WOMANHOUSE

To celebrate the 50th anniversary and expand upon narratives surrounding the historic environmental art installation and performance space, LAND is partnering with Anat Ebgi Gallery to present a dynamic performance and events series in support of the upcoming exhibition WOMANHOUSE. This exhibition will examine the spirit of experimentation and collaboration that defined west coast Feminist Art and trace the period that immediately preceded and succeeded Womanhouse from 1970 to 1976.

Instead of recreating original installation works, which could serve to retrench what is already known, this exhibition looks at the larger practices of these artists—what was made before, during, and coming out of this experience. Tracing the narratives, origins, and legacy of this historic period through Fresno Feminist Art Program, Womanhouse, Womanspace, and The Woman’s Building allows for a multi-facited conversation about the energy and trajectories that this underexamined period of art history unleashed. We will present works of the period alongside ephemera and photographs from the original Womanhouse installations that explore the roots of central core imagery, collaborative practices, and performance and costuming.

The programs will include a restaging of historic performances, consciousness-raising sessions, and film screenings. These performances and events will include participants from the original Womanhouse alongside younger and emerging artists in order to reimagine and complicate ideas relevant to our contemporary moment.

Opening Reception

Friday February 18, 2022

5-9PM

Performances by Holly Harrell & Karen LeCocq begin at 6:30 pm

LeCocq will reprise her seminal performance 'Leah's Room,' while Harrell will reinterpret Faith Wilding's 1972 'Waiting' performance.

Zine release and reading of 'Dream House' from Hexentexte Press

Saturday, February 19

2-4PM

The event will include readings by contributors Claressinka Anderson, Sarah Green, Jennifer Pilch, Jessica Dillon and Karolina Lavergne.

Waiting performances by Holly Harrell and Kayla Tange

Saturday, March 5

2PM

Faith Wilding’s 1972 ‘Waiting’ is a performance of endurance and contemplation where she waits for people, things, events, and the phenomena of a changing world to arrive. Originally performed within the walls of the monumental art installation and performance space of Womanhouse, Wilding's ‘Waiting’ became a key point for generations of artists drawn to how performance art could be a vehicle to discuss, critique, and apply foresight to local and global concerns.

Later in 2007 performed at the Contemporary Art Space in Geneva, Wilding delivered ‘Waiting With,’ an addendum to her 1972 performance expanding on the original ‘Waiting’ performance. Wilding’s couplet of ‘Waiting’ performances are presented together for the first time illustrate the continuity between her two performances.

The artists Holly Harrell and Kayla Tange will reinterpret these two performances tailored to our current cultural moment. This intergenerational endeavor between Wilding, Harrell, and Tange aim to introduce this feminist art history to newer generations to learn from the monumental significance of Womanhouse and it’s participants.

Maintenance Performances by Sebastian Hernandez, Gabriela Ruiz, and Karla Ekatherine Canseco

Saturday, March 19

4PM

In 1972 Sandra Ogel and Christine Rush as a part of the installation performance-space Womanhouse performed 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 pieces respectively titled Ironing and Scrubbing. These performances emphasized the monotonous and endless qualities of housework which women are often subjected to not only execute but to find enjoyment and fulfillment. Ogel and Rush’s performances reliant on repetition slowed down these mundane acts to grid and critique essentialist ideas of gender. For Ogel’s 𝘐𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, the artist irons what appears to be a never ending bedsheet while Rush’s 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 finds the artist scrubbing the floor with a brush until she tires out. The two performances underline the patriarchal mandate of domestic work still present today. ⁠

Reimaging and reinterpreting these acts of domestic work the artists Sebastian Hernandez, Gabriela Ruiz, and Karla Ekatherine Canseco will fashion these performances to speak to our current cultural moment. The three artists share an interest in reconsidering what maintenance means in our current day. Their performances expand and complicate ideas of gender and power contingent on domestic labor to emphasize how patriarchal ideas of maintenance rule over the physical and psychological lives of women. This intergenerational endeavor between Ogel, Rush, Hernandez, Ruiz, and Canseco aim to introduce this feminist art history to newer generations to learn from the monumental significance of Womanhouse and it’s participants. ⁠

Womanhouse Now: Films and Experimental Shorts

Sunday, April 3, 2022

1PM

2220 Arts + Archives

2220 Beverly Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90057

Co-presented with LA FilmForum + Anat Ebgi Gallery

Join us for an afternoon of films including Johanna Demetrakas 1974 documentary on the Womanhouse home alongside a set of experimental shorts from participating artists like Shawnee Wollenman, Judith Dancoff, Judy Chicago, and Cheri Gaulke.

After the screening there will be a conversation moderated by Anat Ebgi Senior Director, Stefano di Paola. Guest panelist to be announced at a later date.

Special thanks to Anat Ebgi Gallery for their support of this performance and program series.

LAND’s 2022 exhibitions are made possible with lead support from the Offield Family Foundation and the Jerry and Terri Kohl Family Foundation.

Additional support is provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the LA Arts Recovery Fund, Abby Pucker, the Fran and Ray Stark Foundation, Jay and Deanie Stein Foundation Trust, the Poncher Family Foundation, Brenda Potter, and LAND’s Nomadic Council.