Inventory of Woman's Building Ephemera

Contact Information
Otis College of Art and Design
Millard Sheets Library
9045 Lincoln Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Phone: (310) 665-6930
Fax: (310) 620-6998
Email: maberry@otis.edu
URL: http://www.otis.edu


Processed by: Lynda Bunting
Date completed: 2009
Encoded by: Lynda Bunting

©2009 Otis College of Art and Design, Millard Sheets Library. All rights reserved.

Administrative Information

Processing History

• The bulk of the Woman's Building archives were donated to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution in 1991. There were many duplicates and other unwanted materials that were sent to various institutions. The ephemera described in this finding aid is a combination of what Otis received and Ruth Iskin's personal holdings of material gathered during her affiliation with the Woman's Building. The intent is to offer this collection to the Archives of American Art at some future date. Lynda Bunting arranged and processed the materials.

Access Restrictions

• Open for use by qualified researchers.

Publication Rights

• Contact the Director of Library and Instructional Technology, Otis College of Art and Design for copyright information and permission to publish.

Preferred Citation

• [Identification of item], Woman's Building Ephemera, Otis College of Art and Design.

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Controlled Access Terms

Subjects

• Art, American--20th century--Exhibitions
• Art--Study and teaching--California--Los Angeles
• Chicago, Judy, 1939-
• Feminism and art
• Feminist Studio Workshop
• Gaulke, Cheri
• Raven, Arlene
• Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Women artists--California
• Women's Graphic Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• de Bretteville, Sheila Levant

Contributors

• Gaulke, Cheri
• Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Women's Graphic Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• de Bretteville, Sheila Levant

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Biographical Note

In 1973, artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levant de Bretteville, and art historian Arlene Raven founded the Feminist Studio Workshop (FSW), one of the first independent schools for women artists. The founders established the workshop as a non-profit alternative education center committed to developing art based on women's experiences. The FSW focused not only on the development of art skills, but also on the development of women's experiences and the incorporation of those experiences into their artwork. Central to this vision was the idea that art should not be separated from other activities related to the developing women's movement. In November of 1973 the founders rented workshop space in a vacated building in downtown Los Angeles and called it The Woman's Building, taking the name from the structure created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The FSW shared space with other organizations and enterprises including several performance groups, Womanspace Gallery, Sisterhood Bookstore, the National Organization of Women, and the Women's Liberation Union.

When the building they were renting was sold in 1975, the FSW and a few other tenants moved to a three-story brick structure, originally designed to be the administrative offices of the Standard Oil Company in the 1920s. In the 1940s, it had been converted into a warehouse and consisted of three floors of open space, conducive to publically available extension classes and exhibitions offered by the Woman's Building staff and students. By 1977, the majority of the outside tenants had left the Woman's Building, primarily because they were unable to sustain business in the new location. The new building was more expensive to maintain and the FSW staff decided to hire an administrator and to create a board structure to assume the financial, legal, and administrative responsibility for the Building. The funds to operate came from FSW tuition, memberships, fund-raising events, and grant monies.

In 1981, the Feminist Studio Workshop closed, as the demand for alternative education diminished. The education programs of the Building were restructured to better accommodate the needs of working women. The Woman's Building also began to generate its own artistic programming with outside artists, including visual arts exhibits, performance art, readings, and video productions. That same year, the Woman's Building founded the Women's Graphic Center Typesetting and Design, a profit-making enterprises designed to strengthen its financial base. Income generated from the phototypesetting, design, production, and printing services was used to support the educational and art making activities of the Building.

When the graphics business closed in 1988, the Woman's Building suffered a financial crisis from which it never fully recovered. The Building closed its gallery and performance space in 1991.

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Scope and Content

The ephemera files have a substantial quantity of printed material produced by the Woman's Building and Woman's Graphic Center from 1974-1991, including a nearly complete set of newletters, calendars, and issues of "Spinning off." The collection provides examples of design and typography created by the Woman's Building, as well as serves as a record of exhibitions, events, and classes. There are numerous announcements and invitations for various events, and also includes examples of Sheila Levant de Bretteville's bolt necklace and a set of "Cross pollination" posters. The files are arranged chronologically.

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Container List