In Mourning and In Rage media performance at Los Angeles City Hall, December 13, 1977, Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz-Starus. Gelatin silver prints documenting the event by Susan Mogul. 7 15/16 x 10 3/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, Lawrence Alloway Papers, 2003.M.46. Photo courtesy of Susan Mogul
In the 1970s, Los Angeles became an epicenter of the feminist movement. By the late 1970s socially-aware artists were addressing issues beyond the art world. In Mourning and In Rage, a media performance staged on the steps of City Hall, responded to the inadequate media coverage the artists saw in response to the Hillside Strangler, a serial killer who targeted women. This action drew attention to larger questions concerning violence against women, and exemplified the community-oriented artistic activist that emerged.
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In Mourning and Rage (excerpt), 1978, Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz-Starus. Excerpt from video directed by Nancy Angelo, Jerri Allyn, Candace Compton, and Annette Hunt documenting the performance. The Getty Research Institute, Long Beach Museum of Art Video Archive, 2006.M.7 © The Woman’s Building
Explore the Era
Delve into the postwar Los Angeles art world in this online archive, which provides additional material related to the exhibitions on view at the Getty Center. Learn about hipsters and happenings, and the venues across the city where all the action took place through images from the archives and first-hand accounts with the artists.
In Mourning and In Rage media performance at Los Angeles City Hall
In Mourning and In Rage media performance at Los Angeles City Hall, December 13, 1977, Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz-Starus. Gelatin silver prints documenting the event by Susan Mogul. 7 15/16 x 10 3/16 in. The Getty Research Institute, Lawrence Alloway Papers, 2003.M.46. Photo courtesy of Susan Mogul
On View at the Getty Center: Greetings from L.A.: Artists and Publics 1950-1980
In the 1970s, Los Angeles became an epicenter of the feminist movement. By the late 1970s socially-aware artists were addressing issues beyond the art world. In Mourning and In Rage, a media performance staged on the steps of City Hall, responded to the inadequate media coverage the artists saw in response to the Hillside Strangler, a serial killer who targeted women. This action drew attention to larger questions concerning violence against women, and exemplified the community-oriented artistic activist that emerged.
In Mourning and Rage (excerpt), 1978, Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz-Starus. Excerpt from video directed by Nancy Angelo, Jerri Allyn, Candace Compton, and Annette Hunt documenting the performance. The Getty Research Institute, Long Beach Museum of Art Video Archive, 2006.M.7 © The Woman’s Building
Historic Map Locations
Styles & Materials
Time Periods & Venues
Works of Art
Ablutions performance at Guy Dill’s studio, with Judy Chicago, Suzanne Lacy, Sandra Orgel, and Aviva Rahmani (Sponsored by Feminist Art Program at CalArts), 1972. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Art in the Public Interest and 18th Street Arts Center, 2006.M.8.42. Photo courtesy Lloyd Hamrol
Explore the Archive
Video: Art of Protest—Artist Suzanne Lacy discusses the connection between art and activism
Announcement for Judy Chicago exhibition at California State University, Fullerton, October 23– November 25, 1970. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Rolf G. Nelson, 2010.M.38.5. Image courtesy of Jerry McMillan and Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. © Jerry McMillan.
Cover of Womanspace journal, vol. 1, no. 1, 1973. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Hal Glicksman, 2009.M.5.20. Courtesy of Judy Chicago
Selected Press Reaction to “Sex Differentials in Art Exhibition Reviews,” publication by Tamarind Lithography Workshop, 1972. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Hal Glicksman, 2009.M.5.21. Courtesy of June Wayne/Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Inc.
Los Angeles Council of Women Artists Report, June 15, 1971. The Getty Research Institute, 2003.M.46
Womanhouse catalogue, Feminist Art Program at CalArts, 1972. Designed by Sheila Levrant de Bretteville. The Getty Research Institute, 89-B23677. Courtesy of CalArts Archives
Womanhouse announcement, 1972. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Rolf G. Nelson, 2010.M.38.6. Courtesy of Sheila Levrant de Bretteville
Womanhouse installation in Los Angeles, featuring Robin Weltsch’s Kitchen and Vicki Hodgetts’s Eggs to Breasts (Sponsored by Feminist Art Program at CalArts), 1972. The Getty Research Institute, 2000.M.43.1. Photo courtesy Lloyd Hamrol