We Re-created Radical Covers From High Performance, The L.a. Magazine Made For And By Artists

In 1978, aft eating LSD-laced ail food toast and while crouched nether a soft during a performance, artists Linda Frye Burnham and Richard Newton decided to commencement a magazine. Called High Performance, it would go 1 of a fistful of magazines successful Los Angeles astatine nan clip that documented ephemeral creation and functioned arsenic an replacement abstraction for capacity artists.

According to Newton, Los Angeles was considered an outsider outpost successful an creation world dominated by New York City. “Performance creation was a blip connected nan taste radar,” says Newton. High Performance straight countered that and helped put Los Angeles, rather literally, connected nan map.

The first rumor features a black-and-white photograph by Susan Mogul of creator Suzanne Lacy, dressed successful a helmet and yellowish jumpsuit during her 1976 performance, “Cinderella successful a Dragster,” which progressive her driving a dragster from L.A. to San Diego, stopping astatine Cal State Dominguez Hills, wherever she quickly delivered a “metaphorical communicative astir speed, travel, art-making, and fairy tale-telling,” according to nan beforehand pages of nan inaugural issue. Elsewhere successful nan rumor is an question and reply pinch Newton, listings for early events, and reviews and photos of performances successful New York, Europe and, of course, Los Angeles. It was printed astatine Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions successful downtown Los Angeles, conscionable a fewer months aft nan now-legendary capacity creation abstraction had opened successful January of ’78. From 1983 to 1995, High Performance was published by Astro Artz, renamed 18th Street Arts Center successful 1990, and a bastion of capacity creation to this day.

Suzanne Lacy, “Cinderella successful a Dragster,” 1976, High Performance #1 Vol. I, No. 1, 1978.

(Linda Frye Burnham; Photo by Susan Mogul)

“We utilized to person this joke, and I can’t retrieve who said it first but it was, ‘the undocumented life is not worthy living,’ and we were laughing astatine ourselves because we realized we had to archive what we were doing,” says Anne Gauldin, 1 of nan 3 of 5 remaining and progressive members of nan group Sisters of Survival on pinch Cheri Gaulke and Jerri Allyn, who would look connected nan screen of nan magazine’s 1983 issue. The group, which primitively included members Sue Maberry and Nancy Angelo, was an influential beingness astatine the Woman’s Building, a corporate hub for feminist art successful Los Angeles successful nan ’70s and ’80s.

“That’s what High Performance was, it was a spot [...] wherever immoderate creator who was doing a performance, nary matter really ample aliases small, would constitute their ain relationship of what happened,” Gauldin adds. That an creator controlled nan communicative down their ain activity was some caller and groundbreaking astatine a clip erstwhile nan creation marketplace was conscionable opening to predominate nan assemblage scene.

This past January, nan Performance Art Museum, a roving depository devoted to spreading consciousness astir capacity creation successful L.A. and beyond, launched a two-year convention astir nan history of High Performance and nan magazine. “We position nan depository arsenic a bridge,” says PAM head Samuel Vasquez. “For this inaugural we’re asking, ‘How tin we link nan history of capacity creation to modern artists?’”

“What I mostly miss successful my day-to-day life is community,” says Newton, who adds that nan reference group, organized by PAM, has been a item of his year. “I’m really grateful for High Performance and that I was a portion of it and that it’s still relevant.”

The galore covers of High Performance magazine, which ran from 1978 to 1997.

(Linda Frye Burnham)

Performance art, for illustration organization building, costs clip and offers presence. In a metropolis for illustration Los Angeles, wherever clip is often measured by really agelong it takes to thrust crossed town, organization takes shape done deliberate support and participation. According to Lacy and Newton, everyone successful nan mini capacity creation segment successful 1970s-80s Los Angeles attended everyone’s events, and it was easy: Newton attests you could erstwhile alert down Melrose going 80 miles per hour, whereas now, organization is threatened by nan clip it takes to get from tract to site.

Through its two-year initiative, PAM intends to connection a gathering constituent for artists, scholars and curators alike. “We’re building a scaffolding of support for capacity art,” says Vasquez. “More important than opening this depository is really we are strengthening nan section of performance.” Case successful point: For nan year, PAM is moving alongside Lacy for “Cinderella Redux,” a continuation of Lacy’s “Cinderella successful a Dragster” performance.

For this story, Image collaborated pinch nan Performance Art Museum and creator Tyler Matthew Oyer to grant and re-create 3 of High Performance’s extremist covers, featuring Lacy, Newton and Sisters of Survival. In a afloat circle moment, these photograph shoots took spot astatine 18th Street Arts Center, nan longtime location to High Performance. And successful nan tone of connecting this history to nan present, 3 modern capacity artists based successful L.A. — Carmen Argote, Kayla Tange and Da Ron Vinson — created their ain covers successful response. It’s portion of nan span Vasquez says nan Performance Art Museum intends to build, wherever clip and beingness and capacity connection organization and relationship successful a metropolis perpetually redefining itself.

Suzanne Lacy

Suzanne Lacy, “Cinderella Redux,” 2026, a continuation of her 1976 capacity “Cinderella successful a Dragster” primitively featured connected nan screen of High Performance rumor #1, 1978.

I came from a clip erstwhile we were each progressive successful a batch of experimentation, and erstwhile I was asked to redo this portion arsenic portion of [PAM’s] High Performance [initiative], it felt for illustration a measurement to reconnect pinch Los Angeles. I do a batch of activity successful Europe and Asia and South America, and it felt for illustration a measurement to re-explore a mode of believe that is individual and experiential.

I’ve sewage benignant of nan car trajectory, which is uncovering it, buying it, repairing it and learning really to thrust it, and past driving it. Then nan 2nd portion of it is nan persona that’s created, and nan organization on nan measurement that gets built, aliases nan persona. I’m reasoning done really overmuch of this should beryllium diaristic. It’s decidedly a reflection connected wherever I’m at, astatine this constituent successful my career.

When I was being photographed nan different day, I moved into that portion of my persona that is benignant of like, “Yeah, I’ll show you this. Yeah, I’m a reliable bitch.” In position of re-creating, I’m decidedly not doing nan aforesaid piece. That portion was astir nan communicative I delivered. It was a rolling bid of associations, first astir clip and past astir travel, clip and movement, and really that fresh into being a capacity artist. And nan Cinderella metaphor comes successful because Cinderella created a pumpkin into a chariot that became a imagination world, and she lived it for illustration I was surviving successful nan title car world astatine that time.

The thought of manifesting oneself done one’s activity was portion of nan West Coast feminist movement. So 1 of nan things I’ll beryllium exploring is nan improvement of nan Cinderella self, 50 years since I did [“Cinderella successful a Dragster”]. How has that shaped who I americium now, and really does that travel retired of a California experience?

Carmen Argote

Carmen Argote, “Untitled,” ongoing performance.

Documentation is an acknowledgment that [the performance] happened but it doesn’t seizure nan infinitesimal it happened successful — it adds an other layer.

[The photograph shoot] was specified an absorbing and weird acquisition because I was very resistant — I’m not going to dress to do a capacity for nan camera. So I thought, what’s nan standard of nan action? What would consciousness embodied and connected to nan standard of intimacy betwixt a photographer and a subject? I had to constrictive it down and discern a moment. For me, it was nan infinitesimal of transference betwixt my assemblage and nan drawings, my assemblage and nan camera.

Much of my activity is astir nan psychological and nan residue that we transportation from procreation to procreation — things that are successful nan assemblage that aboveground done nan work.

I came to [High Performance magazine] because of my ain expanding desire to do capacity art. I had considered myself much willing successful sculpture and architecture, or, for example, I person a stepping practice. There’s thing somatic there. As nan trajectory of my activity has progressed, nan activity became much intimate. When it yet went into nan psychological, nan desire to study much astir different capacity artists, to execute myself, to beryllium successful that abstraction of attunement, increased.

Sisters of Survival

“Sisters of Survival Signal S.O.S. for nan Planet” (Anne Gauldin, Jerri Allyn, Cheri Gaulke), 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica, 2026. The original cover, “End of nan Rainbow,” an antinuclear capacity astatine nan Hagar Qim prehistoric temple, Malta, was primitively featured connected nan screen of High Performance rumor #22, 1983.

Anne Gauldin: When we were invited to execute for nan kickoff of this two-year honoring of High Performance magazine, it was really breathtaking to beryllium capable to get our habits retired of storage. We still had everything, for illustration our awesome flags, and it felt really due to usage our aforesaid ocular connection of capacity creation to reside immoderate of nan aforesaid issues [like bodily autonomy, atomic disarmament].

Jerri Allyn: I deliberation we’re each abhorred by Christian fundamentalism, and erstwhile we took connected nan habits [in 1981], it was not to clasp a Christian image. It was an embracing of an image of sisterhood, of women choosing to collaborate and affirm their relationship pinch each other.

Sisters Of Survival (Anne Gauldin, Jerri Allyn, Cheri Gaulke), High Performance #22 Vol. VI, No. 2, 1983.

(Linda Frye Burnham; Photo by Sue Mayberry)

Cheri Gaulke: Something we learned astatine nan Women’s Building is if what you request retired location doesn’t exist, fig retired a measurement to create it. I spot a batch of young artists doing that — starting galleries, renting a storefront, aliases doing pop-ups.

As we’ve been moving connected this film, “Acting Like Women” [coming retired this summer], and looking astatine nan ’70s and ’80s and feminist capacity art, we’re connecting nan dots to what’s going connected coming [with protestation art], and what we spot is simply a connection that we developed backmost then. It’s almost for illustration activism and capacity creation are 1 and nan same. You spot it astatine nan No Kings marches. What makes it powerful is erstwhile group put connected costumes and return connected personas and do things that make it visual. What’s ever important to america is besides educating group astir nan history, our history. Being honored again feels for illustration we’re being seen for processing that benignant of language.

Kayla Tange

Kayla Tange, “Head Cage (from nan capacity Boundaries),” 2017/2026. Headcage by Kayla Tange and Jeff Davis, Stacy Ellen Rich ring.

I utilized to do a batch of activity astir bound violations and confession and activity pinch a batch of really dense topics, and I still do, but I wonder, what is nan antidote to each this dense material? I deliberation a batch of that is movement, joyousness and organization and uncovering ways we tin unrecorded pinch each this turmoil.

For my photograph shoot, I near my hairsbreadth down and chaotic alternatively of pulling it backmost [as successful different iterations of nan performance]. I usage nan sanction Coco Ono arsenic a capacity construct, arsenic a persona, and I usage it to distort issues astir labour and desire.

I really resonate pinch nan activity Jerri [Allyn] has done pinch Sisters of Survival. She and Anne [Gauldin] were successful different group called nan Waitresses arsenic galore of them really worked arsenic waitresses astatine immoderate point. They were each performing astir labor, staging extremist performances successful diners. A batch of nan activity that they did was creating containers for themselves to make consciousness of immoderate they were personally trying to convey. The collectives I’m in, for illustration nan Stripper Co-op, return inspiration — moving arsenic a group toward a shared goal. Performance arsenic activism is still very overmuch alive.

Richard Newton

Richard Newton, “My mother near maine successful a motel room successful Brawley and I cried onions,” 2026, an updated type of “I return you to a room successful Brawley and we smell onions,” 1975, primitively featured connected nan screen of High Performance rumor #7, 1979.

The thought of re-creating [the cover] was almost overseas to me. It was for illustration asking maine to measurement backmost successful clip and effort to beryllium successful a spot that already passed. Performance is astir staying successful nan moment. The past is location but it’s gone. I don’t deliberation I’ve ever been a bully personification to foretell nan future, but I deliberation I’ve been a very bully personification astatine being precisely successful nan moment.

The stylist [Dominick Barcelona] did a awesome occupation re-creating nan wardrobe I wore successful 1975. Everyone was dedicated to bringing nan original acquisition to life. The performance, “I return you to a room successful Brawley and we smell onions,” was created astatine a clip erstwhile I had nary interaction pinch my mother since property 5 years. My longing to cognize my mother created a business wherever I made artworks and performances successful which I looked wrong myself to find her and manifest her by becoming her. Recently, though I ne'er met my mother again successful this life, I became alert that she had passed connected to nan afterlife.

Richard Newton, “I return you to a room successful Brawley and we smell onions,” 1975, High Performance #7 Vol. II, No. 3, 1979.

(Linda Frye Burnham)

When we progressed to nan photograph sprout portion of our day, I became sad. It was a bittersweet experience. I felt lost. I felt caught betwixt 2 times. I felt caught betwixt this clip where, though I wasn’t successful touch pinch aliases seeing my mother, I still had this belief that she was retired location live somewhere. And that is to say, I had a mother. She’s not successful my life, but I person a mother. Then astatine nan 2nd photograph shoot, I realized, I don’t person a mother.

Da Ron Vinson

Da Ron Vison, “Monachopsis #1,” 2026.

I’m invasive pinch my body, [and] I want nan assemblage to do a small spot much work. That’s portion of nan logic why my believe started to prosecute much pinch assemblage information and has started to go overmuch much theatrical. Art should beryllium challenging and it shouldn’t fto you disconnected nan hook.

One point capacity creation tin connection america is beingness — because you person to enactment engaged pinch [the performer’s] body, successful their interiority and their emotion, particularly if it’s successful a confined space, and it conscionable offers almost a break from reality, but not successful an escapist way. The performances I’m engaged successful are pointed; they return nan veil away.

This photograph sprout acquisition was mythic; it was benignant of a site-specific intervention. I didn’t want my outfit to beryllium louder than nan curtains. I besides wanted to beryllium unfastened capable to person things projected connected to maine — that conception was important, because I person ideas of my interior of myself and interiority, but I’m besides willing successful people’s projections of who they judge that I am, particularly successful theatrical and capacity spaces.

Angella d’Avignon is a writer surviving successful Southern California.