Rachel! Rachel?

Highlighting a tiresome old humbug like Rachel Rosenthal (“Inside the Rosenthal Zone,” by Jan Breslauer, Feb. 6) is just another puff-up of “militant” self-promotion, at the ironic expense of truly radical, transformative art.

With such scant notice paid to the unique, provocative, serious artists in our midst, it’s disheartening to see Calendar pay obeisance to a polyester public pratt. Since when does fishing in the overfished waters of women’s experience, and smugly expressing garden-variety “global ideas,” constitute “pushing the edge”? In the shriek zone of modern life, is stinking like merry hell now beheld as coming up roses?

These are effete and unfortunate times. Lioness and tiger visionaries are hiding out in the wild, while gnat and gerbil “creatives” roar center stage.

ROSS VACHON

Venice

Let us hope against hope that Rosenthal is not insatiable. Given enough time, enough grants, enough indefatigable self-promotion, enough shaving cream, she has proved that one who cannot play, sing, dance or act--in short, a “performance artist”--has seen herself, in full color, on the front page of daily Calendar (and the cover of Sunday Calendar), looking remarkably like a Pope or two.

It is enough, or should be.

FRED SCIFERS

Downey

I want to thank both Jan Breslauer and Max Benavidez for their insightful articles on two important interdisciplinary Los Angeles artists: Rachel Rosenthal and Daniel Martinez (“Listening to the Militant Muse,” Feb. 6).

As an artist, I feel indeed fortunate to be living in Los Angeles, where many artists of diverse disciplines and backgrounds feel passionate about challenging cultural beliefs and stereotypical ways of seeing.

I especially want to thank Breslauer for including a much-needed history of Los Angeles performance art and its particular evolution from feminist art practice. Current performance and interdisciplinary art forms have major roots in the personal, political and spiritual inquiries of our brave California sisters during the 1970s and ‘80s--an important fact many people forget.

These hybrid art forms are first and foremost cultural inquiries, not mere forums for disgruntled or out-of-work actors.

ALAN PULNER

Los Angeles