The Girl Artists records
name: label: Creator
content: The Girl Artists (Firm : Portland, Or.)
label: Names
content: Clark, Kathleen
label: Names
content: Lippard, Lucy R.
topic: label: Occupation
content: Performance artists
label: Topic
content: Feminism and art
label: Topic
content: Women artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 2023 by Kathleen Clark on behalf of The Girl Artists.
creator: label: Creator
content: The Girl Artists (Firm : Portland, Or.)
setName: label: See more items in
content: The Girl Artists records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The records of performance artists The Girl Artists date from 1979-2004 and measure 1.5 linear feet. The collection documents the formation of the group and performance artworks through administrative and project files. 

Administrative files contain bylaws, founding documents, correspondence with Lucy Lippard and others, a photograph of the group at a reunion in 1996, group statements and resumes, and material regarding the groups' formation and the creation of their first performance titled It's a Beach Party. Project files consist of scripts, notes and notebooks for ideas and planning, drawings and sketches visualizing performance sets, mock-ups and props, prop lists, floor plans, photographic material of performances, and born-digital material. Performances documented include Split Shift Cafe, TV Guidance, Matrons of the Arts, Shopping in America, Domestic Intrigue, Souvenirs, Free Portraits, 30 Year Retrospective, and Getting into Modern Art.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Girl Artists (1979-1997) was a performance group, consisting of Char Breshgold, Kathleen Clark, Cristina DeGennaro, Susan Martin, and Lisa Siegel active in Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR. The group performed multidimensional installation/performance works, which combined visual art techniques with live performance, audio recordings, and projected light. The group used humor and irony to create send-ups dealing with domestic situations, television, suburban life, and restaurant work. They formed in 1979 and produced several major performances, including Shopping in America, T.V. Guidance, Free Portraits by The Girl Artists, Split Shift Cafe, and Souvenirs. The group was active primarily from 1979 to the mid-1980s and had a reunion in 1996.
function: label: Function
content: Artist groups
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.5 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1979-2004
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.thegarti
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as 2 series.

Series 1: Administrative Records, 1979-2004 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Project Files, 1979-1996 (Boxes 1-2, OV 3; 1.3 Linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2023. The collection was prepared for digitization by Stephanie Ashley in 2025 and was digitized in 2025 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2025 and is available on the Archives of American Art website. Materials which have not been digitized include blank pages, blank versos of photographs, duplicates, and the full text of some publications for which only covers and/or relevant pages have been digitized.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The records of performance artists The Girl Artists date from 1979-2004 and measure 1.5 linear feet. The collection documents the formation of the group and performance artworks through administrative and project files. 

Administrative files contain bylaws, founding documents, correspondence with Lucy Lippard and others, a photograph of the group at a reunion in 1996, group statements and resumes, and material regarding the groups' formation and the creation of their first performance titled It's a Beach Party. 

Project files consist of scripts, notes and notebooks for ideas and planning, drawings and sketches visualizing performance areas, mock-ups and props, prop lists, floor plans, photographic material of performances, letters with Susan Martin discussing plans for various projects after Martin moved away, and born-digital material. Performances documented include Split Shift Cafe, TV Guidance, Matrons of the Arts, Shopping in America, Domestic Intrigue, Souvenirs, Free Portraits, 30 Year Retrospective, and Getting into Modern Art.

Researchers should note that typed notes written by Kathleen Clark in 2023 were included in the donation and can be found in many of the folders. The notes provide important historical and contextual information for the material contained in these folder. Folder dates throughout the collection do not include the 2023 date of these notes.