Paul Ramírez Jonas papers
name: label: Creator
content: Ramírez Jonas, Paul, 1965-
label: Names
content: Creative Time, Inc.
label: Names
content: Hunter College. Department of Art
topic: label: Occupation
content: Educators -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn
label: Occupation
content: Multimedia artists -- New York (State) -- Brooklyn
label: Topic
content: Latino and Latin American artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 2015 and 2017 by Paul Ramírez Jonas.
creator: label: Creator
content: Ramírez Jonas, Paul, 1965-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Paul Ramírez Jonas papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of New York multimedia artist and educator Paul Ramírez Jonas, measure 6.3 linear feet and 19.73 GB and date from circa 1989-2014. The collection documents the work of this social practice artist through correspondence, exhibition and project files, and professional files, and provides relatively thorough coverage of Ramírez Jonas's work and development to late mid-career.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Paul Ramírez Jonas (1965-) is a multimedia artist and educator in New York, New York. 

Ramírez Jonas was born in Pomona, California and raised in Honduras. He earned a BA in Studio Art and an MFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1989. As a social practice artist Ramírez Jonas explores definitions of art and the public and seeks to engage active audience participation in much of his work. He uses pre-existing texts, models, and materials in work ranging from monumental sculpture to smaller and more intimate projects involving drawings, textiles, musical instruments, video and performance art, and other media.

Ramírez Jonas has had an ongoing association with Creative Time, a public arts organization in New York City which funded, amongst other projects, his 2010 project Key to the City, in which he replaced locks around the city with new locks that could be opened with keys he distributed. Keys have had an important role in Ramírez Jonas's work; his Taylor Square park project in Cambridge, for example, juxtaposes the locked gates of the public space with 5000 keys he distributed to the public to be duplicated endlessly, as a symbol of "this relationship between public space and the public." 

Ramírez Jonas is an educator who has taught at institutions including the Rhode Island School of Design and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He is currently an Associate Professor at Hunter College, City University of New York.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 6.3 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 19.73 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1989-2014
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.ramipaul
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Prior to donation, Ramírez Jonas organized the bulk of his archives chronologically and thereafter into three categories which he titled "Shows," "Work," and "Other." This core arrangement has been maintained in the series Exhibition Files (Shows), Project Files (Work) and Professional Files (Other). A few additional files that did not fall into these three categories are arranged at the beginning of the collection as Series 1: Correspondence and Personal Files.

Series 1: Correspondence and Personal Files, 1991-circa 2014 (0.25 linear feet; Box 1, 2.20 GB; ER10)

Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1990-2009 (3.05 linear feet; Boxes 1-4, OV 7, 14.99 GB; ER01-ER05)

Series 3: Project Files, 1990-2014 (2.4 linear feet; Boxes 4-6, OVs 8-9, 2.54 GB; ER06-ER09)

Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1989-2014 (0.6 linear feet; Box 6, OV 8)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed by Stephanie Ashley in 2020. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2020 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund. Additional finding aid description of the sound recordings was completed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2024.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of New York multimedia artist and educator Paul Ramírez Jonas, measure 6.3 linear feet and 19.73 GB and date from circa 1989-2014. The collection documents the work of this social practice artist through correspondence, exhibition and project files, and professional files, and provides relatively thorough coverage of Ramírez Jonas's work and development to late mid-career.

Correspondence and personal files include greeting cards and postcards sent to Ramírez Jonas from individuals and galleries, and includes the artist's file arrangement lists documenting his organization of the records prior to donation to the Archives of American Art. Extensice email correspondence remains unprocessed.

Exhibition files provide a comprehensive survey of Ramírez Jonas's participation in group and solo exhibitions over more than two decades. Files include correspondence, notes, sketches, and printed, photographic and digital material for multiple exhibitions, and record Ramírez Jonas's relationships with gallery owners as well as the evolution and execution of many installations. 

Project files provide a relatively comprehensive record of over two decades of projects, including large scale public art installations and smaller, more intimate projects, that trace evolving themes in Ramírez Jonas's work. Files include correspondence, architect's plans and schematic drawings, artist notes, financial and contractual records, printed and digital material, and photographs. 

Professional files document other professional activities in which Ramírez Jonas was involved, such as boards and committees, conferences, panels, and seminars. Also found are a few files relating to teaching appointments, including documentation of his Combined Media Class at Hunter College.