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| Becoming Judy Chicago: A Biography of the Artist
ISBN: 9780520971615
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / University of California Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Chicago Judy 1939–; Artists -- United States -- Biography; Feminism and art -- United States;
With Judy Chicago, Levin (Edward Hopper) takes on a subject who has spent most of her career fighting for her place in a male-dominated and masculinized art world. As the title suggests, the book shows how the daughter of a radical Jewish Communist became the power behind The Dinner Party (1979), a work that forces women's history forward on women's terms, expressed through craft and female imagery. Often described as outspoken, confrontational, strong willed and difficult by even her closest colleagues and friends, Chicago carved a path for other women artists. She demanded that her students-all female-live and create a radically new and feminist movement in the arts. Levin captures Chicago's struggle with her emerging feminism in the context of her marriages, her art and her role as teacher and collaborator. Levin handles the complexity of Chicago's relationships with both men and women deftly, in a manner that exemplifies the issues many women have gone through as they attempted to stake their claim in a man's world. Although not an authorized biography, this was written with Chicago's aid. Hagiographic at times and sometimes burdened by its living and larger-than-life subject, the book is an enlightening look at this controversial artist and at feminist art in general. 16 pages of color photos, 15 b&w photos. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Levin Gail :
Gail Levin is a biographer, art historian, and curator of landmark exhibitions. She is Distinguished Professor of Art History, American Studies, and Women's Studies at the City University of New York. She is the author of many books, including Edward Hopper: A Catalogue Raisonné , Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography , Lee Krasner: A Biography , and Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art . |
