Finding Aid for the Woman's Building records, 1975-1994

Box 1, Folder 1

Articles and Clippings. 1975-1979.

Physical Description: photocopies

Scope and Content Note

Articles about The Woman's Building and their various activities.

Additional Note

Includes articles about exhibits put on by Ariadne: A Social Art Network which enlisted women to participate in large scale collaborative performance works. Ariadne was founded by Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz. Also included are articles about various other exhibits including "Beyond the Femininity of Eileen Gray" and "The Still Taboo Subject."

Box 1, Folder 2

Postcard Project. 1985-1988.

Physical Description: letterpress postcards

Scope and Content Note

Postcards created at The Woman's Building.

Additional Note

The Postcard Project was a collaborative project led by artist in residence Cheri Gaulke. Gaukle, a visual artist, first came to The Woman's Building in 1975 and became involved with the Feminist Studio Workshop. Throughout the 1970s she focused predominantly on performance art and has now expanded into a variety of media. The Postcard Project was conceived as a way to celebrate important women in artists' lives, creating an artifact from a personal connection with a historical figure. The project lasted from 1985-1988 and generated hundreds of limited edition postcards.

Box 1, Folder 3

NAIAD Press. No Date.

Physical Description: cardstock mockup book covers, printed paper

Scope and Content Note

Contains various promotional materials, mailers and mockup book covers.

Additional Note

Founded by Barbara Grier and Donna McBride in January 1973, Naiad Press was devoted exclusively to lesbian literature. At its closing in 2003 it was the oldest and largest lesbian/feminist publisher in the world.

Box 1, Folder 4

Womanhouse. No Date.

Physical Description: photocopies

Scope and Content Note

Two copies of the catalog of the Womanhouse exhibition along with the accompanying essay, "The Education of Women as Artists: Project-Womanhouse" by Miriam Shapiro.

Additional Note

Organized by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro, Womanhouse was a feminist art installation and performance space located in an abandoned house in Hollywood, CA. Women artists and the students of both Chicago and Schapiro participated, each woman inhabiting a room or space of her own. Using community collaboration and consciousness raising techniques to generate content, the exhibit focused on the shifting and critical relationship between biology and social roles within the symbolic realm of the home. The exhibition drew approximately 10,000 visitors. Johanna Demetrakas made a documentary film about Womanhouse in 1974.

Box 1, Folder 5

Miscellaneous. No Date.

Physical Description: photocopies, flyers, folders, calendars

Scope and Content Note

Includes various materials unrelated specifically to The Woman's Building.

Box 1, Folder 6

An Oral Herstory of Lesbianism. No Date.

Physical Description: pritned paper, handwritten notes

Scope and Content Note

Program from the performance, "An Oral Herstory of Lesbianism" along with an inventory of photos and a list of the artists involved.

Additional Note

"An Oral Herstory of Lesbianism" was a performance piece consisting of over twenty vignettes and sketches about lesbians' experiences and was performed at The Woman's Building in 1979. Additional images from the performance are at OTIS college of art and design.

Box 2, Folder 1

Press Releases. 1990.

Physical Description: photocopies, printed paper

Scope and Content Note

Press releases from The Woman's Building about shows, exhibitions and news.

Additional Note

Includes press releases about local political events, exhibitions, lectures and performances.

Box 2, Folder 2

Women's Video Center. No Date.

Physical Description: printed paper, photocopies

Scope and Content Note

Contains a flyer about the organization as well as a folder containing historical background. Also included are pamphlets about programming.

Additional Note

Founded in 1976, the LA Women's Video Center (LAWVC) provided classes, equipment and support to women interested in using video to produce documentation, public service announcements, center productions and art tapes.

Box 2, Folder 3

Kathleen Clark - Artistic Director (Miscellaneous). 1990-1991.

Physical Description: printed paper, photocopies, handwritten notes

Scope and Content Note

Miscellaneous documents from Kathleen Clark's tenure as artistic director of The Woman's Building. Flyers, sign in sheets, letters to the board of directors, executive committee notes, mission statement drafts and notes, values and histories as well as fundraising materials.

Additional Note

Kathleen Clark was the Photo Editor of Los Angeles Magazine and LA Weekly, an adjunct faculty member at USC and The Art Center College of Design and Artistic Director at the Woman's Building from 1990-1991.

Box 2, Folder 4

Membership (The Woman's Building). 1978-1979.

Physical Description: printed paper

Scope and Content Note

Contains member communications, newsletters, letters, solicitations and members only invitations.

Box 2, Folder 5

The Women's Graphic Center Newsletters. 1982-1984.

Physical Description: bound, printed newsletters

Scope and Content Note

Quarterly newsletters listing recent projects, upcoming classes, information on scholarships.

Additional Note

Founded in 1981, The Women's Graphic Center, also known as The Women's Graphic Center Typesetting and Design, was a for-profit business designed to both support projects and artistic endeavors at The Woman's Building in addition to strengthening the finances of the organization. Phototypesetting, graphic design, production and printing services were all provided by The Women's Graphic Center.

Box 2, Folder 6

Postcards from The Women's Graphic Center. 1982-1984.

Physical Description: letterpress, phototypeset postcards

Scope and Content Note

Postcards produced either to promote exhibitions or events at The Woman's Building or postcards produced as unique art objects.

Box 2, Folder 7

The Woman's Building Newsletter. 1984-1990.

Physical Description: bound, printed newsletters

Scope and Content Note

Quarterly newsletters including updates on programming, membership information, lists of donors.

Box 2, Folder 8

The Woman's Building Calendars. 1987-1990.

Physical Description: printed paper

Scope and Content Note

Bimonthly calendar of events at The Woman's Building.

Box 2, Folder 9

JC/WIN Materials. 1982.

Physical Description: bound, printed catalogs and essays

Scope and Content Note

Includes the first JC/WIN catalog and Arlene Raven's "Picture This of Why is Art Important?"

Additional Note

JC/WIN (The Judy Chicago Word and Image Network), a small retail outlet that disseminates and publishes feminist literature and artwork both by catalog and on the spot. JC/WIN was a joint project between Judy Chicago and Mary Ross Taylor.

Box 3, Folder 1

Miscellaneous Negatives (Women's Press Collective). No Date.

Physical Description: negatives

Scope and Content Note

Contains negatives from the books "Save Joan Little" and "The Inez Garcia Book" as well as a negative from the "Disarm Rapists" poster as well as negatives from the band High Risk.

Additional Note

The Women's Press Collective was founded in 1969 by artist Wendy Cadden and Judy Grahan. Dedicated to publishing "work of women that we thought no one else would do," the selections in this collection display particular activist works surrounding individual women.

Box 3, Folder 2

Woman Carved of Sun by Anne Gordon (Women's Press Collective). No Date.

Physical Description: negatives, hand drawings, mockups, printed paper

Scope and Content Note

This includes drawings, negative,s, plates and paste ups of the poetry collection "Woman Carved of Sun" by Anne Gordon.

Additional Note

This was published in 1974 and is available for download as a pdf through deepoakland.org.

Box 3, Folder 3

Miscellaneous Materials (Women's Press Collective). No Date.

Physical Description: handwritten notes, paste ups, printed paper

Scope and Content Note

Paste ups and notes for various publications.

Box 3, Folder 4

High Risk. No Date.

Physical Description: negatives, photographs, printed paper

Scope and Content Note

Includes promotional photographs, the corresponding negatives and press releases for the band High Risk.

Additional Note

High Risk was a band that formed in order to create, perform and record a sound track to be used in a film by Donna Deitch named Woman to Woman. Side A "The Common Woman (Nadine)" with the words taken from a poem by Judy Grahan is read by Sandi Ajida and the music is composed and arranged by Virginia Rubino. Sandi Ajida also plays the congas and percussion, Cyndy Mason play the saxophone and flute while Bobi Jackson plays the bass. Side B "Degradation" was composed and arranged by Bobi while the background vocals and instruments are the same as those on the "Common Woman."

Box 3, Folder 5

Lesbians Speak out (Women's Press Collective). No Date.

Physical Description: printed paper, cardstock

Scope and Content Note

This is the paste up of the manuscript Lesbians Speak Out.

Box 4, Folder 1

Inez Garcia Book (Women's Press Collective). No Date.

Physical Description: handwritten notes, onion skin, paste ups

Scope and Content Note

Paste ups for the book on Inez Garcia.

Additional Note

Inez Garcia was convicted of murder and eventually exonerated. Garcia murdered one of the two men involved in her own brutal rape. Her case became a flashpoint for activists in both the women's rights and Chicano movements. This book was published with proceeds going to the Inez Garcia Defense Committee and discusses the history and causes of rape as well as the political realities of rape as a tool of war. deepoakland.org

Box 4, Folder 2

Save Joan Little (Women's Press Collective). No Date.

Physical Description: handwritten notes, paste ups, printed paper

Scope and Content Note

Includes paste ups and drafts. Included in the book is an essay by Angela Davis.

Additional Note

Joan Little, an African American, an inmate of the Beaufort County jail in North Carolina was put on trial for the murder of jailer Clarence Alligood. The case became a cultural rallying cry for the feminist movement, civil rights movement and anti death penalty movements. Little was acquitted using the defense that she used deadly force to resist sexual assault, this is the first instance of this successful defense. deepoakland.org

Box 4, Folder 3

Miscellaneous Graphics (Women's Press Collective). No Date.

Physical Description: hand drawn pictures

Scope and Content Note

Miscellaneous hand drawn pictures and proofs.

Box 4, Folder 4

Copy for Advertisements (Women's Press Collective). No Date.

Physical Description: printed paper, cardstock

Scope and Content Note

Copy for advertisements of various publications.

Box 4, Folder 5

Elephant Poem (Women's Press Collective). No Date.

Physical Description: hand drawn pictures, printed paper, photocopies

Scope and Content Note

Includes out of order drafts of the Elephant Poem by Judy Grahn along with paste ups for publication.

Box 4, Folder 6

Woman to Woman (Women's Press Collective). No Date.

Physical Description: hand drawings, photocopies

Scope and Content Note

Includes sketches, photocopies, paste ups and drafts for the Woman to Woman publication.

Box 5

Books and Catalogs. No Date.

Physical Description: printed books, printed catalogs, letterpress publications

Scope and Content Note

Includes exhibition catalogs for exhibits at The Woman's Building as well as other feminist and local art events, various publications of poetry and other art criticism, literature from within The Woman's Building and without as well as a woodcut printing block and other ephemera.

Box 6

Posters, Flyers, Over sized Documents. No Date.

Physical Description: printed paper, posters

Scope and Content Note

This includes posters, flyers and oversized documents related to exhibitions and events that occurred at The Woman's Building.

Box 7

Flyers. No Date.

Physical Description: printed paper, photocopies

Scope and Content Note

Contains flyers about events, classes and programming at The Woman's Building.

Box 8, Folder 1

Woman's Building Miscellaneous. 1970-1985.

Physical Description: flyers, newsletters, clippings

Scope and Content Note

Membership information, flyers, mailings.

Box 8, Folder 2

Woman's Building Catalogs. 1973-1983.

Physical Description: bound glossy catalogs

Scope and Content Note

Catalogs from art exhibits and events from the Woman's Building.

Box 8, Folder 3

Materials from Woman's Building. 1972-1984.

Physical Description: bound printed and hand bound books

Scope and Content Note

Although labeled "Materials from Woman's Building" this folder contains bound and hand printed books made at the Woman's building letter press.

Box 8, Folder 4

Woman's Building Graphics Center - LA. 1983-1984.

Physical Description: printed paper, photocopies

Scope and Content Note

Newsletters, correspondence and publicity materials related to the Woman's Building Graphics Center.

Box 8, Folder 5

Woman's Building L.A. Publications. 1978-1991.

Physical Description: printed paper, photocopies

Scope and Content Note

Contains calendars, newsletters and issues of Spinning Off.

Box 8, Folder 6

Postcard Project. 1983-1986.

Physical Description: photographs, negatives

Scope and Content Note

Photographs and negatives of the opening of the exhibition of the three year long Postcard Project.

Container List