Pat Fish mail art collection, 1970s-2000s, bulk 1970s-1980s

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Summary

Creators:
Fish, Pat
Abstract:
This collection consists of mail art both created and gathered by Santa Barbara tattoo artist Pat Fish during the 1970s and 1980s.
Extent:
20 linear feet (13 cartons, 6 flat oversize boxes)
Language:
Multiple languages
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Pat Fish mail art collection, Printers Mss 81. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of mail art created and gathered by Santa Barbara tattoo artist Pat Fish. The collection, dating mainly to the 1970s and 1980s, includes work by artists such as Ray Johnson, Pawel Petasz, Henning Mittendorf, Carlo Pittore, Jurgen Olbrich, Michael Scott, Ryosuke Cohen, Vittori Baroni, Joki, and Pat Fish, among others. Media include recycled objects, postcards, "artistamps," cardboard, paint, pen-and-ink, and collage.

Pat Fish attended the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1975-1979, studying art and film. Her participation in mail art began with the publication of a submission of dada art to Vile Magazine in 1972. In 1997, an exhibit of her mail art, "Art Through the Mail: The Eternal Network" was put on display by the Arts Library at UCSB.

In addition to mail art, the collection includes zines, newspapers, and mail art exhibition catalogs.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Pat Fish; transferred from UCSB Arts Library, 2012.
Arrangement:

The collection has been divided into nine series: 1. Domestic Correspondence, 2. International Correspondence, 3. Miscellaneous, 4. People Files, 5. Mail Art Exhibitions, 6. Serials, 7. Zines and Newspapers, 8. Art/Writing by Pat Fish, 9. Oversize.

Physical location:
A portion of the collection is located at the Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF).
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. A portion of the collection is stored offsite. Advance notice is required for retrieval.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Pat Fish mail art collection, Printers Mss 81. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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