Guide to the Papers of Juan Davila, 1972-2007

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9578 et al.

Creator:

Davila, Juan

Extent:

(71 boxes + 8 folio boxes + 8 Postpak boxes + 2 other containers + 1 packet + 1 map folio)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Juan Davila, National Library of Australia, [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part requires permission for research; part not available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The collection comprises correspondence, diaries, financial records, newspaper cuttings and cutting books. Approximately one third of the collection is in Spanish.

Documenting as they do Davila's dealings with galleries, curators, art dealers, the media and government bodies, the papers provide an insight into the Australian art scene from the mid-1970s to the 1990s. They also provide an understanding of the difficulties encountered by artists in making a living from and practising their art. Issues such as the funding of art, copyright of artworks, public opinion about art and censorship are also raised in these papers.

The correspondence is extensive and provides a comprehensive record of Davila's career and his philosophies about art. Although mostly business related, some of the correspondence does include personal messages. Correspondents include Peter Bellas, Ian Britain, Eugenio Dittborn, Paul Foss, Paul Greenway, Tim Guider, Francesca Lombardo, Patricio Marchant, Jan Minchin (Tolarno Gallery), Georges Mora (Tolarno), Bernice Murphy , Roslyn Oxley, Leon Paroissien, Gary Sangster, Paul Taylor, Nelly Richard, William Walters and Jonathon Watkins (Chisenhale Gallery, London).

Biographical Note:

Artist Juan Davila was born in Santiago, Chile in 1946. From 1951-63 he attended school at the Colegio Verbo Divino. From 1969 to 1972 he attended the University of Chile, studying firstly at the Law School and then at the Fine Arts School. Davila moved to Australia to live in 1974.

Davila is an artist of both national and international standing. He produces controversial and often confronting art works, which combine elements of pop art, comic strip art, graffiti, pornography and transvestism to convey his ideas about a variety of issues including sexuality, politics, the art world and current affairs. He has exhibited widely in Australia and overseas.

Davila's art has often provoked strong reactions. In 1982 he clashed with morals crusader Fred Nile and the New South Wales Police when one of his works, Stupid as an artist, was removed from an exhibition. The then Premier, Neville Wran, intervened and a debate about the police role in art ensued. In 1994, his work The liberator Simon Bolivar, an irreverent painting of the hero who liberated Latin America from Spanish colonisation, provoked a diplomatic incident which led to the Chilean government issuing an apology to the governments of Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Ecuador.

Davila lives in Melbourne, but spends part of each year in Chile.

Collection Retrieval Advice:

Please note: each consignment in this collection has a separate box number sequence (i.e. there are multiple Box 1's). Please cite the relevant Class number as well as the Box number when requesting retrieval of material from the collection.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The original consignment was acquired from Juan Davila in 1997 under the Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme. Further consignments were received in 2007 and 2008.

Arrangement:

Davila accumulated the papers in this collection in chronological order by year, although not chronologically within each year. This arrangement has been retained by the Library.

Indexed terms

Names:

Davila, Juan

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1495711).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Juan Davila, National Library of Australia, [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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