About
Rosenberg in his first studio space, late 1970s.
1970s/80s/90s influences
Rosenberg was born and raised in San Anselmo, CA. He was first introduced to the intersection of art and life by his middle school art teacher, Ted Allen.
In the 1970s, Rosenberg graduated high school and began a career as a house painter and later as a carpenter. Also in this time period, he made pottery in his free time with a friend. They built a kiln in the backyard of the friend's family home, where they also set up a pottery studio in the basement. Subsequently, Rosenberg studied pottery with Thanos Johnson at The College of Marin in Kentfield, California. Rosenberg took various art classes at The College of Marin.
During this time, he was introduced to the work of playwright Samuel Beckett through a community college production of "Waiting For Godot," an event that pushed him into thinking about art in a much larger context. Rosenberg began taking dance classes with a local choreographer, June Watanabe, which led to a series of collaborations in which he created scenic elements and ultimately video projections as part of live dance performances. He also began taking workshops in experimental theatre techniques with various teachers including Yoshi Oida who worked extensively with the director Peter Brook. In the early 1980s Rosenberg collaborated with a group of German artists who were associated with Joseph Beuys' Free International University. They arranged for Rosenberg to create a series of performances in and around Kassel, Germany that coincided with the 1982 Documenta where he encountered the work of numerous contemporary artists and worked as a volunteer on Joseph Beuys iconic 7,000 Oaks Project.