the Woman's Building, Publications

Publications

Doin' It in Public: Feminism and Art at the Woman's Building, Oct 1-Jan. 28, 2012 comprises an exhibition, three 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.

Doin' It In PUblic: Volume I 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.
Editors: Meg Linton and Sue Maberry

Volume 3 of the Doin' It In Public: Feminism and Art and the Woman's Building: A Guide to the Exhibitions Volume III: Doin' It in Public: Feminism and Art and the Woman's Building: A Guide to the Exhibition
by Otis College of Art and Design (Author), Sue Maberry (Author), Meg Linton (Author), and Terry Wolverton (Contributor)

The Woman's Building and Feminist Art Education 1973-1991: A Pictorial Herstory
By Maria Karras and Marguerite Elliot, ©2011, 100 pages, $20. Richly illustrated with personal reflections of many prominent writers and artists who built the community over the 18 years of the Woman's Building's existence.

Book cover for Mother Art by Suzanne Siegel, Laura Silagi, Deborah Krall Mother Art
By Suzanne Siegel, Laura Silagi, Deborah Krall, ©2011, 102 pages, $20.
Documents the group who came together in 1973 to confront discrimination against artists who are mothers and went on to tackle a vast array of social and political issues in their art. The group was attacked by the press and poiticians, including Ronald Reagan.

Book cover for Feminist Art Workers: A History by Cheri Gaulke and Laurel Klick Feminist Art Workers: A History
By Cheri Gaulke, Laurel Klick, ©2012, 230 pages, $29.95
Explores the archives of this group founded in 1976 who used feminist education techniques and brought their work directly to a non-art audience through performance structures such as bus tours, floats, and phone calls to strangers.

Book cover for The Waitresses Unpeeled The Waitresses Unpeeled: Performance Art and Life
By Jerri Allyn, Anne Gauldin, ©2011, 138 pages, $20
Chronicles the group founded in 1977 who drew upon their own waitressing experiences and incorporated research about working women, then moved out of the gallery to perform in restaurants and on the streets. Available at Amazon

Book cover for Sisters of Survival by Jerri Allyn, Anne Gauldin, Cheri Gaulke and Sue Maberry Sisters Of Survival
By Jerri Allyn, Anne Gauldin, Cheri Gaulke, Sue Maberry, 138 pages, $20
Tracks the history of the anti-nuclear performance art group founded in 1981 who clothed themselves in rainbow-colored nun's habits and toured Western Europe to network with artists and activists.

Insurgent Muse: Life and Art at the Woman's Building
By Terry Wolverton (2002) In the 1970s, the West Coast feminist art movement coalesced around the Woman’s Building in Los Angeles, founded by artist Judy Chicago. Arriving as a young art student in 1976, Terry Wolverton stayed on to become a teacher and co-founder of the Lesbian Art Project, and eventually, executive director. Her journey—emblematic of many women who sought to redefine themselves in the light of feminism—entails confrontation with the damages of sexism, the pitfalls of utopian community, and the forces of social backlash.