Oral history interview with Rachel Rosenthal
odd: label: General
content: Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 26 min.
name: label: Interviewee
content: Rosenthal, Rachel, 1926-2015
label: Interviewer
content: Roth, Moira
label: Creator
content: Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project
label: Names
content: Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project
topic: label: Occupation
content: Performance artists -- California
label: Topic
content: Feminism and art
label: Topic
content: Artists and the theater
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women performance artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: 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.
creator: label: Interviewee
content: Rosenthal, Rachel, 1926-2015
label: Interviewer
content: Roth, Moira
label: Creator
content: Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Rachel Rosenthal (1926- ) is a performance artist from California.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 120 Pages (Transcript)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1989 September 2-3
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.rosent89
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Pages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: 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.