Suzanne Lacy, _________________ (Los Angeles, 1977)

Three Weeks in May exposed the extent of reported rapes in Los Angeles during a three week-long performance in May, 1977.

This was the first of a series of large-scale performances on violence against women and is considered a signature piece, defining strategies and processes, for a series of works subsequently created by Lacy and Leslie Labowitz. These works were set in a milieu of cultural silence on the actual incidence of sexual violence, and participated with feminist writers and activists in an emergence of information that took place during the decade.

Working from a model provided by her mentor, Allan Kaprow, Lacy conceptualized this piece as an “extended” performance, one made up of many different life-like of activities: speeches by politicians, radio interviews with hotline activists, news releases, self defense demonstrations, speak outs, and art performances. It was framed by time and the geography of Los Angeles, over a three-week period of time, and strategically used the mass media to further reach an expanded audience.