.55 linear feet, Box 3-4)
Biographical / Historical
Jorge Tacla (1958-) is a Chilean born painter who lives in and primarily works in New York, New York.
Tacla attended the Escuela de Bellas Artes, Universidad de Chile and moved to New York in 1981. Throughout his career, Tacla has been awarded numerous grants and fellowships including the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 1988. His paintings often present half-imaginary landscapes, such as a disintegrating urban site or a pristine desert. Tacla's work has been included in numerous group and solo exhibitions at galleries and museums around the world.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Terms of Use
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated in 2019 by Jorge Tacla.
Preferred Citation
Jorge Tacla papers, 1966-2019. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Jennifer E. Neal and Lewis Tio in 2020.
Scope and Contents
The papers of Chilean born painter Jorge Tacla measure 5.05 linear feet and date from 1966-2019. Included are biographical material; letters from friends and other artists; project and exhibition files; photographs consisting of snaphots of Tacla, friends, and paintings; eleven illustrated journals; and printed material. The papers document Tacla's creative process and his relationships with other artists.
This collection documents source material for Tacla's paintings, the creative process through which he makes paintings, his career as an artist working in New York and Chile, and his friendships with other artists. Materials include immigration papers; resumes; an artist bio; an oral history interview transcript; personal and professional correspondence; draft essays; sketches; drawings; sketchbooks; exhibition announcements, catalogs, posters, checklists, and press packets; clippings related to major world events and reviews of Tacla's work; and photographs of Tacla with other artists and colleagues, friends and family, installations, his studios in New York and Chile, and his work.
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Díaz, Gonzalo, 1947-
Jaar, Alfredo
Biographical Material
Series 1
Archival Resource Key
0.2 Linear feet
Box 1-5
circa 1980-circa1992
Scope and Contents
Biographical material provides a snapshot of Tacla's career through immigration papers, his artist bio, an oral history interview transcript, and resumes. Also included are an ex-ray of Tacla's head, two sonograms, correspondence, and a photocopy of his ID card.
Artist Bios, X-ray, Sonograms, Sketches
Archival Resource Key
1987-circa 1992
1
1
Drafts, Universidad de Chile
Archival Resource Key
circa 1980-1989
1
2
Drafts, Universidad de Chile
Immigration Documentation
Archival Resource Key
circa 1980
1
3
Transcript of Oral History Interview with Jorge Tacla
Archival Resource Key
1987-1988
1
4
Transcript of Oral History Interview with Jorge Tacla
Correspondence
Series 2
Archival Resource Key
0.7 Linear feet
Box 1, 7
1981-2013
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, mainly in Spanish, include personal and professional letters with friends and fellow artists, and letters from curators and dealers about exhibitions. Many of the letters are illustrated and highlight Tacla's close friendships with other artists in New York and Chile. Artists of note include Alfredo Jaar, Gonzalo Diaz, and Nuri Gonzales.
Personal
Archival Resource Key
1981-1996, undated
1
5
Personal
Archival Resource Key
1981-1990
1
6
Personal
Personal
Archival Resource Key
1981-1993
1
7
Personal
Personal
Archival Resource Key
1981-1993, undated
1
8
Personal
Archival Resource Key
1981-1993, undated
1
9
Personal
Archival Resource Key
1981-1994, undated
1
10
Personal
Archival Resource Key
1981-1996, undated
1
11
Personal
Personal
Archival Resource Key
1982-1994, undated
1
12
Professional, No Freedom No Culture Conference
Archival Resource Key
1998
1
13
Professional, No Freedom No Culture Conference
Professional, Bronx Housing Court
Archival Resource Key
1991-1997
1
14
Professional
Archival Resource Key
1981-1997, undated
1
15
Professional
Archival Resource Key
1982-1989
1
16
Professional
Archival Resource Key
1981-2013
1
17
Professional
Professional
Archival Resource Key
1992-circa 2014
1
18
Professional
Professional
Archival Resource Key
1998, 2001
1
19
Professional
Personal
Archival Resource Key
1983-1986, undated
7
1
Exhibition Files
Series 3
Archival Resource Key
0.1 Linear feet
Box 1
1991-2009
Scope and Contents
Exhibition files document Tacla's work with curators through correspondence, draft essays, posters, sketches, checklists, floor plans, and press packets including a project with the High Museum of art in the early 1990s. Exhibitions of note include "Jorge Tacla Senal de Abandono" (2000), "Kill the Song" (2008), and "Propuesta Conceptual: Obra Permanente Museo de la Memoria" (2009).
High Museum of Art
Archival Resource Key
1991-1992
1
20
Jorge Tacla: Senal de Abandono (2000)
Archival Resource Key
2000
1
21
Kill the Song (2008)
Archival Resource Key
2008
1
22
Kill the Song (2008)
Propuesta Conceptual: Obra Permanente Museo de la Memoria (2009)
Archival Resource Key
2009
1
23
Propuesta Conceptual: Obra Permanente Museo de la Memoria (2009)
Legal Records
Series 4
Archival Resource Key
0.3 Linear feet
Box 1-2
1966
Scope and Contents
Legal records include a lengthy deposition related to a lawsuit with the landlord of Tacla's studio in which Tacla describes in detail his artistic process.
Deposition
Archival Resource Key
1996
1
24
Deposition
Archival Resource Key
1996
2
1-4
Printed Material
Series 5
Archival Resource Key
2.3 Linear feet
Box 2-3, 7-10
1980-2019
Scope and Contents
Printed materials highlight Tacla's career as a painter through exhibition announcements and catalogs, and newspaper and magazine clippings of reviews or articles about his work. The clippings also include major events that inspired Tacla's artistic process, including the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the 2008 election of Barak Obama, the death of Osama Bin Laden in 2011, the 2008 Chaiten volcano eruption in southern Chile, and the Bali bombings of nightclubs and bars in 2002.
Articles
Archival Resource Key
1998
2
5
Notes and Post Cards
Archival Resource Key
circa 1983-1987
2
6
Notes and Post Cards
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1985-2005
2
7
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1998
2
8
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
2001
2
9
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
2003-2005
2
10
Clippings, Annotated
Archival Resource Key
2011-2012
2
11
Exhibition Announcements
Archival Resource Key
1983-1986
2
12
Exhibition Announcements
Exhibition Announcements
Archival Resource Key
1988-1993
2
13
Exhibition Announcements
Archival Resource Key
1995-2019, undated
2
14
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1986-1989
2
15
Exhibition Catalogs
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1991-1992
2
16
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1993
2
17
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1993-1995
2
18
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1996-1997
2
19
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1997
2
20
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1999-2000
2
21
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
2008-2017
3
1-7
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1980-2012
7
2
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1982-1991
7
3
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1985-2010
7
4
Clippings
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1984-2013
7
5
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1984-2001
7
6
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1985, 2005-2017
8
1
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1986- 2001
8
2
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1984-2008
8
3
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1986-2017
8
4
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1988-2008
8
5
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1988-2013
8
6
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1988-2017
8
7
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
1989-2017
9
1-9
Clippings
Archival Resource Key
2002-2016
10
1-2
Exhibition Catalogs
Archival Resource Key
1994-2001
10
3-4
Exhibition and Event Posters
Archival Resource Key
1985, 2010, undated
10
5
Artwork
Series 6
Archival Resource Key
0.9 Linear feet
Box 3, 5-6, 10
1986-2018
Scope and Contents
Artwork demonstrates preliminary work for Tacla's paintings from the 1980s and 1990s to 2018 through eleven notebooks containing drawings, paintings, and writings; two of Tacla's zines; and select drawings. One of the sketchbooks documents a trip Tacla took to Amsterdam in 1986.
Drawings
Archival Resource Key
2010
3
8
Loose Drawings
Archival Resource Key
1991
3
9
Selected Drawings from "Identitades Ocultas" Notebook
Archival Resource Key
2011-2018
3
10
Selected Drawings from "Identitades Ocultas" Notebook
Selection of Drawings from "Roma" Notebook
Archival Resource Key
2003
3
11
Selection of Drawings from "Roma" Notebook
Selected Drawings, Pencil on Paper
Archival Resource Key
2012
3
12
Selected Drawings, Pencil on Paper
Sketchbooks, Amsterdam Travels
Archival Resource Key
1986
3
13
Sketchbooks, Amsterdam Travels
Sketchbooks
Archival Resource Key
1986-1987
3
14
Sketchbooks
Sketchbooks
Archival Resource Key
1989-1991
3
15
Sketchbooks
Archival Resource Key
1989-1992
3
16
Sketchbook
Archival Resource Key
1989
3
17
Sketchbook
Sketchbooks
Archival Resource Key
1988
5
1
Sketchbooks
Archival Resource Key
1989-1990
6
1
Sketchbooks
Archival Resource Key
1990
10
6
Zines
Archival Resource Key
1984, 2016
10
7
Photographic Material
Series 7
Archival Resource Key
0.55 Linear feet
Box 3-4
1981-2018
Scope and Contents
Photographic material highlights Tacla's career and his relationships with artists, curators, and dealers. Materials include color and black and white photographs, and slides depicting installations, Tacla's paintings and studios in New York and Chile, and personal snapshots of Tacla with friends, family, and colleagues.
Black and White Photos of Artwork
Archival Resource Key
1982-1989
3
18
Color Photos of Studio in New York 32nd Street and Camila
Archival Resource Key
1998-1999
3
19
Color Photos of Studio in New York 32nd Street and Camila
Low Resolution Phone Images of Studio, Installations, and Friends
Archival Resource Key
2013-2018
3
20
Photos of Artwork, Bronx Housing Court
Archival Resource Key
1990
3
21
Photos of Tacla, Studio, and Nature
Archival Resource Key
1994
3
22
Photos of Friends and Family
Archival Resource Key
1980-2000
3
23
Photos of Friends and Family
Photos of Friends and Family and Studio
Archival Resource Key
2002-2007
3
24
Photos of Friends and Family and Studio in Chile
Archival Resource Key
1987-1989
3
25
Photos of Friends and Family, Studio, and Exhibitions
Archival Resource Key
1982-2002
3
26
Photos of Friends and Family, Studio, and Exhibitions
Photos of Guggenheim Project in Atacama Desert
Archival Resource Key
1989
3
27
Photos of Guggenheim Project in Atacama Desert
Photos of Jorge Tacla
Archival Resource Key
undated
3
28
Photos of Jorge Tacla and Studio
Archival Resource Key
1981-1997
3
29
Photos of Jorge Tacla and Studio
Photos of Studios
Archival Resource Key
2000-2010
4
1
Photos of Studios
Photos of Studio and Homes in New York City
Archival Resource Key
1982-2002
4
2
Photos of Studio and Homes in New York City
Slides, Artwork
Archival Resource Key
1981-1994
4
3-4