Talk:Renata Bernal

Important note about name changes
If you are researching and verifying biographical information about Renata Bernal, it is important to keep in mind that she has had several legal names over the course of her life. This can make it a little more difficult when referencing official records.


 * She was born Renate Fine, but her mother changed their last name to Weidner when they emigrated to the United States.
 * Admissions and Records at Cooper Union Art School has her listed under her maiden name, Renate Weidner.
 * San Francisco Art Institute Archives has her listed under married name from her first marriage, Renate McLean.
 * Some of her work from the 1970's she signed with her married name from her second marriage, Renate Pysh.
 * Her second husband changed his last name from "Pysh" to "Stevens", so some articles and exhibits list her as Renate Stevens.
 * After her second divorce, she had her name legally changed to her artist's name: Renata Bernal.

During her entire professional career she was signing her artwork as "Renate Bernal" or "Renata Bernal" (sometimes adding a married name as well, e.g. "Renate Bernal Pysh"). However, newspaper records or official documents may have her listed as any of the above variations.

I did not think this detailed history of name changes should be included in the main article, but I have included it here because it will be important to anyone who wants to either verify biographical information referenced in the main article or research new information about Renata to add to the article.

If you feel that this information should not be included on this talk page, or if you think that it should be moved to the main article, please comment here and let me know... I am open to discussion on the topic.

--GregTStevens (talk) 17:49, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

Reference to San Francisco Art Institute Archives
The citation of the "San Francisco Art Institute Archives" is based on the following email that I received from a librarian at the Anne Bremer Memorial Library:


 * Hello Greg,
 * Your letter to Jeannie Garber Patz was relayed to us here in the Library. I could not find anything published here in our collections pertaining to Renate Bernal, but your dates are correct as she is listed in enrollment records here in the School's Archives under the name of Renate McLean--for the dates from the Fall of 1956 through the Spring of 1959 when the school was known as the California School of Fine Arts.  I hope this helps with your search.

When I asked how to cite this information, I was told that simply "San Francisco Art Institute Archives" should be sufficient. Because the records are back from the 1950's, there is no online record that I can point to for this record.

--GregTStevens (talk) 18:06, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Reference to Cooper Union Dean of Admissions & Records
The citation of the "Cooper Union Art School, Dean of Admissions & Records" is based on the following email that I received from an Associate Registrar a the Cooper Union Art School:


 * Dear Mr. Stevens:
 * We are able to verify that Renate Weidner attended Cooper Union Art Day
 * School in 1955 and 1966.

--GregTStevens (talk) 21:02, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

Using a gallery page as a source?
One of Renata Bernal's pieces is being sold by a gallery and is shown on the gallery's website. Under the "description" of the piece, there is biographical information ("Renata Bernal studied lithography with Nathan Oliveira at the San Francisco Art Institute between 1956 - 59"), that I would like to include as a citation in the biography section of this page.

However, because this is a page that also is for the purpose of selling one of her works, I'm not certain it is appropriate, because it could be seen as an attempt at driving traffic to a site that sells a product?

I would appreciate any help or thoughts on the appropriateness of citing biographical information on a page that ALSO sells something? —Preceding unsigned comment added by GregTStevens (talk • contribs) 14:40, 23 August 2010 (UTC)


 * UPDATE: After feedback from User:Chevymontecarlo_alt, I have included this citation as this:
 * The Offering (from the portfolio "Of Gods and Men") at Annex Galleries
 * Please note the biographical information about studying with Nathan Oliveira in the description of the piece being sold.
 * --GregTStevens (talk) 20:11, 31 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Please note the biographical information about studying with Nathan Oliveira in the description of the piece being sold.
 * --GregTStevens (talk) 20:11, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

Self-Published DVD interview as a source?
I have included this sentence in the "Life and Work" section:


 * "The airbrush allowed her to produce, with acrylic paint, the same feeling of luminosity that she had grown to love about oil paintings."

This is based directly on a statement made by Renata Bernal in a DVD that she had made of an art exhibit at the Binghamton City Hall Plaza Gallery, in October 1994. The DVD shows her works on display, and has her (as voiceover) talking about them. She explicitly makes this comment about her use of the airbrush with acrylic paint.

My problem is, this DVD was never officially published by any kind of publishing organization. It was recorded and put together by a friend and distributed to a limited number of people. (I happen to have a copy.) In this sense, I guess it is "self-published" by her. I am not sure where this stands in terms of verifiability, or how to properly cite it. It is a DVD of her own words, and it is "verifiable" in the sense that the DVD exists.... although there is no publishing house you can approach to purchase it.

I would love any feedback or suggestions about this.

--GregTStevens (talk) 18:03, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

The Orphan Tag
On September 24, 2010, The "Orphan" tag was added to the article by Yobot.

On Sept 26, 2010, I added Renata Bernal's name to both the "Notable People" section in the Binghamton, New York‎ article, and the "Artists and Architects" section in the List of people from Binghamton, New York‎ article, in a deliberate attempt to fix the situation. I also removed the "Orphan" tag at this time.

My plan is to gradually add links to this page from other articles, as I find cases where it is appropriate.

If, however, the additions I made are un-done because they are seen as inappropriate, I will re-add the "Orphan" tag to THIS article, until such time as another link is made that is accepted by the community.

My intent is to keep the status of this article accurate, so I plan to monitor and make sure that "Orphan" tag is here as long as it is accurate. If you have any questions or concerns about the way I am doing this, please let me know on my talk page.

--GregTStevens (talk) 19:25, 26 September 2010 (UTC)