Explore the Era

Delve into the postwar Los Angeles art world in this online archive, which provides additional material related to the exhibitions on view at the Getty Center. Learn about hipsters and happenings, and the venues across the city where all the action took place through images from the archives and first-hand accounts with the artists.

Leslie Labowitz-Starus
Artist

Sproutime-LA, "Mary, Mary, How Does Your Garden Grow" performance, 1980, Leslie Labowitz-Starus

Sproutime-LA, "Mary, Mary, How Does Your Garden Grow" performance in Venice, 1980, Leslie Labowitz-Starus. © Leslie-Labowitz-Starus

Daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, Leslie Labowitz-Starus earned her MFA from Otis in 1972 before moving to Düsseldorf, Germany, where she studied with Joseph Beuys. In the early 1970s, she was introduced by Eleanor Antin to Suzanne Lacy, and from 1977 to 1980, the two collaborated on a series of large-scale activist performances that often took place in public settings. They also co-founded Ariadne: A Social Art Network, a support system for women artists.

Historic Map Locations

Works of Art

  • In Mourning and In Rage media performance at Los Angeles City Hall

    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

Explore the Archive

  • Video: Art of Protest—Artist Suzanne Lacy

    Video: Art of Protest—Artist Suzanne Lacy discusses the connection between art and activism