She is best known for her collaborative work with performance artist Bob Flanagan, and her photography documenting a wide range of Los Angeles subcultures, especially in relation to BDSM and body modification.
[2] In the 1970s, after divorcing, she earned a master's degree at California State University, Northridge and became active in socialist feminism, consciousness-raising groups,[3] and the punk scene.
Sadomasochism was central to Rose and Flanagan's relationship, and throughout the 1980s, the two focused on BDSM community organizing and advocacy, including the formation of the Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Janus.
[3] Rose documented her life and work with Flanagan, and also photographed other performance artists, including Genesis P-Orridge (for the book Modern Primitives),[4] Ron Athey,[5] and others.
[1] From 2011, Rose has worked collaboratively with British performance artist Martin O'Brien, continuing to explore themes of BDSM and cystic fibrosis.