Feminist Art Workers is a collaborative performance art group founded in 1976 by Nancy Angelo, Candace Compton, Cheri Gaulke and Laurel Klick. Compton left the group shortly thereafter and Vanalyne Green joined in 1978. Emerging from the educational programs at the Woman’s Building in Los Angeles, Feminist Art Workers incorporated techniques of feminist education into participatory performance structures. They addressed issues of community (Heaven or Hell?), violence against women (This Ain’t No Heavy Breathing and Traffic in Women: A Feminist Vehicle) and work (Bills of Rights). Their performances took place in locations as varied as city streets (Pieta, Afloat), during protest rallies (Draw Your Own Conclusions: Know on 13), in coffee houses, art galleries and museums.
For more information, contact Cheri Gaulke, cgaulke@adelphia.net.
Works
1977
“Nothing To Say,” Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, Illinois
“Heaven or Hell?” Mama Peaches, Chicago, Illinois
“On The Road,” Midwest Women Artists Conference, Saugatuk, Michigan
1978
“This Ain’t No Heavy Breathing,” telephone performance, Connecting Myths, Pasadena, California
“Draw Your Own Conclusions: Know on 13,” Music Center, Los Angeles, California
“Pieta Afloat,” for Alternative Artspaces Conference, Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California
“Bastet, Nekhbet, Wadjet,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
“To Love, Honor, Cherish…,” The Woman’s Building, Los Angeles, California
“Traffic in Women: A Feminist Vehicle,” bus tour/performance from Los Angeles to Las Vegas
1979
“Winging Victoriously,” plane tour/performance from Los Angeles to San Francisco, California
“Heaven or Hell?” National Women’s Studies Association Conference, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
1980
“Bills of Rights,” College Art Association/Women’s Caucus for Art Conferences, New Orleans, Louisiana; Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1981
“Heartbeats,” for LA/London Lab, Franklin Furnace, New York, New York
“Heaven or Hell?” for Thanks But No Thanks, Church in Ocean Park, Ocean Park, California
2010
“Trajector Art Fair,” Brussels
2011
“Doin’ It in Public: Feminism and Art at the Woman’s Building,” Ben Maltz Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design
Feminist Art Workers 