DOIN’ITINPUBLIC – Feminism and Art at the Woman’s Building

Doin’ It in Public: Feminism and Art at the Woman’s Building comprises an exhibition, two scholarly publications, and series of public events that document, contextualize and pay tribute to the groundbreaking work of feminist artists and art cooperatives that were centered in and around the Los Angeles Woman’s Building (downtown L.A.) in the 1970s and 1980s. Doin’ It In Public is part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA 1945-1980, an unprecedented collaboration, initiated by the Getty, that brings together more than sixty cultural institutions from across Southern California for six months beginning October 2011 to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.

EXHIBITON PUBLICATIONS:

Volume I: From Site to Vision: the Woman’s Building in Contemporary Culture
This collection of 14 essays was originally published online in 2007 and edited by Sondra Hale and Terry Wolverton. Essayists include: Sheila Levant de Bretteville, Professor of Graphic Design, Yale University; Betty Ann Brown, Professor of Art History at California State University; Theresa Chavez, Cofounder and Artistic Director, About Productions; Cecilia Dougherty, Artist, Brooklyn, New York; Sondra Hale, Professor in Anthropology, University of California at Los Angeles; Jennie Klein, Associate Professor or contemporary art history and feminist art theory, Ohio University; Michelle Kort, Senior Editor, Ms. Magazine; Lucy R. Lippard, Writer, Activist, and Author of twenty-one books (including one novel) on contemporary art and cultural criticism; Bia Lowe, Author of Splendored Thing: Love, Roses & Other Thorny Treasures and Wild Ride; Laura Meyer, Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art at California State University, Fresno; Michelle Moravec, Assistant Professor of History, Rosemont College; Kathleen A. Walkup, Professor of Book Art and Director of the Book Art Program, Mills College; Terry Wolverton, Associate Faculty Mentor in the Master of Fine Art Writing Program, Antioch University Los Angeles.

Volume II: Doin’ It in Public: Feminism and Art and the Woman’s Building
A prestigious team of scholars assembled in 2008-09 to research and write essays about the Woman’s Building and assist in shaping the curatorial focus of this project. The visiting scholars are Vivien Fryd, Professor of Art History, Vanderbilt University; Alexandra Juhasz, Professor of Media Studies at Pitzer; Jennie Klein, Assistant Professor of Art History, Ohio University; Michelle Moravec, Assistant Professor of History, Rosemont College; and Jennifer Sorkin, Assistant Professor of critical studies, media and design, University of Houston, Texas. Additional essays by artist Cheri Gaulke and Meg Linton, OTIS Director of Galleries and Exhibitions.

Both volumes are designed by artist Susan Silton and copyedited by Elisabeth Pulsinelli along with Meg Linton and Sue Maberry.

Opening Reception
Saturday, Oct 1, 2011
4pm-7pm
Ben Maltz Gallery
Free Admission & Parking

At 4pm Artist Linda Vallejo will conduct an opening ceremony to honor the legacy of the women at the Woman’s Building. The ceremony will pay homage to the elements of earth, water, fire, and air, the four cardinal directions, mother earth, father sky, and the great spirit. An altar will be built with special items donated by members of the audience that recall the relationships, memories and accomplishments of the Woman’s Building community.

From 5pm to 7pm there will be a performance by The Waitresses called Order Up! A woman dressed as a waitress with a serving tray follows a customer dressed in costume who drops money for her to pick up. As the waitress bends down, her outfit reveals her sexually, as on of the “rules” is “the sexier the waitress, the bigger the tip.”

Book launch for two volume set: From Site to Vision: the Woman’s Building in Contemporary Culture and Doin’ It in Public Feminism and Art at the Woman’s Building, $55
Book signing with Judy Chicago and Jill Fields for the new publication: Entering the Picture: Judy Chicago, the Fresno Feminist Art Program, and the Collective Visions of Women Artists (2011 Routledge).

Documentation for this event is housed in The Feminist Art Project Archives located at Rutgers University.

Ben Maltz Gallery/Otis College of Art and Design is a Co-Sponsor of TFAP@CAA 2012 Day of Panels.