Jan Oxenberg

Last updated
Jan Oxenberg
Born1950 (age 73–74)
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Education Barnard College,
California Institute of the Arts
Known forFeminist Lesbian Films,
Film Production

Jan Oxenberg (born 1950) is an American film producer, director, editor, and screenwriter. She is known for her work in lesbian feminist films and in television. [1] [2]

Contents

Career

Oxenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1950. [3]

She attended Barnard College for two years where she was active in the experimental college, a collaborative, co-living, and self-directed schooling experiment between Barnard and Columbia University starting in 1968. [3] [4] Oxenberg transferred to California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and initially she studied feminist art with Judy Chicago and Miriam Shapiro, but later transferring into the CalArts film school. [3] In 1972, Oxenberg was one of the many participants in Womanhouse, the first feminist art installation and performance art (specifically within the art pieces - Three Women, Birth Trilogy, Necco Wafers). [5]

In the 1970s, she was involved with ELF (education liberation front), a traveling educational resource, carrying information and books on liberation movements, racism, ecology and more. [3] Around 1974, she was active in producing a radio series called "Lesbian Sisters" on KPFK Los Angeles. [3]

She has also worked as a producer and writer on Pretty Little Liars . Other credits include Nothing Sacred , Cold Case , Kidnapped , In Plain Sight , and Chicago Hope .

Since 2013, Oxenberg has been adapting James Ellroy's memoir, My Dark Places for a screenplay and film production by Myriad Pictures. [6] [7]

Personal life

Oxenberg is Jewish, [8] and openly lesbian. [9] [10] Oxenberg has been out as a lesbian since the early portion of the second wave feminist movement. [11] For many years, she dated musician Sonia Wieder-Atherton. [11]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleTypeRoleNotes
1973Home Movieshort filmfilm directorThis film is regarded as one of the first feminist lesbian films [10] and was shown at the Womanspace Gallery in 1973. [12] [13] It revisits old home movies but with a queer narrative. [14]
1974I'm Not One of 'Emshort filmfilm director
1975 A Comedy in Six Unnatural Acts film producer, film director, film editor [15]
1975Films by Jan Oxenbergshort filmfilm director, film editor
1975Woman to Womandocumentarysound
1986Rate It Xdocumentarysound
1992Thank You and Good Nightdocumentaryfilm producer, film directorThis documentary film is centered around a portrait of Oxenberg's dying grandmother, and about facing death. [16] [17]
Television
Year(s)TitleTypeRoleNotes
1997 Relativity television series dramawriterOxenberg wrote the 1997 Relativity episode that featured the first kiss between two lesbian characters on American primetime television. [18] [19]
1998–1999 Chicago Hope television series dramafilm producer(3 episodes)
1999–2001 Once and Again television series dramafilm producer, writer(43 episodes) She wrote for Once and Again , which had a pioneering storyline of a lesbian teenage couple. [20] [21]
2001 The Education of Max Bickford film producer
2002 Robbery Homicide Division film producer
2003 Mister Sterling film producer(3 episodes)
2003–2004 Cold Case television series police procedural film producer(22 episodes)
2006–2007 Kidnapped film producer(12 episodes)
2008Long Island Confidentialfilm producer
2011 In Plain Sight film producer(2 episodes)
2013 Pretty Little Liars film producer(3 episodes)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Chicago</span> American artist (born 1939)

Judy Chicago is an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer known for her large collaborative art installation pieces about birth and creation images, which examine the role of women in history and culture. During the 1970s, Chicago founded the first feminist art program in the United States at California State University, Fresno which acted as a catalyst for feminist art and art education during the 1970s. Her inclusion in hundreds of publications in various areas of the world showcases her influence in the worldwide art community. Additionally, many of her books have been published in other countries, making her work more accessible to international readers. Chicago's work incorporates a variety of artistic skills, such as needlework, counterbalanced with skills such as welding and pyrotechnics. Her most well-known work is The Dinner Party, which is permanently installed in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum. The Dinner Party celebrates the accomplishments of women throughout history and is widely regarded as the first epic feminist artwork. Other notable art projects by Chicago include International Honor Quilt, Birth Project, Powerplay, and The Holocaust Project. She is represented by Jessica Silverman gallery.

<i>Womanhouse</i> Feminist art installation

Womanhouse was a feminist art installation and performance space organized by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro, co-founders of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) Feminist Art Program and was the first public exhibition of art centered upon female empowerment. Chicago, Schapiro, their students, and women artists from the local community, including Faith Wilding, participated. Chicago and Schapiro encouraged their students to use consciousness-raising techniques to generate the content of the exhibition. Together, the students and professors worked to build an environment where women's conventional social roles could be shown, exaggerated, and subverted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Hammer</span> American filmmaker

Barbara Jean Hammer was an American feminist film director, producer, writer, and cinematographer. She is known for being one of the pioneers of the lesbian film genre, and her career spanned over 50 years. Hammer is known for having created experimental films dealing with women's issues such as gender roles, lesbian relationships, coping with aging, and family life. She resided in New York City and Kerhonkson, New York, and taught each summer at the European Graduate School.

Karla Jay is a distinguished professor emerita at Pace University, where she taught English and directed the women's and gender studies program between 1974 and 2009. A pioneer in the field of lesbian and gay studies, she is widely published.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gayle Rubin</span> American cultural anthropologist, activist, and feminist

Gayle S. Rubin is an American cultural anthropologist, theorist and activist, best known for her pioneering work in feminist theory and queer studies.

Michelle Citron is a film, video and multimedia artist, scholar and author.

The Lesbian Sex Mafia (LSM) is an information and support group for bisexual women and lesbians interested in sexual activities involving BDSM, fetishes, costumes, etc. Founded in 1981 by Jo Arnone and Dorothy Allison, it is located in New York City.

The Woman's Building was a non-profit arts and education center located in Los Angeles, California. The Woman's Building focused on feminist art and served as a venue for the women's movement and was spearheaded by artist Judy Chicago, graphic designer Sheila Levrant de Bretteville and art historian Arlene Raven. The center was open from 1973 until 1991. During its existence, the Los Angeles Times called the Woman's Building a "feminist mecca."

Sheila Levrant de Bretteville is an American graphic designer, artist and educator whose work reflects her belief in the importance of feminist principles and user participation in graphic design. In 1990 she became the director of the Yale University Graduate Program in Graphic Design and the first woman to receive tenure at the Yale University School of Art. In 2010 she was named the Caroline M. Street Professor of Graphic Design.

Faith Wilding is a Paraguayan American multidisciplinary artist - which includes but is not limited to: watercolor, performance art, writing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, and digital art. She is also an author, educator, and activist widely known for her contribution to the progressive development of feminist art. She also fights for ecofeminism, genetics, cyberfeminism, and reproductive rights. Wilding is Professor Emerita of performance art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheryl Dunye</span> Liberian-American actress and director

Cheryl Dunye is a Liberian-American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and actress. Dunye's work often concerns themes of race, sexuality, and gender, particularly issues relating to black lesbians. She is known as the first out black lesbian to ever direct a feature film with her 1996 film The Watermelon Woman. She runs the production company Jingletown Films based in Oakland, California.

Midi Onodera is a Japanese-Canadian filmmaker. Onodera's works feature a collage of formats, from 16mm to Hi8 video and digital video to 'low end' digital toy formats, and address individual, collective, national and transnational identities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviva Kempner</span> American filmmaker (born 1946)

Aviva Kempner is a German-born American filmmaker. Her documentaries investigate non-stereotypical images of Jews in history and focus on the untold stories of Jewish people. She is most well known for The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Kleinbaum</span> American rabbi

Sharon Kleinbaum is an American rabbi who serves as spiritual leader of New York City's Congregation Beit Simchat Torah. She has been an active campaigner for human rights and civil marriage for gay couples.

Amber L. Hollibaugh was an American writer, filmmaker, activist and organizer concerned with working class, lesbian and feminist politics, especially around sexuality. She was a former Executive Director of Queers for Economic Justice and was Senior Activist Fellow Emerita at the Barnard Center for Research on Women. Hollibaugh proudly identified as a "lesbian sex radical, ex-hooker, incest survivor, gypsy child, poor-white-trash, high femme dyke."

Aerlyn Weissman is a two-time Genie Award-winning Canadian documentary filmmaker and political activist on behalf of the lesbian community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tali Shalom Ezer</span> Israeli filmmaker, writer and director

Tali Shalom-Ezer is an Israeli filmmaker, screenwriter, and director. She is best known for her debut feature, Princess (2014) which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival as part of the World Dramatic Competition.

Sasha Wortzel is an artist, filmmaker, educator, and activist, based in New York City. She is the writer, director, and producer of Happy Birthday, Marsha! with Tourmaline. She and Tourmaline raised over $25,000 on Kickstarter to fund the film.

Johanna Demetrakas is an American independent filmmaker and television director known for documentaries like Womanhouse and Right Out of History. She has worked as a professor at Cal Arts and USC.

References

  1. ↑ Wolf, Deborah Goleman (1980). The Lesbian Community. University of California Press. ISBN   9780520042483.
  2. ↑ Citron, Michelle (March 1981). "The films of Jan Oxenberg: Comic critique". Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Lesbian Tide (1974) March-April, 1976 — Independent Voices". voices.revealdigital.com. 1974. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  4. ↑ Rosenberg, Rosalind (2004). Changing the Subject: How the Women of Columbia Shaped the Way We Think About Sex and Politics. New York City, New York: Columbia University Press. p. 277. ISBN   9780231501149.
  5. ↑ "Artists Womanhouse". WOMANHOUSE. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  6. ↑ "Jan Oxenberg". www.powerupfilms.org. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  7. ↑ Harris, Dana (2003-02-21). "Artisan goes to 'Dark Places'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  8. ↑ Kaufman, Deborah (27 February 2009). "Filmmakers, Independent North American". Jewish Women's Archive.
  9. ↑ Foster, Gwendolyn Audrey (1995). Women Film Directors: An International Bio-critical Dictionary. Greenwood Press. p. 87. ISBN   0313289727.
  10. 1 2 Savage, Ann M. (2008). "Women film directors and producers". Digital Commons at Butler University. p. 387. Retrieved 2019-10-01. Jan Oxenberg's experimental short Home Movie (1972 ), frequently regarded as one of the first lesbian feminist films, details the filmmaker's life as a young girl encouraged to be feminine, contrasted with coming out as an adult.
  11. 1 2 Lebow, Alisa (2008). First Person Jewish. University of Minnesota Press. p. 111. ISBN   9780816643547.
  12. ↑ "the Woman's Building, Timeline 1968-1973". thewomansbuilding.org. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  13. ↑ "Woman's Building: History Timeline". Otis College of Art and Design. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  14. ↑ "Queer Subversion – Pleasure Dome". pdome.org. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  15. ↑ "The films of Jan Oxenberg by Michelle Citron". www.ejumpcut.org. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  16. ↑ Brody, Richard (2018-03-16). "A Vanished Film You Should See: Jan Oxenberg's "Thank You and Good Night"". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  17. ↑ Holden, Stephen (1992-01-29). "Review/Film; And Now, the Sunny Side of Death". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  18. ↑ Lowry, Brian (January 11, 1997). "When a Kiss Is Not Just a Kiss on 'Relativity'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  19. ↑ Warn, Sarah (November 6, 2002). ""Relativity" and the First Lesbian Kiss on Primetime Television". AfterEllen . Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  20. ↑ Cody (December 21, 2010). "Once and Again: No Buts About It". First Choice for Last Place. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  21. ↑ Amazon, Nancy (July 21, 2008). "once and again". KissingFingertips. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.