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A R T F U L wednesday (a day late)
Last night at REDCAT Theater I saw a screening curated by Nancy Buchanan called Still Radical: Feminist Video from the 70’s. I first met Nancy at Gallery 825 when we were both founding members of the Video 825 curatorial committee. At the time I had no idea who she was and that she was a key figure in pioneering early video and feminist art. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. The screening included works by Martha Rosler, Susan Mogul, Nancy Angelo, Eleanor Antin, Cynthia Maughan, Lynda Benglis, Ilene Segalove and Buchanan herself with a candid panel discussion afterwards between Buchanan, Mogul, Eungie Joo (REDCAT Gallery Director and Curator) and Andrea Bowers, who’s exhibition is currently on view at the REDCAT Gallery. It is much better to see these works while in an audience, however you can still watch them by yourself online or in the media library at your local art school.
There is something inspiring about the history of feminist art in LA, as if the whole genre began here at Womanhouse. It reminds me of the many reasons I was drawn to LA instead of NY. There was a sense of community, collectivity, sharing and support among artists that I didn’t see in the established art world of NY. I am not sure how much of that still exists here, perhaps the myth is over, but everyonce in a while I find pockets of artists who are generous and willing to share information and ideas without feeling threatened by each other.
