New library exhibit: "The Lesbian House (1972-1973): Photographs by Bee Ottinger, class of 1970"
Come see Special Collections’s new exhibition of photographs by Middlebury alumna Bee Ottinger, and save the date for a talk with Bee and fellow alumna Karla Baehr on Friday, January 26th at 1pm.
After graduating from Middlebury in 1970, Bee Ottinger moved to Los Angeles to pursue her Masters in Fine Arts in Photography at the California College of the Arts. While living in LA, she learned about the Lesbian House, which became the subject of her thesis. As Bee tells it:
The Lesbian House was a large halfway house on Oxford Street in Los Angeles that provided 15-20 rooms to lesbians in 1972-1973. Anyone could live there, paying very little rent since it was subsidized by a woman who had just come out herself and had recently inherited some money. I took photographs of the women and eventually came out and lived there for a few months.
The exhibit, curated by Bee Ottinger, with support from Special Collections staff, will be on display in the atrium of Davis Family Library and will coincide with a talk by Bee and fellow alumna Karla Baehr, class of 1970. Join us in Special Collections (Davis Family Library 101) for lunch and a discussion with Karla and Bee about representation, feminism, and their experience embracing their sexuality after attending Middlebury in the 1960s.
Lunch and Discussion: "Paths to Lesbianism"
Friday, January 26th at 1pm.
See event details.
Curious to learn more about the Lesbian House? Check out this interview with Bee from 2010, browse the collection of negatives on the Internet Archive, and come talk with her on Friday, January 26th!