Finding 63: Brochure for Al's Grand Hotel, 1971

May 23, 2011

In conducting research for the 1977 Guggenheim Museum exhibition, Nine Artists: Theodoron Awards, curator Linda Shearer collected printed ephemera, artists' books, and small catalogues pertaining to the artists she included in the show. One of these items, a brochure for Allen Ruppersberg's Al's Grand Hotel (1971), is featured here. Part installation work and part performance piece, Al's Grand Hotel was situated on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and remained open for six weeks during the spring of 1971. Visitors could make advance reservations to spend the night in such rooms as the Jesus Room or Ultra Violet Room, or just stop by to tour the space and have a drink in the hotel bar. One could also purchase items from the installation, including the life-sized cardboard figures from the Al Room pictured in the top right of this brochure.

-Amanda Brown, Archives Assistant