In 2010, Minneapolis-based Roaratorio Records released a vinyl LP compiling two different realizations of an orchestral work by
Pauline Oliveros which bears the title "
To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation".
Oliveros' magnum feminist opus has a protracted tonal structure comparable to the work of
Giacinto Scelsi. Its tenebrous expressivity is beautifully matched by the cover art, which is credited to Judith Lindbloom, whose prints and paintings have also appeared on albums by uncompromisingly creative musicians like
Joe McPhee.
To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation was commissioned by Hope College in Holland, Michigan and premiered at that institution's Wichers Hall with a 14-member ensemble in 1970. The audio documentation of that event is paired with a recording of the piece as interpreted by an orchestra of 43 participants (including a considerable electronics contingent) at Wesleyan University's Crowell Concert Hall in 1977.
Oliveros' choice of Monroe and Solanas as dedicatees was a profound and thought-provoking gesture in light of the challenges facing women in general and female artists in particular within a patriarchal and often mercilessly profit-driven cultural environment.