Recently, the American artist Susan Frazier got in contact with us through this blog. Susan belongs to that generation of young female first-year class students of the newly built California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) Feminist Art Program. The main objective of the program was, according to Sandra Rodo, to strengthen the artists’ personalities and help them to use their feminine experiences as rough material for their artistic creativity.
Under the supervision of the North American feminist art pioneers Judy Chicago (The Dinner Party) and Miriam Schapiro, and through the school’s Feminist Art Program, this first class of female students created the famous Womanhouse in 1972.
Says Rodo: “After looking for an abandoned house in Los Angeles, big enough to meet the project needs and suitable to be used without troubles, the group finds a collapsed house at 553 Mariposa Avenue in Hollywood. The owner, an elderly woman, was curious about the Womanhouse concept, and the house demolition was postponed in the spring of 1972. The Feminist Art Program members had three months to refurbish the building and complete its facilities. Chicago and Schapiro have pointed out that Womanhouse was an enormous task to accomplish. The essay in the catalogue exhibit shows the frustration and anger of the students, pushed beyond their resistance limits.”
The house had 17 rooms that were transformed and interpreted by the artists and supervised by their teachers, creating spaces with a feminine perspective. The house became the voice of the women who identified themselves through the centuries as the home where women have worked for their Family and to lovingly please the others. But also, often turning into a place of transgression and frustration to express her own needs and fulfil her dreams thus, becoming most often a form of a captive of tradition.
Susan Frazier, together with Vicky Hodgett and Robin Weltsch, took part in the creation of the Womanhouse kitchen (Nurturing kitchen), one of the main symbolic spaces of the house.
Now, thanks to her generosity and our determination, she will share her memories of Womanhouse, showing pictures from her own personal file.
RUDAX: Hi Susan, we are really curious about how the collective process of creating the Nurturing Kitchen, how the three artists work together. Was it recalling from your own childhood memories of Mother in the Kitchen?
We began with consciousness raising sessions to discuss our intentions and goals, to draw and feel our way into our feminist attitude. Then paired off into teams with common goals. Most girls already had partners and knew what they wanted to do, such as live performances in a room or painting a room to look like a painting; even the stairways and closets were featured as feminist art themes. Judy and Miriam made final choices for the few of us new to feminist art and I was lucky to join the Kitchen and Pantry team with Vicki Hodgetts and Robin Weltsch. We collectively chose a “Nutrition Kitchen” theme that became even more exciting when the eggs-to-breasts motif came up, and then to make it the female body that nurtures everyone by painting everything pink (even the pans & food stuffs), then lining the drawers with women and travel collages (my idea and art), and to top it off with “Wanda Westcoast’s vacuum formed Curtains” Judy’s friend and perfect finishing touch.
RUDAX: The names of Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro are very well known internationally within the artistic world, how do you remember the experience of being part of the first Feminist Art Program?, what sort of memories would you enhance from the teachers, the other students and the Womanhouse project as a whole? How would you describe the relationships among you? And the way you all experienced feminism?
My personal experience was unique, since Judy and Miriam had not known me personally and I hadn’t qualified during the first initial interviews; still, my determination had to speak for my desire to join the Feminist Art Program of which Judy finally said “you weren’t our strongest choice but you are so determined to join we couldn’t say no!” Thus began my journey in Womanhouse.
We often met in consciousness groups if there were any conflicts…and there were a few. Mostly about women having to work with other women to plan and execute a plan, which few of us had ever learned from personal experience, we had been raised not to organize as women with/for women; this was new and uncomfortable for us. This was part of the goal, to grow and learn as adult women to be artists and work with other artists to achieve common goals whether we were women or men, and sometimes we butt our heads together to get it right, but we got it done and very well according to history.
RUDAX: We would love to know what your present artistic projects are. How do you explain the work “The Chess Game”?
My current artistic goals are still feminist and explosive as ever; I do create to provoke and explain my personal condition using coercive symbols (created by men) to define women, such as the Burqa and separation of the genders. The sculptures are not yet copyrighted so I cannot explain their details only the inspiration. There will be about five or six life-size sculptures as assemblage and installations. I will most likely do a bronze or two in the future, meanwhile my art is acrylic painting of Family subjects, created in my very traditional home studio scenario.
The Chess Game came from my first corporate downsizing, an important first career position, which I had expected to continue until retirement. The disappointment came when they told me that my emotions were too conflicting and contributed to the layoff, but I later found out that the contract had been cut because they left out important information that eventually led to a few soldier deaths in Germany. I felt vindicated, but sad that they choose to use the feminine “emotion” tag to make me feel bad and somehow justify my leaving a male environment because I didn’t fit in.
I painted the work the first time with a real penis on the wooden man, but it brought such hatred during shows I lost a few male friends; but then the first painting was stolen by a jealous relative who wanted to store it for the future and eventually sell it when I become famous...he was greedy and will gain nothing from his efforts. I simply painted it again without the penis just to keep the peace in my own Family, but I will paint it back soon since my courage is returning as I gain wisdom with age.
I am not making this up... life IS more interesting than Fiction.
Nonetheless, the meaning of the painting is the plug that does not work in the socket, representing the lack of communication between men and women or corporations and workers. The double electric socket is that women have to work twice as hard as men to achieve the same level as men who take support from females for granted. The Black and White squares represent the truth hidden by the distraction of the competitive game playing. Chess is a man’s game or so men believe, it will render them impotent playing alone, and as the squares disappear off the canvas so will Man’s dominance.
Everything is obviously a still-life projection on a shelf representing our apathy to change through revolution or losing power by simple attrition and falling off the edge of our pedestal.
RUDAX: Finally, how would you describe the feminist movement in the US
Since I have recently rejoined the NOW organization, there has been a lot of BUZZ around the political issues concerning women’s healthcare and equality in work. Both have deteriorated since the activities of the 80’s and 90’s because the (Betty Freidman generation) women are retiring leaving the younger women without experienced mentors. This is changing. More young women are of the age who see the unfair conditions and are once again stepping-up to meet the challenges and get equal rights for their own generation. It seems to be an eternal and global concern for all women, which is why it seems so overwhelming and frustrating sometimes to meet and discuss plans to march or write letters to our congressmen and women or to rally in Washington to openly declare the issues are still unsettled...but we must continue to inspire each other to keep the pace up and fight for these issues.
Freedom is inherent in the USA, but commonly abused by the wealthy and greedy that powers our economy and breeds fear that keeps some men from accepting women in the work place or allowing them to be leaders. For example, the recent political election in the USA, we had a choice to elect a real qualified woman, Hillary Clinton or an inexperienced but well-spoken Senator, Barack Obama. We made our choice and clearly women have a long way to go.
But Women are no longer asking for permission, we are acting to represent ourselves, getting educations and opening business that will support our lives. I work from my own home office and have put my Daughter through College and am taking care of my elder members. This is how we are doing it now with dignity while still loving our Families. More women understand it is a “Human” effort to be free whether male or female and we are in this together.
Thank you so much for this opportunity to discuss Womanhouse and speak my American Female heart, I hope to stay in communication with your group and work together to educate women and men on issues that still affect us globally.
Becoming aware is easy while empowering ourselves is more difficult; the goal we must achieve for lasting peace and well being is up to us to plan and act upon with courage.
Susan Frazier, Artist
We really want to thank Susan Frazier for the present of her memories, experiences and all these pictures that turn this blog into a reference site in Spanish for this American Artist.
Interview: Rudax
Translated by: Miguel Marco
