Judy Chicago
Judy Chicago is a highly influential feminist artist. However, her work does not encompass feminism for everyone. Even in recent years, Judy excludes trans women from discussion, and dismisses the voices of Black women.
her early work was rooted in minimalism, often combining sculpture and painting. She explored color, patterns, and transformation, looking to "test the limits" of each of these things.
ID: Trinity (1965), Rainbow Pickett (1965) Trinity (1965), Rainbow Pickett (1965). Minimal, brightly colored sculptures.
However, after 1972 Chicago was best known for her feminist artwork. Womanhouse (1972) and Dinner Party (1974-1979) are perhaps Chicago's best-known works. Both projects tackle gender roles, promote feminism, and seek to empower women.
However, is Chicago's feminism for everyone? Many would argue not. For example, criticism from Alice Walker remark's on Chicago's different treatment of Black vs. White subjects in Dinner Party, saying, “The illumination came when I stood in front of it. All the other plates are creatively imagined vaginas … The Sojourner Truth plate is the only one in the collection that shows-instead of a vagina — a face. In fact, three faces. … It occurred to me that perhaps white women feminists, no less than white women generally, cannot imagine that black women have vaginas.”
Furthermore, even as recently as 2017, Chicago has balked at doing more to include trans women in her art, stating, "“There’s a lot of variation about how people define what it means to be a woman—we know that, and we know that it’s not binary... However, most of the women who are women have vaginas, okay?”
Judy Chicago is a feminist icon, a pioneer in the art field, and a highly influential individual. How can we learn from someone who has made such an impact whilst acknowledging and challenging their lack of intersectionality?
I really enjoyed your presentation and your last question is something that I'm also trying to figure out.
ReplyDeleteChicago is so frustrating, I love so much of her work but she is just not very open to a lot of people.
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