Charlotte was artistic partner and collaborator with Nam June Paik who wrote major pieces for her. In 1963 she established the New York Avant Garde Festiva. She coordinated and orchestrated the festival for 15 years.

In 1967 she achieved notoriety for her performance of Paik's Opera Sextronique, a seminude performance which resulted in her arrest on charges of indecent exposure; she was given a suspended sentence. The incident gave her nationwide fame as the "topless cellis," and opened up censorship in the arts.

In addition to being a star performer of avant garde pieces, she was an accomplised musician. She became a spokeperson and negotiator for advanced art, charming the bureaucracies of New York and other major cities into co-operating and providing facilities for controversial and challenging performances. The 15 years of the Avant Garde Festival marked a period of unparalleled exploration by advanced artists in the use of the public space (less info)