Art and Feminism

Feminism has had a crucial impact on late twentieth-century art, inspiring some of the most pioneering developments in sculpture, painting, performance, photography, film and installation. The art world has been transformed by feminists who at the same time have been among its chief critics. Feminism has redefined the very terms of late twentieth-century art: it has exposed assumptions about gender; it has politicized the link between private and public; it has stressed the specificity of art marked by gender, race, age and class. Selected by editor and researcher Helena Reckitt, this collection presents the rich diversity of art informed by feminism from the 1960s to the start of the twenty-first century. Not just a comprehensive history, the book juxtaposes works by many artists who are not usually shown or discussed together, opening up new connections between key figures. Peggy Phelan, among the best known contemporary feminist theorists, surveys the history of feminist art, opening up new perspectives on the work of artists ranging from Georgia O'Keeffe and Louise Bourgeois to Cindy Sherman and Pipilotti Rist. The Documents include the key critical texts of each period, ranging from the writings of Simone de Beauvoir, to the pioneering art criticism of Lucy R. Lippard, to Craig Owens' feminist-derived contributions to postmodern criticism, as well as many important previously unpublished artists' statements and interviews.