Judy Chicago, a colorful feminist pioneer
About Judy Chicago's exhibitions in Arles until September 29, in London until September 1, and on the island of Porquerolles until November 3.
Because Judy Chicago is a pioneer of feminist art whose works and actions have left an indelible mark on the world of contemporary art, because her commitment to the cause of women and her ability to use art as a means of social change continue to inspire and transform perceptions, there is everything to be gained from not missing the Judy Chicago exhibition which is being held at Luma Arles until September 29. Celebrating her legacy and her impact on the art world, “Judy Chicago: Herstory” offers a unique opportunity to discover or rediscover the work of this pioneering artist. Because as Marie Maertens announces in the preamble to her article for the magazine Connaissance des arts, “the artist who adopted the name of her hometown in order not to take a married surname is considered one of the first visual artists in the feminist practice. »
Judy Chicago was born Judith Sylvia Cohen on July 20, 1939, in Chicago. The little girl grew up in a progressive family, as her father, Arthur Cohen, was a labor and communist activist, while her mother, May Cohen, encouraged her daughter's artistic interests. This family context shaped his political beliefs and his commitment to social justice. Early on Judy showed artistic talent, and so she was educated at the Art Institute of Chicago. She went on to earn an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1964, despite her teachers hating her abstract lacquer paintings on car hoods. No doubt they saw it as an affront to their gender or their fetishism... The experience of being confronted during her studies with an artistic environment dominated by men would obviously profoundly influence her career and her feminist commitment.
It was in the 1960s that Judy Chicago adopted her current surname to mark her independence and her rejection of patriarchal conventions. This change symbolized her desire to forge a distinct artistic identity, free from the constraints imposed by society on women. After living in Los Angeles, whose constant spirit of inventiveness in the 1960s contributed to her idea of being able to create a different way of being an artist, Judy Chicago chose to live in Belen, a small town in New Mexico, United States. She moved there in 1996 with her husband, the artist photographer Donald Woodman, of whom there is no mention at any time in the Connaissance des arts article, certainly to respect the artist's wishes. keen to avoid the eternal “wife of”. She continues to carry out her artistic work and her social and educational commitments in Belen. Belen is known for its peaceful setting and picturesque landscapes, providing Chicago with an environment conducive to creativity and reflection. “Having always been far from the mainstream, we had to live in a place outside the mainstream! » she explains “in a strong and dynamic voice” to Marie Maertens who has just landed at Albuquerque airport to devote a report to her while visiting her workshop.
My trailer didn't go that far, but I can describe Judy Chicago's daily environment to you through the words of the Connaissance des arts journalist: this way we won't increase any carbon footprint. “In this city of seven thousand inhabitants, over three years she restored a red brick building from the beginning of the 20th century, which formerly housed the staff of the Santa Fe Railway. The artist has set up her studio there, where she mainly produces her drawings and paintings, on different media including porcelain and glass. Upstairs is her apartment, where she receives us. On the same street, she has other buildings or offices for her teams, different storage spaces and a small gallery which traces her artistic journey. Evoking the exhibitions in Arles, but also at the Serpentine Gallery in London, takes the visual artist back to the 1960s. The pleasure of finally showing, in person, her early career works to the European public also revives the memory of the many struggles she led. »
Because, as incredible as it may seem today, Judy Chicago is part of this generation of women who were told that they could not be artists... Who were told by men, of course, that they could not be artists. And who had to fight. Constantly. She herself was accused of being too “aggressive”! Of course no one listened to what she had to say. She also confided to Marie Maertens that she would have preferred to have been wrong when she sensed the terrible climate changes due to overwhelming male domination over everything... Because it is also "her attention to the environment that makes Judy Chicago a pioneer,” explains the journalist. “She does not shy away from her pleasure in recalling an anecdote experienced in 1970 with Richard Serra who, for his exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum, had piled up trunks of century-old sequoias. “But this species was already protected at the time and I was simply horrified by this scenario. When I told him, he held up the Artforum which he had covered on the cover… A few years later, I started to design Atmospheres and Fireworks. These fireworks performances are a fusion of my images with the earth and the sky, without any domination over nature. Today, they are linked to the Land Art movement, notably as a possible alternative to those who created nothing other than permanent monuments to the glory of themselves. » »
Among the emblematic works of Judy Chicago visible in Arles is of course The Dinner Party (1974-1979), this monumental installation which celebrates the contributions of women to history and culture, with a triangular table of 39 seats, each dedicated to an influential woman. Visitors can explore the details and deeper meanings of this groundbreaking work. However, if you pay attention while visiting the exhibitions, in Arles, in London or even in Hyères, where the Carmignac Foundation is presenting “The Infinite woman” until November 3 on the island of Porquerolles, you will see that some of the works of art by Judy Chicago display two dates: one in the 2000s and another in the 1960s. This is because the artist, now globally recognized, once met with so little success, not being sufficiently supported by art galleries to be able to make a living from her works of art to sell... that she often had to destroy them because she could not store them! She therefore rebuilt some of them a few decades later…
“If she was close to the art critic Lucy Lippard, a leading figure in feminist art born in 1937, she was geographically distant from the New York visual artists Nancy Spero, Carolee Schneemann, Yoko Ono, Martha Rosler…” recalls Marie Maertens. “Or, as she says, a bit rebellious, she proved to be very ahead of the latter…” At the age of 85, Judy Chicago in any case continues to bear witness through her explosions of multicolored pigments to her intact necessity. to struggle.
Article written by Valibri in Roulotte
Illustration: Judy Chicago - Minimalist and Early Feminist Periods - Herstory at Luma Arles