Oral history interview with Rachel Rosenthal

Object Details

General: Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 26 min.

Occupation: Performance artists -- California
Topic: Feminism and art; Artists and the theater; Women artists; Women performance artists

Provenance: This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.

Sponsor: Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

Biographical / Historical: Rachel Rosenthal (1926- ) is a performance artist from California.

Type: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Pages; Sound recordings; Interviews

Scope and Contents: An interview of Rachel Rosenthal conducted 1989 September 2-3, by Moira Roth, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project, in Los Angeles, Calif. Rosenthal recounts growing up in Paris; her family; their flight from Paris in 1940; living in Brazil; moving to New York in 1941; her choice to go into theatre; involvement with Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Jasper Johns; dancing with Cunninham's Jr. Co.; early work in sculpture; moving to Los Angeles in 1955; working at the Pasadena Playhouse; the start of the Circle Workshop; King Moody and Instant Theatre; return to visual art in 1971; the 1972 Cal Arts conference on women artists; involvement with Womanspace and the feminist movement; interest in performance and its conceptual aspects; performance pieces; workshops; the founding of DBD; and her most recent performance and tours. She recalls Josine Ianco-Starrels, Barbara Smith, Betye Saar, June Wayne, Judy Chicago, and Mimi Jacobs. Also included is a 2 p. addendum prepared by Rosenthal, 1993, which briefly summarizes events in her life since the interview.