From the Archive
Womanhouse installation in Los Angeles, featuring Robin Weltsch’s Kitchen and Vicki Hodgetts’s Eggs to Breasts (Sponsored by Feminist Art Program at CalArts), 1972. The Getty Research Institute, 2000.M.43.1. Photo courtesy Lloyd Hamrol
On View at the Getty Center: Greetings from L.A.: Artists and Publics 1950-1980
In the 1970s, Los Angeles became an epicenter of the feminist movement. One major reason for that was the Feminist Art Program that Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro had established at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 1971, the first of the its kind in the nation. Because a new campus was still under construction, Chicago and Schapiro began by working with the students on Womanhouse, a project in which a dilapidated mansion in Hollywood was converted into a space for installations where the collaborators explored the myths and fantasies related to the home and feminine domesticity. In addition to being on view for a month in February 1972, Womanhouse hosted the West Coast Women Artists’ Conference, and thus was seen by feminist activists beyond Southern California.
Works of Art
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In Mourning and In Rage media performance at Los Angeles City Hall, December 13, 1977, Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz-Starus. Gelatin silver prints documenting the event by Susan Mogul. 7 15/16 x 10 3/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, Lawrence Alloway Papers, 2003.M.46. Photo courtesy of Susan Mogul
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Car Hood, 1964, Judy Chicago. Sprayed acrylic lacquer on Corvair car hood. 42 15/16 x 49 3/16 x 4 5/16 in. Moderna Museet, Stockholm. Acquired 2007 with means from The Second Museum of our Wishes. © Judy Chicago, 1964. Photo © Donald Woodman
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Big Blue Pink from the Flesh Gardens series, 1971, Judy Chicago. Sprayed acrylic lacquer on acrylic. 96 in x 96 in. Tom Jancar Gallery, Los Angeles. © Judy Chicago, 1971. Photo © Donald Woodman
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Ablutions performance at Guy Dill’s studio, with Judy Chicago, Suzanne Lacy, Sandra Orgel, and Aviva Rahmani (Sponsored by Feminist Art Program at CalArts), 1972. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Art in the Public Interest and 18th Street Arts Center, 2006.M.8.42. Photo courtesy Lloyd Hamrol
Explore the Archive
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Video: Experience the Womanhouse Kitchen. Excerpt from the documentary film Womanhouse, 1974, directed by Johanna Demetrakas. The Getty Research Institute, 2896-034. © Johanna Demetrakas
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Video: Learn more about the region’s network of art schools with artist Barbara T. Smith
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Announcement for Judy Chicago exhibition at California State University, Fullerton, October 23– November 25, 1970. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Rolf G. Nelson, 2010.M.38.5. Image courtesy of Jerry McMillan and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Jerry McMillan.
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Cover of Womanspace journal, vol. 1, no. 1, 1973. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Hal Glicksman, 2009.M.5.20. Courtesy of Judy Chicago
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Selected Press Reaction to “Sex Differentials in Art Exhibition Reviews,” publication by Tamarind Lithography Workshop, 1972. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Hal Glicksman, 2009.M.5.21. Courtesy of June Wayne/Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Inc.
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Los Angeles Council of Women Artists Report, June 15, 1971. The Getty Research Institute, 2003.M.46
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Womanhouse catalogue, Feminist Art Program at CalArts, 1972. Designed by Sheila Levrant de Bretteville. The Getty Research Institute, 89-B23677. Courtesy of CalArts Archives
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Womanhouse announcement, 1972. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Rolf G. Nelson, 2010.M.38.6. Courtesy of Sheila Levrant de Bretteville
