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A Guide to his Papers at the Indiana University Archives

Finding aid prepared by Amanda Ferrara and Alessandro G. Meregaglia

Summary Information

Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives

Creator
Darriau, Jean-Paul, 1929-2006

Title
Jean-Paul Darriau papers, 1947-2006, bulk 1980-1999

Collection No.
C582

Extent
7 cubic feet (8 boxes)

Language
Materials are in English

Abstract
Jean-Paul Darriau was an associate professor of sculpture at Indiana University from 1961-1996. The collection consists of biographical materials, correspondence, art catalogues, as well as a large assortment of photographs and slides taken by Darriau of his work and during his travels.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.

Biographical Note

Born on November 24, 1929 in New York City to French immigrant parents, Jean-Paul Darriau graduated from New York's High School of Music and Art. He pursued his undergraduate studies at Brooklyn College and later earned his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Minnesota in 1954, studying under the master sculptor Harold Tovish. During this time, he also married Cherry Grace Merritt.

Before settling at Indiana University for the bulk of his artistic career, Darriau taught at Oberlin College in Ohio and, as a graduate student, at the Minnesota Institute for the Blind. According to his obituary, the latter was an early expression of his life-long belief in the possibility for and redemptive power of human communication, dialogue, and peace. His 1996 career retrospective exhibit at the IU Museum of Fine Arts served as a professional capstone of that belief, expressed in its title "Traditions and Transgression - Forty Five Years of Sculptural Conservation." In 1961, he began teaching at IU and was Associate Professor of Sculpture at IU's School of Fine Arts for thirty-five years, until his retirement in 1996.

Darriau received two Fulbright grants, which allowed him to study in Italy and France. In Italy, he spent two years working in bronze casting techniques at the Istituto d'Arte in Florence and the Guastini Foundry in Pistoria, from which he emerged a master of bronze casting.

During his career, his work was presented nationally and internationally at museums such as the Guggenheim Museum, the Joseph Hirshhorn Collection in Washington D.C., the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Denver Art Museum, and the Galleria Schneider in Rome. Several of those repositories, including the Indiana University Art Museum, possess Darriau’s work.

Darriau's work remains on display in Bloomington. His 1980 sculpture, "Red, Blond, Black, and Olive," consisting of two 11-ton slabs of limestone carved with faces, depict the racial diversity in Bloomington, resides on the city's Northside in Miller-Showers Park. "The Space Between: Adam and Eve," a bronze piece, is located at the edge of Dunn Woods just behind Kirkwood Hall on the IU campus.

Darriau passed away on August 19, 2006

Arrangement

This collection is organized into eight series: Biographical, Catalogues, Correspondence, Writings & Presentations, Teaching files, Notes & Memos, Cassettes, and Photographs/Slides.

Scope and Content Note

The Biographical series (1960-1999), contains information about Darriau, including biographies, his sketchbooks, daily planners, curriculum vitaes, awards, receipts and posters from his exhibitions.

The Catalogue series (1956-1998), includes both catalogues for Darriau’s exhibits as well as other contemporary artists. This series also contains clippings, programs, and labels related to Darriau's exhibits.

Arranged chronologically, the Correspondence series (1953-2006), documents Darriau’s exhibits, Fulbright awards, and other artistic endeavors.

The Writings and Research series (1969-2005), consists of articles both published and unpublished by Darriau about issues in the art community as well as collected research materials and grant applications. The series also contains poems written by Darriau.

Cassette Tapes (1987-1990), contains recordings related to Darriau's research interests.

Notes & Memos (1991-1995), contains directives written by Darriau about his work as well as course information.

Teaching (1984-1999), contains unpublished textbooks, lecture notes, and bibliographies.

Photographs/Slides (1947-1989, contain two boxes of photographs and slides with images depicting Darriau’s work, works by other artists, exhibitions, as well as his travels to various locations. One box of photographs is organized by subject while the other box is unorganized.

• Indexing Terms

• The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the catalog using these terms.

• • Names
  • Darriau, Jean-Paul, 1929-2006--Archives.
  • Darriau, Jean-Paul, 1929-2006--Correspondence.
  • Indiana University. Department of Fine Arts--Faculty--Archives.
  • Indiana University, Bloomington. School of Fine Arts--Faculty--Archives.
• • Topics
  • Sculpture--Study and teaching (Higher)--Indiana--Bloomington--History--20th century--Sources.
  • Sculptors--Indiana--Bloomington--History--20th century--Sources.

Photographs Pulled

Two boxes of photographs and slides contain extensive images depicting Darriau’s work, works by other artists, exhibitions, as well as his travels to various locations.

Related Material

Additional publications and research materials may be accessed in IUScholarworks.

Related photographs may be available in the University Archives Photographs Database .

Administrative Information

Container List

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