Monthly Update
Digitization of Annette Del Zoppo Papers Underway
Starting in May, 2025, OA+D Archives began the process of digitizing over 5,000 35mm slides in the Annette Del Zoppo Papers Related to Paolo Soleri (OAD Collection #46). The Del Zoppo collection is one of several in OA+D holdings that are heavily photographic in nature. Work on these materials is establishing treatment standards and processing guidelines for similar important image reservoirs found in a number of other collections.
Annette Del Zoppo (1936-2001) was a Los Angeles-based photographer whose work documented, among other subjects, the studio of Charles and Ray Eames, the product lines of manufacturers like Hermann Miller, and the Los Angeles Olympics of 1986. The portion of her life's work obtained by OA+D Archives deals exclusively with her involvement with Paolo Soleri. She was present periodically with her camera at the Arcosanti site in Arizona from the mid-1960s until the 1980s.
Del Zoppo’s oeuvre of some 25,000 35mm slides illustrates comprehensively the design, construction, and evolution of community life of this famed Arizona settlement. In addition, her collection contains an array of rare posters and publications related to Arcosanti festivals, as well as many examples of clay and bronze Soleri bells.
Del Zoppo used her photographs to compose a substantial number multimedia presentations with audio tracks. Working from old VHS tapes, these are being reconstructed and will be digitized as 4K videos. In addition, the organization of her materials as she left them is being retained so that her artistic presence as a photographer will be preserved.
Recently, OA+D Archives received grants from the Arizona Architectural Foundation and the Arizona Humanities Council. This generous support has enabled the acquisition of an automated slide scanner and the archival supplies necessary to organize, conserve, and process the Del Zoppo collection. Thanks to the efforts of talented volunteers, work is now firmly underway. We anticipate presenting research access to this important resource by spring of 2026 through our online catalog.
If you'd also like to support the OA+D Archives in its efforts to save and digitize archival architectural materials like these, please consider making a tax-deductible donation HERE.
From The Archives
This month we feature a vintage 1926 press photograph of Olga Milanoff, also known as Frank Lloyd Wright's third wife, Olgivanna Lloyd Wright. They first met in November 1924 and eventually married in 1928. In 1932, the couple established Wright's architectural apprentice program and the Taliesin Fellowship. This recently acquired photo is a very early image of Olgivanna before she and Wright were married.
If you have archival materials related to Frank Lloyd Wright, the Taliesin Fellowship, or any other organic architectural or design items that you're interested in donating for our growing collections, please let us know by contacting us at info@oadarchives.org.
OA+D NEWS & EVENTS
Journal OA+D V13:N1 Now Available
As of this writing, copies of our newest publication, The Journal of Organic Architecture + Design, are hitting the mailboxes of subscribers and folks who placed pre-orders.
Volume 13, Number 1 documents the history and preservation effort of Gene Masselink's remarkable painted mural for the Flying Dutchman Bar, formally of Spring Green, WI. Titled, “Heavenly Spheres,” Masselink's mural survived a devastating fire that gutted the Old Post House in 2004. The fire damaged wood mural panels were saved and stored at Taliesin in the Midway Barns for many years, waiting for someone to save them.
In the summer of 2022, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation donated the remains of Gene Masselink’s Flying Dutchman mural to the OA+D Archives. OA+D is the designated repository for all Taliesin Associated Architect project files and ephemera. The desired goal of taking over stewardship of the surviving panels was to clean, conserve, and restore as much of the original mural as possible and record its accompanying history.
This 60-page publication features essays by Steve Sikora and Robert Hartmann that examine the history of the Flying Dutchman Bar, the story behind its tragic loss, and an exploration of the design process behind the creation of its Masselink mural. The issue includes never before published vintage photos, drawings, plans, and photo documentation of OA+D's efforts to preserve the original mural as a way to foster a deeper appreciation for Gene Masselink's singular creative talent.
Be sure to get your copy by placing an order at our online store HERE. If you dont want to miss a single issue of the Journal OA+D, then be sure to purchase an annual subscription HERE.