TABLE OF CONTENTS

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Contents

Index Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Contact Information

Series Level Descriptions

1 - Artwork, ca. 1979-2006

2 - Exhibitions, ca. 1973-2008

3 - Models, nd.-2000

Box List

SERIES 1 - Artwork

SERIES 2 - Exhibitions

SERIES 3 - Models

National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives

Jana Sterbak fonds:

Finding Aid


Collection Summary

Title:Jana Sterbak fonds.
Dates: – 1973-2008
Quantity: – 1927 photographs, 73 drawings, and other material.

Biographical Sketch

Jana Sterbak (1955- ) was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia and immigrated to Canada with her parents in 1968 after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. She studied at the Vancouver School of Art (1973-74), at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (1974-75) and completed her BFA at Concordia University, Montreal (1977). She went on to study art history at the University of Toronto (1980-82) and was a frequently contributor to journals such as Vanguard (Vancouver) and Parachute (Montreal) during the 1980s.

Sterbak is a multidisciplinary artist who has worked in sculpture, installation, photography, video, and performance. Her work explores themes around the body, desire, mortality, technology, power and control. Her first solo exhibition took place in 1978 at the artist-run Pumps Gallery, Vancouver. In 1990 she participated in Aperto exhibition of the Venice Biennale, and in 1991 a solo exhibition of her work, Jana Sterbak: States of Being, was organized by the National Gallery of Canada. Sterbak received national and international media attention during the exhibition when her work Vanitas: Flesh Dress for An Albino Anorectic (1987) - a 'meat dress' sewn from 50 pounds of raw salted steak hung on a mannequin to decompose during the exhibition. Since the early 1990s she has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in North America, Europe, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Israel. Sterbak represented Canada at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003 at the Canadian Pavilion with her video installation, From Here to There (2003).

Sterbak has received numerous awards including: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (1991); the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award, Canada Council for the Arts (1993); the Prix Antoine Guichard, Fondation Casino (1994); the Prix Ozias-Leduc, Fondation Émile-Nelligan (1996); and the Jean A. Chalmers National Visual Arts Award, Ontario Arts Council (2000). Her work can be found in a number of public collections including: the National Gallery of Canada; the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal; Musée national d'art moderne, Paris; Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, the Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis; and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

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Scope and Contents

Fonds consists of photographs, drawings, correspondence, and other material documenting the inspiration, development, creation, installation and exhibition of artworks and performances by Jana Sterbak. This includes preliminary and conceptual sketches, technical drawings and diagrams, photographs of the artworks during their creation and fabrication, as well as of the final artworks and their installation. Texts by the artist related to specific works and to her work in general, as well as text by others about Sterbak's work can also be found here. The fonds also contains exhibition announcements, brochures, installation photographs, newspaper clippings, press releases, articles and other documentation about Jana Sterbak's solo and group exhibitions and their reception. Models for Sterbaks' Sisyphus III (1991) and for an earlier idea for Oasis (2000) can be found here, as can a found object, Bols Ballerina, which relates to Sterbak's performance Remote Control I and to Tony Brown's work Two Machines for Feeling (1984).

Physical description: Photographs includes 347 colour photographs, 218 b&w photographs, 345 colour negatives, 208 b&w negatives 116 transparencies, 639 slides, 52 colour Polaroids, and 2 b&w Polaroids. Other material includes 95 items of graphic material, 29 cm of textual records and 7 artifacts: 3 sewing needles, 1 embroidered cloth, 2 models, and 1 found object.

Language: Text is mainly in English, with some items in French, Spanish, and Czech.

Source of title: Title based on contents of fonds.

Immediate source of aquisition: The collection was donated to the National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives by Jana Sterbak, 2010.

Terms governing use and reproduction: Permission to reproduce or publish material from the Jana Sterbak fonds must be obtained from the National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives.

Finding aids: Series level descriptions and box list available.

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Organization of the Collection
This collection is organized into 3 series.
Series 1 - Artwork, ca. 1979-2006.
Series 2 - Exhibitions, ca. 1973-2008.
Series 3 - Models, nd.-2000.

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Index Terms

Names:
Sterbak, Jana, 1955-
Document Types:
Photographs.
Drawings.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Title of item], Jana Sterbak fonds, National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives.

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Contact Information

Reference Services
Library and Archives 
National Gallery of Canada 
380 Sussex Drive 
Ottawa, Ontario 
K1N 9N4 

T 613-714-6000 ext. 6323 

[email protected]


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Series Level Descriptions

Artworks. – ca. 1979-2006. – 1,272 photographs, 61 drawings, and other material.

Series consists of records, documentation, and research material for Jana Sterbak's artworks and performances. The contents of the files for individual artworks and performances vary, but can include preliminary and conceptual sketches, technical drawings and diagrams, photographs of the artworks taken during their creation and fabrication, as well as photographs of the final artworks and their installation. Also included for some of the artworks is text written by the artist to accompany the work when it is installed or text that explains the making and/or presentation of the work. Technical information on the components for the artwork, samples of components, correspondence and budgetary information regarding the fabrication of the work, photographs of preliminary sketches and models for the work, and research material gathered by the artist for specific works such as Seduction Couch, Remote Control I and II, and From Here to There can also be found in this series.

Source of supplied title proper: Title based on contents of series.

Physical description: Other material includes 60 items of graphic material, 7 cm of textual records, and 4 artifacts.

Finding aids: Box list available.

See Box List for this Series

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Exhibitions. – ca. 1973-2008. – 655 photographs, 12 drawings, and other material.

Series consists of exhibition announcements, brochures, installation photographs, newspaper clippings, press releases, articles and other documentation about Jana Sterbak's solo and group exhibitions and their reception. The series also contains texts by the artist about her work and texts for artist talks, as well as text by others such as Irena Zantovska Murray and Marc Mayer, some correspondence, a copy of Milan Kundera's manuscript for his novel Zivot je jinde (Life is Elsewhere), and 4 photographs of Jana Sterbak.

Source of supplied title proper: Title based on contents of series.

Physical description: Other material includes 35 items of graphic material and 22 cm of textual records.

Finding aids: Box list available.

See Box List for this Series

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Models. – ca. nd.-2000 – 3 artifacts.

The series consists of 2 models and 1 found object related to artworks by Jana Sterbak. A model for Sisyphus III (1991) and a model for an earlier concept for Oasis (2000) can be found here. In addition a found object of a plastic "dancing" ballerina enclosed in a bottle of liquor, Bols Ballerina, given to Sterbak by her friend Tony Brown relates to Sterbak's performance Remote Control I presented at the National Gallery of Canada during the Jana Sterbak: States of Being exhibition in 1991 and to Brown's work Two Machines for Feeling (1984).

Source of supplied title proper: Title based on contents of series.

Finding aids: Box list available.

See Box List for this Series

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Box List

Series 1 - Artworks.

Box Folder
Box 1 File 1 Cones on Fingers, 1979. – ca. 1979. – 60 photographs.
File consists of 14 b&w photographs, 7 colour photographs, 18 colour slides, 8 colour transparencies, and 11 35mm colour negatives of Cones on Fingers and 2 b&w photographs of Golem.
File 2 Condensed, 1979. – 1996-97. – 1 photograph.
File consists of 1 colour photograph of the work.
The work was reissued in 1996.
File 3 Golem: Objects as Sensations, 1979-82. – 1982-1986. – 167 photographs.
File contains 60 b&w photographs, 21 colour photographs and 21 35mm colour negatives of the work; 64 colour slides (unmounted) of the "hand"; 1 colour photograph and 1 colour reproduction of I Want You to Feel the Way I Do ... ; a brief catalogue description of Stomach (Venom) and Penis; an exhibition notice for Golem: Objects as Sensations shown at Mercer, 21 September - 9 October; and a copy of the 49th Parallel brochure for the Jana Sterbak / Krzysztof Wodiczko exhibition January 11-Februrary 15, 1986.
File 4 Thread Cubes, 1980-81. – 1980-1981. – 33 items of graphic material, 5 drawings, and other material.
File consists of 5 sketches, 21 diagrams that have been annotated by the artist, 10 photocopies of the annotated diagrams, 5 colour slides of the work, 3 size no.7 sharp sewing needles, and 2 photocopies illustrating the work.
Drawings include: 5 ink on paper : 24 x 21 cm or smaller. Four of the five drawings are affixed to a long sheet (21.5 x 120 cm) with masking tape.
File 5 Inhabitation, 1983. – 1983. – 12 photographs.
File consists of 1 b&w photograph, 3 colour slides (unmounted) and 8 b&w negatives of the work.
File 6 Spare Spine, 1983. – 1983. – 1 photograph.
File consists of 1 b&w photograph.
File 7 Corona Laurea (noli me tangere), 1983-84. – 1983-1984. – 57 photographs, 6 items of textual records and 1 item of graphic material.
File consists of 12 b&w photographs, 1 colour photograph, 43 colour slides, and 1 b&w reproduction of the artwork; 1 b&w photograph of a drawing of the work; text by the artist about the work; and a photocopy of notes and sketches regarding the reconstruction of the work, including fabrication costs.
File 8 Specimen, 1983-90. – ca. 1990. – 1 photograph.
File consists of 1 colour Polaroid of the artwork.
File 9 Want You to Feel the Way I Do . . . (The Dress), 1984-85. – 1984-85. – 116 photographs, 1 drawing, and 1 item of textual records.
File consists of 1 b&w photograph, 1 b&w contact sheet (14 views), 4 colour photographs, 48 120 b&w negatives and 9 120 colour negatives, 5 colour transparencies, 34 slides (unmounted) and 13 slides (mounted) of the artwork, including installation views and the text that accompanies the work. One of the photographs has a small sketch in red ink affixes to its upper left corner. The file also includes 1 b&w photograph of a drawing for the work and the text written by the artist on Medea.
Drawing includes: 1 red ink on paper ; 13.3 x 13.5 cm (irregular).
File 10 Can Hear You Think (Dedicated to Stephen Hawking), 1984-85. – 1984-85. – 20 photographs.
File consists of 1 colour photograph, 9 colour Polaroids, 7 colour slides, 1 b&w photograph of the artwork, and 2 colour photographs of clay models of the heads used in the work.
File 11 Artist as a Combustible, 1986. – ca. 1991. – 44 photographs.
File consists of 3 colour photographs, 5 colour negatives, 32 colour transparencies, 1 b&w Polaroid, 1 b&w negative, and 1 b&w photograph of the performance, as well as 1 colour photograph of the artist in her studio working on the performance.
File 12 Seduction Couch, 1986-87. – 1986-87. – 14 photographs.
File consists of 1 b&w photograph of Jacques-Louis David's Madame Récamier, 6 colour photographs, 2 b&w photographs, 2 b&w negatives, and 2 colour transparencies of Seduction Couch. The file also includes 1 colour Polaroid of a model for the artwork.
File 13 Attitudes, 1987. – 1987. – 4 drawings, 18 photographs and other material.
File consists of 4 sketches in black ink of couches, photocopies of illustrations of couches from different cultures of the past, 1 b&w photograph of The Sulking Room, and 1 b&w photograph of Jacques-Louis David's Madame Récamier which has been altered by the artist so that the text for a number of definitions (bounder, bouderie, boudeur, boudoir) is superimposed on the photograph. The file also includes 2 colour transparencies of the artwork and 9 b&w photographs, 1 colour slide, and 1 b&w negative of individual pillows from Attitudes; 3 colour Polaroids of textile signs that served as inspiration for the work, a postcard from the Ydessa Gallery featuring a photograph of Greed from Sterbak's Attitudes series, samples of different types which feature the words that Sterbak has included as the text on the pillows of this work, ketches, and a sample of sewn text, "Sexual Fantasies", for the Sexual Fantasies pillow.
Drawings include: 3 ink on paper ; 21.5 x 28 cm, 1 ink on paper ; 11 x 16 cm.
Box Folder
Box 2 File 1 Generic Man, 1987. – ca. 1987. – 10 photographs.
File consists of 2 b&w photographs and 8 colour slides of the work.
File 2Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic, 1987 and Rights of Passage, 1985. – 1985-1987. – 43 photographs.
File consists of 12 b&w photographs and 2 colour slides of Vanitas; 14 colour transparencies of Sterbak, René Blouin, and a model with Vanitas; 4 b&w photographs, 1 colour photograph, and 2 colour reproductions of I Want You To Feel The Way I Do, 1 b&w photograph of Artist as a Combustible, 9 b&w 35mm negatives of an unknown work.
File 3Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic, 1987. – ca. 1987-1991. – 17 photographs, 2 drawings and other material.
File consists of 2 ink sketches of the work, 16 colour Polaroids showing the decay of Vanitas between 3 August 1990 – 29 October 1990, 1 colour photograph of the work shown on a model, and 1 colour postcard of the work issued by Galerie René Blouin, Montreal and the Donald Young Gallery, Chicago. The file also contains text from the Figuring the Body exhibition at the Foster Gallery, 28 July – 28 October 1990, and one item of correspondence dated February 1, 1991 from Richard (possibly Richard Gagné , conservator at the National Gallery of Canada). Drawings include: 2 ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm.
File 4Drawing Room, 1988. – 1988. – 1 photograph.
File consists of 1 b&w photograph of the text which accompanies the work.
File 5Standard Lives, 1988 and Standard Lives - Abridged, 1989-90. – ca. 1988-90. – 108 photographs and other material.
File consists of 2 colour transparencies and 1 b&w contact sheet (12 views) of the Standard Lives, the 1988 work of a measuring tape which consists of the images of standard lives taken from Letraset illustrations. The file also contains a fax of rough designs of light fittings; 1 colour photograph, 5 colour transparencies, 1 b&w photograph, 4 b&w contact sheets (59 views); 59 b&w 35mm negatives, 33 colour 35 mm negatives of Northumberland St., Newcastle with Standard Lives-Abridged installed on the light fittings. In addition, the file contains 1 b&w photograph of one of the "standard lives" images, 1 b&w photograph of the Manufactures Hanover Trust (a building design strongly influenced by Classical Greek architecture), a photocopy of a classical Greek temple façade onto which Sterbak has affixed the images from "standard lives", and Letraset sheets which illustrate Standard Lives and Standard Lives - Abridged and photocopies of these sheets.
File 6Sulking Room, 1988. – 1988. – 4 photographs and 1 embroidered cloth.
File consists of 4 colour slides of the artwork and 1 white cloth (144 x 87 cm) embroidered with black thread of a text similar, but different from, the text for The Sulking Room.
File 7Remote Control I and II, 1989. – ca. 1988-1991. – 4 drawings, 50 photographs, and other material.
File consists of 4 preliminary sketches for Remote Control, 6 colour photographs, 16 b&w photographs, 5 colour transparencies, 12 b&w negatives, and 6 b&w contact sheets (48 views) of Remote Control (including 1 b&w photograph of its installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago in 1990, 3 colour photographs of the performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, 1996, and 1 colour transparency of the installation view in an unknown venue). The file also contains 4 b&w photographs of illustrations of crinolines (including a contact sheet of the images), 1 b&w photograph of a mould for Remote Control I, diagrams and notes regarding the work and its design, photocopies of illustrations of crinolines, a floor plan of the National Gallery of Canada ground floor outlining the path for the Remote Control performance which took place during the Jana Sterbak: States of Being exhibition in 1991, and a copy of the brochure that was produced by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago when they held their Jana Sterbak exhibition in 1990, text by Bruce W. Ferguson.
Drawings include: 4 ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm.
File 8Inside, 1990. – ca. 1990. – 22 photographs and 1 drawing.
File consists of 1 sheet of sketches for the work, 2 b&w photographs, 9 colour photographs, 5 colour Polaroids, and 6 35mm colour negatives of models for the work and the work itself.
Drawing includes: 1 ink on paper : 28 x 21.5 cm.
File 9Tongue, 1990. – 1990. – 1 photograph.
File consists of 1 b&w photograph of the work.
File 10Shrinking Lenin, 1991. – 1991. – 1 photograph.
File consists of 1 b&w photograph of the artwork.
File 11Sisyphus, 1991. – ca. 1991-1993. – 15 photographs, 9 items of graphic material, and other material.
File consists of 2 colour transparencies, 1 colour photograph, and 4 b&w photographs of the work; 6 b&w contact sheets (64 views) of a man using Sisyphus; 1colour photograph and 1 b&w photograph of two different sketches for Sisyphus; 1 colour ink jet print of the model for Sisyphus; 8 technical diagrams of the work; text presenting the definition of "condition"; examples or samples for different types of fonts for the text for Sisyphus; paint samples; an estimate for the fabrication of Sisyphus; notes and invoices for the project; 2 copies of the brochure for Project 38: Jana Sterbak exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, 20 November 1992 – 5 January 1993; and newspaper clippings.
File 12Empire Chair, 1991. – ca. 1991. – 2 photographs, 4 items of graphic material, and 1 item of textual records.
File consists of 2 colour photographs of Empire Chair, 4 photocopies of the diagrams for Empire Chair, and a text from Italo Calvino, "A King Listens" in Under the Jaguar Sun.
File 13Catacombes, 1992. – ca. 1992. – 2 photographs.
File consists of 1 b&w photograph and 1 colour transparency of the artwork.
File 14Distraction, 1992. – ca. 1992. – 9 photographs, 2 items of textural records, and 1 item of graphic material.
File consists of 4 colour photographs, 2 b&w photographs, 2 colour transparencies, 1 colour negative, and 1 colour postcard of Distraction, a hand-written text, and a photocopy of the text that accompanies the work.
File 15Magic Shoes, 1992. – ca. 1992. – 15 photographs and 1 item of textual records.
File consists of 4 colour photographs, 6 colour Polaroids, 4 b&w photographs, 1 b&w contact sheet (2 views) of the artwork and one sheet of hand-written text that reads, "subversive use of technology; technology can be used to portray the impulses of the spirit."
File 16Arm Cages,1993. – ca. 1993. – 3 photographs and 3 items of graphic material.
File consists of 1 colour photograph and 3 colour ink jet prints of Arm Cages. The file also contains 1 b&w photograph of a scene from Déluge (1994) performed by O Vertigo Danse Inc. which used stilts that look very similar to Arm Cages, and1 b&w photograph of Trichotilomania.
File 17Chemise de nuit, 1993. – ca. 1993. – 2 photographs.
File consists of 2 b&w photographs of the artwork.
File 18Trichotilomania, 1993. – ca. 1993. – 15 photographs and 3 items of textual records.
File consists of 3 colour photographs, 3 colour transparencies, 7 b&w photographs, 2 b&w contact sheets (5 views) of Trichotilomania and a 3 page definition of hair from an unidentified source.
The work is also known as Hair Whip.
File 19Untitled (for Terry Last), 1993. – 1993. – 1 photograph.
File consists of 1 colour transparency.
Box Folder
Box 3 File 1 Declaration, 1993. – ca. 1993-1994. – 2 drawings, 8 photographs, and other material.
File consists of 2 ink sketches for Declaration, a hand-written 2 page text explaining the making and presentation of the work, 1 colour photograph, 1 colour transparency, 1 colour negative, and 5 colour Polaroids of Declaration, and a copy of the exhibition brochure for Jana Sterbak: Déclaration organized by the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, 11 June-14 August 1994.
Drawings include: 2 ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm.
File 2Combat Crickets Compartment, 1993-97. – ca. 1993-97. – 21 photographs, 1 item of graphic material, and other material.
File consists of 2 colour photographs, 2 b&w photographs, 5 colour Polaroids and 12 35mm colour negatives of Combat Crickets, a colour postcard issued by Galerie René Blouin featuring Combat Crickets, a hand-written page from Stéphane Le Tirant of contacts and other information regarding crickets and katydids, 3 articles on crickets, and a photocopy of a haiku poem about a cricket.
File 3Defense, 1995. – ca. 1995-96. – 5 items of graphic material.
File consists of photocopies of 4 sketches for the work and one exhibition invitation for a private viewing of Jana Sterbak: Velleitas shown at the Serpentine Gallery, London, on 16 January 1996.
File 4Absorption: Work in Progress, 1995. – ca. 1995-96. – 9 items of textual records, 3 photographs, and 1 item of graphic material.
File consists of 3 colour photographs and 1 ink jet paper print of the work, Sterbak's text (in English and in French) for the work, and 1 letter to Sterbak by Barbara Lange and text written by Lange for a conference of gender studies in art history in 1996 (6. Kunsthistorikerinnentagung).
File 5Condition, 1995. – ca. 1995-97. – 25 drawings, 20 photographs, and other material.
File consists of 17 ink and 8 pencil sketches of Condition, 1 colour transparency and 1 colour photograph of the work, l2 colour photographs of the work installed, 1 b&w photograph of a man wearing and walking with Condition and 1 b&w photograph of a sketch for Condition. A text of the definition of "condition", 5 photocopies of sketches of the work, and 1 exhibition invitation for Jana Sterbak: Metamorphosis shown at the David Winton Bell Gallery, Providence RI, 23 August-5 October, 1997 is included here. The file also contains 1 colour photograph of Absorption installed, 1 b&w photograph of the carrying case for Absorption, 1 colour photograph of Combat Crickets installed, and 1 colour photograph of a display case.
Drawings include: 12 ink on paper ; 29.5 x 21 cm; 2 ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm; 2 ink on paper ; 19 x 14.5 cm; 1 ink on paper ; 43 x 28 cm; 8 graphite on paper ; 29.5 x 21 cm.
File 6Bread-Bed, 1996. – ca.1994-97. – 121 photographs and other material.
File consists of correspondence between Sterbak and France Morin (curator of The Quiet in the Land exhibition), Brother Arnold (The Shaker Society), and others; a few pages of quotes from the Bible concerning bread; various text by Sterbak about the Bread-Bed; a floor plan of the Institute of Contemporary Art @ Maine College of Art; the texts for The Quiet in the Land: Everyday Life, Contemporary Art and the Shakers and The Quiet in the Land: Everyday Life, Contemporary Art and Shingon Esoteric Buddhism; and a photocopy of the definition of "seoir". The file also contains 28 colour photographs, 1 colour transparency, and 49 35mm colour negatives of the Bread-Bed; 8 colour photographs and 11 colour negatives the dormitories of the Shaker community; and 6 colour photographs and 11 colour negatives of Plazuela de San Nicola, Bilbao, Spain; 1 colour photograph of the installation text for the Bread-Bed, 3 colour photographs of Cake Stool, 3 colour photographs of various colour photographs taken at the Shaker community, newspaper reviews of The Quiet in the Land exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art.
File 7Chair Apollinaire, 1996. – ca. 1996. – 42 photographs, 3 drawings, and other material.
File consists of 3 ink sketches of the work; 20 colour photographs and 19 35mm colour negatives of the work at various stages on construction and deterioration; 2 colour transparencies of the artwork; 1 colour negative of an unidentified man; 1 ink jet paper print of the work and 1 of Vanitas; 2 fax sheets of a diagram of Chair Apollinaire (the sheets are not separated). The file also contains the text which accompanies the work, 2 pages of instructions for the construction of the work, 5 photocopies of various definitions of "chair", and part of a page from Domus, October 1996, which includes a reproduction of the work.
Drawings include: 2 ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm; 1 ink on paper ; 19.5 x 21.5 cm.
File 8Baldacchino, 1996-98. – ca. 1996-98. – 60 photographs, 4 drawings, and other material.
File consists of 4 sketches of the work; a hand-written definition of "baldachino"; a photocopy of a French definition of "parasol"; 1 b&w photograph and 2 colour photographs of the work in motion; 40 colour photographs of Sterbak's studio, including 4 photographs of Sterbak's desk showing a highlighted text, a drawing for Baldacchino and inspirational images; and 16 colour slides of the work installed and in motion; 7 pages of text describing the project, including the outreach and website component, as well as the budget and technical information for the work. The file also contains 1 colour photograph and 7 colour reproductions and 4 photocopies of inspirational images of umbrellas and canopies, photocopies from the History of the Umbrella, and a photocopy of 3 pages from Wittgenstein's nephew which describes activity around a dias.
Drawings include: 2 ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm; 1 graphite and ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm; and 1 graphite on paper ; 28 x 7.5 cm.
File 9Hot Crown, 1998. – ca. 1998. – 19 photographs and 0.5 cm of textural records.
File consists of 1 colour photograph of Hot Crown, 3 colour photographs, 6 35mm colour slides related to Hot Crown, and 9 35mm colour negatives of the Bread-Bed, 1 photocopy of a sketch of Hot Crown, and 2 sets of instructions regarding the work.
File 10Faradayurt, 2001. – ca. 1995-2001. – 22 photographs, 2 drawings, and other material.
File consists of 2 sketches, 20 colour slides, and 2 colour transparencies of the Faradayurt; 16 computer-generated diagrams; fabric samples; correspondence regarding the fabric for the Faradayurt; and technical information regarding the fabric, including an installation manual.
Drawings include: 1 ink on paper ; 29.5 x 21 cm; 1 watercolour ; 21.5 x 27.75 cm.
File 11 Monumental, 2001. – ca. 2001. – 9 photographs and 3 items of graphic material.
File consists of 9 colour installation photographs of the artwork and 3 colour ink jet paper prints of a shrine of crutches, canes and shoes (possibly the shrine at St. Joseph's Oratory, Montreal).
File 12Atlas, 2002. – ca. 2002. – 5 photographs and 1 item of textual records.
File consists of 5 colour slides related to Atlas and 1 exhibition invitation for La Lune à l'école et planétarium de Jana Sterbak, 11 October-10 November 2002 at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts Chapelle des Petits-Augustins, Paris.
File 13Hard Entry, 2003. – 2003. – 2 photographs.
File consists of 2 colour photographs of the artwork.
File 14From Here to There, 2003. – ca. 2003-08. – 6 photographs, 6 items of graphic material and other material.
File consists of 3 colour photographs of Stanley wearing his camera and equipment, 1 colour photograph of Stanley during the shooting of From Here to There, 2 colour photographs of an unknown interior (Sterbak's studio?), correspondence, 3 colour paper prints of the installation of From Here To There, one of the images from the work, and a contact sheet that includes images from the work as well as of other work by Sterbak, an exhibition invitation for Jana Sterbak: From Here to There, 23 January-1 March 2004, Musée des beaux-arts de Nantes and 3 copies of the exhibition notice for Jana Sterbak: From Here to There presented 9-23 March 2008 at the Musée du Bas-Saint-Laurent, Québec, plans of the exhibition spaces, a brochure from the Queensland Art Gallery Queensland Gallery of Modern Art which includes From Here To There.
File 15Waiting for High Water, 2005. – 2005-06. – 14 photographs, 5 items of graphic material and 13 items of textual records.
File consists of 13 colour photographs of the flooded streets of Venice and 1 colour photograph of Stanley wearing his camera and equipment; a statement from the artist describing the work; an exhibition notice for Jana Sterbak: About Winter 3 June-3 July 2006 at Erna Hécey Gallery; 5 installation plans for the Erna Hécey Gallery; a press release for the exhibition, newspaper clippings related to the work, 4 sheets documenting the annual rain fall in Venice.
File 16House of Pain: A Relationship, nd. – nd. – 9 photographs, 8 drawings, and other material.
File consists of 1 b&w Polaroid and 8 b&w negatives of the work, 5 pages of text related to the work, 8 pages of sketches and diagrams, and 2 photocopies of plans for the House of Pain.
Drawings include: 3 ink on paper ; 21.5 x 28 cm, 2 ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm., 3 ink on paper ; 21.5 x 17.2 cm.
File 17 Pasiphaë, nd. – nd. – 74 photographs and 1 item of graphic material.
File consists of 1 colour transparency, 14 colour 35mm negatives, 1 colour contact sheet (14 views), 3 b&w photographs, 33 b&w negatives, 10 colour slides,1 b&w contact sheet (23 views), and 1 b&w reproduction of Pasiphaë or of work prints for Pasiphaë. The file also contains 1 b&w contact (21 views; 11 related to Pasiphaë and 10 related to Remote Control) and 10 b&w negatives related to Remote Control.

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Series 2 - Exhibitions.

Box Folder
Box 4 File 1 Glendon Gallery Essay –Ida Applebroog and Jana Sterbak, 1985. –1985. –6 items of textual records.
File consists of 3 copies of the English and 3 copies of the French brochure for the Ida Applebroog and Jana Sterbak exhibition which took place at the Glendon Gallery, Toronto, 14 February-23 March 1985.
File 2Rite of Passage, 1995. –1995. –4 photographs.
File consists of 3 colour transparencies of I Want You to Feel the Way I Do (The Dress) and 1 colour transparency of Vanitas, Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic. Both works were shown as part of the Rite of Passage exhibition at the Tate Gallery, London, 15 June-3 September 1995.
File 3The Quiet in The Land, The Shakers, Maine, 1996. – ca. 1996. – 226 photographs and 1 cd.
File consists of 1 b&w contact sheet (15 views), 1 b&w photograph, 75 colour photographs, 17 35mm b&w negatives and 97 35mm colour negatives of the Shaker community of Sabbathday Lake, Maine. The file also consists of 35 35mm colour negatives of the Shaker community and Sterbak's atelier and 1 cd entitled, "Simple Gifts: Shaker Chants and Spirituals: Shakers of Sabbathday Lake."
File 4Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 1998. –1998. –6 items of textual records.
File consists of newspaper clippings and other documentation for the Jana Sterbak exhibition which took place at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 10 October 1998-3 January 1999.
File 5Jana Sterbak au CIRVA, Marseille, 2000. – 1999-2008. – 44 photographs, 25 items of graphic material and 5 items of textual records.
File consists of 14 colour photographs and 30 colour slides of a series of glass balls that Sterbak created and exhibited at CIRVA, as well as of the installation of the work. The file also contains 22 colour ink jet paper prints of the artwork, newspaper clippings about the exhibition, correspondence, and postcards that served as inspiration or research material for the project.
File 6Venice Biennale, 2003 –2002-03. –1 cm of textural records.
File consists of correspondence, budget information, a press release, and newspaper clippings related to Sterbak's participation in the Venice Biennale in 2003.
File 7Living with Duchamp, 2003 –2002-03. –6 items of textual records.
File consists of correspondence, an exhibition brochure and newspaper clippings for the exhibition Living with Duchamp, 27 June-28 September 2003 at The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, the exhibition included work by Sterbak.
File 8Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan, 2006 – ca. 2006. – 7 items of graphic material.
File consists of 5 colour ink jet paper prints and 1 photocopy of a photograph of various artworks by Sterbak, and a floor plan for Galleria Raffaella Cortese.
File 9Carré d'Art – Musée d'Art contemporaine de Nimes, Nimes, France, 2006-07, – 2006-07. – 10 photographs.
File consists of 10 colour transparencies of artworks and a view of the beginning of the Jana Sterbak: Condition Contrainte exhibition shown at the museum 20 October 2006-7 January 2007.
File 10Jana Sterbak: The Seasons, Barcelona, 2007. – 2007. – 4 items of textual material.
File consists of an exhibition notice and an article for the exhibition which was shown in April-June 2007 at Galeria Toni Tàpies, Barcelona.
File 11Exhibition Announcements and Invitations. vol. 1 – 1980-2010. – 3.5 cm of textual records.
File consists of exhibition annoucements and invitations for solo and group exhibitions which featured Sterbak's artwork. The file also includes postcards, museum programs, and posters which feature artwork by Sterbak.
File 12Exhibition Announcements and Invitations. vol. 2 – 1980-2010. – 3.5 cm of textual records.
File consists of exhibition annoucements and invitations for solo and group exhibitions which featured Sterbak's artwork. The file also includes postcards, museum programs, and posters which feature artwork by Sterbak, including a poster for the Musée de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains entitled L'art du verre contemporain nouvelle vision de la collection du mudac which reproduced Sterbak's work Hard Entry and a poster entitled Jana Sterbak: Louisiana (3 June-11 July 1993) which reproduced Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic. The following posters are stored in the drawing cabinets: L'art du verre contemporain nouvelle vision de la collection du mudac (128 x 89 cm.), Jana Sterbak: Louisiana (85 x 62 cm.), and Jana Sterbak: Condition/Contrainte (174.5 x 118 cm.).
Box Folder
Box 5 File 1 Press Clippings and Other Documentation. –ca.1988-2008. –1.5 cm of textual records.
File consists of newspaper clippings related to Sterbak works or exhibitions she participated in.
File 2Other Material Related to Sterbak's Artworks and Practice. –ca. 1979-2002. –12 drawings, 6 photographs, and other material.
File consists of 1 ink sketch and 3 photocopies of sketches for I Want You to Feel the Way I Do...(The Dress); notes, primarily related to the budget, for Remote Control, as well as 1 colour photograph and 1 Polaroid of the work; 1 colour contact sheet (16 views) of Sterbak, an unidentified man, and Cones on Fingers; 1 colour photograph of Condition; 1 colour ink jet paper print and 2 colour photographs and a text for Acteon at Home (previously known as "Veles"); 3 sketches for House of Pain; various notes and texts by the artist, including texts related to artworks, a 1 page typescript entitled "Jana Sterbak: Statement of Plans"; a 17 page hand-written text by Sterbak (untitled) used as a guideline for a artist talk given at Concordia University in 1997 for a series of artist talks organized by John Zeppetelli; a 7 page typescript entitled Revenge of Bambi, an 11 page typescript by Irena Zantovska Murray entitled "Condition: The Artist as an 'Experimental Self' published in the David Winton Bell Gallery catalogue, Brown University, Providence RI, 1997; a 2 page typescript entitled "At one's own risk: Jana Sterbak's Sisyphus" and another 2 page typescript entitled On Jana Sterbak's "Jacket" both by Murray; a one page text entitled "Jana Sterbakova: The Dress (I Want You to Fell the Way I Do)" from 1986 and an 11 page text (some pages missing?) entitled "3 Tom Boat Stories for Jana's" dated 1985, both by Marc Mayer; a graphite and ink sketch of a hand with designs sketched upon it; 1 orange ink sketch of 2 spirals, 1 black ink sketch of a spiral, 1 black ink sketch of hand-like forms, 1 ink sketch of stick figures in various positions, 1 graphite sketch and 1 ink sketch of abstract design (possibly abstracted figures), 4 sheets of attached absorbent paper with pigment or some other substance all of which related to Space Time and Sterbak's glass planets; 1 blue ink sketch related to Sterbak's Arm Cages; 26 sheets of handmade paper with hair which relates to Sterbak's artworks Distration, Nightshirt, and Trichotilomania. Also included in the file is 3 pages of instructions for the Winsco Van de Graaff Electrostatic Generator Models N-100V and N-105S.
Drawings include: 1 black ink and graphite on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm, 1 orange ink on graph paper ; 21.1 x 20.5 cm, 2 black ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm, 1 black ink on paper ; 21.5 x 28 cm, 1 ink on paper ; 23 x 21.5 (irregular), 1 graphite on paper ; 21.5 x 28 cm, 1 ink on paper ; 21.5 x 28 cm, 2 black ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm, 1 green ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm, 1 blue ink on paper ; 28 x 21.5 cm.
File 3Zivot je jinde (Life is Elsewhere). – ca. 1973. – 4 cm of textual records.
File consists of a photocopy of the manuscript for Milan Kindera's 1973 novel Zivot je jinde (Life is Elsewhere). The novel, set in Czechoslovakia before, during, and after World War II, tells the story of a character, Jaromil, who dedicates his life to poetry.
File 4Photographs, vol. 1. – ca. 1975-1996. – 264 photographs.
File consists of 189 colour slides of or related to artworks, including drawings and sketches; text for artworks; pages from notebooks by Sterbak. The file also contains 27 colour slides of the installations of Sterbak's exhibitions at YYZ 1980, Optica 1980, Main Exit 1981, and S.L. Simpson Gallery in 1982; 12 colour slides of Sterbak's "benches" at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1988; and 36 colour slides of paintings by Sterbak done early in her career.
File 5Photographs, vol. 2. – ca. 1982-1992. – 97 photographs.
File consists of 46 colour slides (unmounted) and 40 colour slides (mounted), 1 b&w photograph, 10 colour transparencies of artworks by Sterbak.
File 6Photographs of Jana Sterbak. – ca. 1991. – 4 photographs.
File consists of 1 colour photograph by Paul Orenstein, 2 b&w photographs by Gabor Szilasi, and 1 b&w photograph taken by an unknown photographer of the artist.

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Series 3 - Models.

Box Folder
Box 6
File Model for Sisyphus III, 1991. – ca. 1991. – 1 model : wood, plaster, metal ; 17.3 x 34.5 x 17.3 cm.
The model for Sisyphus III, 1991 which is in the collection of the Musée d'art contemporain de Marseille.
Box Folder
Box 7
File Model for Oasis, 2000. – ca. 2000. – 1 model : metal, fabric ; 46 x 22 x 46 cm.
The model relates to Sterbak's work Oasis which was realized by Sterbak in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia and with additional production assistance from the National Gallery of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts for the Elusive Paradise: The Millennium Prize exhibition in 2001.
Box Folder
Box 8
File Bols Ballerina, nd. – nd. – 1 sculpture : glass, plastic and other material ; 25.5 x 11.8 x 11.8 cm.
Bols Ballerina is a found object that was given to Sterbak by her friend artist Tony Brown. Brown had seen the Sterbak's crinoline pieces (Remote Control I and Remote Control II) in Sterbak's studio and was also drawn to the figure of the ballerina as it relates to his own work Two Machines for Feeling, 1984 (in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada) which also features a mechanical dancing figure. The Bols Ballerina relates to Sterbak's Remote Control I performance that was presented at the National Gallery of Canada during the Jana Sterbak: States of Being exhibition in 1991.

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