New documentary celebrates women pioneers in performance art
‘Acting Like Women’ is a deep dive into Los Angeles art and activism of the 1970s and 80s
The documentary Acting Like Women, directed by Cheri Gaulke, shines a light on the Women's Building in Los Angeles and the groundbreaking feminist performance art that emerged from it. Founded in 1973 by Judy Chicago, Sheila de Bretteville, and Arlene Raven, the Women's Building served as a hub for classes, exhibitions, and performances, attracting women artists from across the nation.
Gaulke's film aims to share the history of these trailblazing artists who often lacked awareness of their legacy. Gaulke discovered the Women's Building while studying performance art in Scotland and moved to Los Angeles to become part of its unique community. She emphasizes the art's political nature, stating that performance artists sought to change the world through their work.
However, Gaulke and her collaborator, graphic artist Anne Gauldin, faced challenges in uncovering visual documentation of the original performances, as filming was expensive and not widely used at the time. To overcome this, they relied on still images, ephemera, new interviews, and even recreated scenes with stop-motion animation for a significant protest event in 1983.
This event involved Maren Hassinger and Senga Nengudi, who protested the lack of Black artists at a feminist art exhibition at the Long Beach Museum of Art. The film-makers recreated the scene due to the lack of visual records and obtained permission from the two artists to illustrate the demonstration.
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