The GRI holds special collection materials that help contextualize Sidney B. Felsen’s photographic archive and the history of Gemini G.E.L., which it documents. In an interview conducted in 2020 by Naoko Takahatake and Andrew Perchuk, Felsen reflects on his photographic practice, the history of Gemini, and his friendships with artists. The 2004 oral history of Gemini with co-founder Stanley Grinstein and his wife Elyse was recorded as part of the “Modern Art in Los Angeles” GRI program. The Henry Hopkins audio recordings include an additional oral history interview with the Grinsteins, that addresses the history of Gemini and the LA art scene through their lens as collectors. Barbara Rose interviews co-founder of Gemini G.E.L. and master printer Kenneth Tyler, providing not only a history of Gemini, but of printmaking in Los Angeles in the latter part of the 20th century. A key discussion between Felsen, Grinstein, and artists John Baldessari and Ed Ruscha, moderated by Andrew Perchuk can be found in Modern Art in Los Angeles: 40+ years with Gemini G.E.L.
Other related archives include the Barbara Rose Papers, the Henry Hopkins Audio recordings, the Frank O. Gehry Archive, and the Malcolm Lubliner photographs of the LA art scene. The Frank O. Gehry Archive includes architectural plans for an addition that Gehry designed for Gemini G.E.L.’s Melrose Avenue location. Malcolm Lubliner’s substantial archive of photos of the LA art scene includes images shot at Gemini. GRI holdings also document editions produced at Gemini, such as photographic documentation of Robert Rauschenberg’s Stoned Moon series (1969) proofing sessions and the fabrication of the workshop’s first editioned sculpture, Claes Oldenberg’s Profile Airflow (1969).
Self-portrait with two Ellsworth Kellys, 1984, Sidney B. Felsen. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Gift of Jack Shear.
Sidney B. Felsen oral history interview, September 19th, 2020
Included here are a video recording and transcript of an oral history interview with Sidney Felsen conducted in his office at Gemini G.E.L. on September 19, 2020. The interviewers are Andrew Perchuk and Naoko Takahatake.
Stanley and Elyse Grinstein, ca. 1970's, Sidney B. Felsen. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Gift of Jack Shear.
Modern Art in Los Angeles Stanley and Elyse Grinstein oral history interview, 2004
This material is comprised of video recordings of an oral history interview of Los Angeles art collectors Stanley and Elyse Grinstein conducted by Serge Guilbaut on May 28, 2004. The Getty Research Institute (GRI) hosted events and conducted oral histories inspired by the "Modern Art in Los Angeles" theme beginning in 2003.
Henry Hopkins audio recordings, ca. 1986-2003
Interviews and oral histories with artists, gallerists, curators, and collectors. Oral histories collection: Box C13 - Grinstein, Elyse and Stanley, 22 Feb 1989.
Modern Art in Los Angeles : 40+ years with Gemini G.E.L. A Conversation with Andrew Perchuk, Sidney B. Felsen, Stanley Grinstein, John Baldessari, and Ed Ruscha 2009
This material documents a public conversation with Sidney B. Felsen and Stanley Grinstein, co-founders of Gemini G.E.L., and artists John Baldessari and Ed Ruscha as they reflect on the vital role that the workshop has played in expanding the boundaries of printmaking and artists' multiples. The conversation was held at the Getty Center's Harold Williams Auditorium on May 27, 2009.
Barbara Rose papers, 1940-1993 (bulk 1960-1985)
This collection, a selected portion from the total Barbara Rose archive, documents Rose's research and writings about American art, especially the New York art world during the 1960s and 1970s. It contains correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and audio and video tapes. Much of Rose's research consists of interviews with artists. These date from ca. 1960 through 1990. More than 100 interviews are here in transcriptions. The Claes Oldenburg interviews are the most extensive with approximately 50 transcript pages and 28 cassette tapes.
Box 1, Folders 28, 40-41; Box 5, Folder 16; Box 6, Folders 1,5: Interviews, tapes and images of Claes Oldenburg,
Box 11: C99: Claes Oldenburg, 1971 Sept.: 1 sound cassette (17 min.), Side 1 only. Labeled: Multiples, Airflow with Gemini . [Starts in middle of tape.] Side 2 labeled R. Stella.
Box 5, Folder 9: Series IV. Photographs of artists, ca. 1940-1988:
Jasper Johns working on a stone at Gemini G.E.L., 1970, 4 photos
Box 1 Folder 37: lectures and symposia on audio and video tapes, ca. 1960-1990: Interview with Gemini co-founder and master printer, Kenneth Tyler
Frank Gehry during construction of the building he designed for Gemini, 1979, Sidney B. Felsen. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Gift of Jack Shear.
Frank O. Gehry papers
The archive includes drawings, partial and complete models, project documentation, correspondence, photographs and slides, and ephemera pertaining to projects dating to the early years of the architect's practice. The chronological time frame brackets the period from the architect's early graduate studies to the completion of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, but also includes some materials produced after 1988 relating to projects initiated before that date. The Frank O. Gehry Archive includes architectural plans for an addition that Gehry designed for Gemini G.E.L.’s Melrose Avenue location.
Project 1976-001: Gemini G.E.L. Gallery (Los Angeles, California, 1976-1979): Reference images, 1976-1979: FF 153, Box 12, Folders 5-9
Malcolm Lubliner, 1971, Sidney B. Felsen. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Gift of Jack Shear.
Malcolm Lubliner photographs of the Los Angeles art scene
The collection of photographs of the Los Angeles art scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s by photographer Malcolm Lubliner records the activities of artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Josef Albers, John Altoon, Frank Stella, and Sam Francis.
Series I. Artists, consists of materials pertaining to Lubliner's documentation of Los Angeles artists and their production activities, many of which were part of his commissions from Gemini G.E.L. and LACMA's Art and Technology Program. Included are behind-the-scenes photographs and records of projects such as Claes Oldenburg's Profile Airflow and Giant Ice Bag; Jasper Johns's Numerals lead reliefs and No lithographs; Robert Rauschenberg's lithographs for Stoned Moon and Cardbird Series; and Edward Kienholz's Sawdy sculpture. In many cases, the staff members and facilities of Gemini are heavily featured, including Kenneth Tyler and Stanley Grinstein.
Boxes 16-20