Book Description
There had never been art like the art produced by women artists in the 1970s--and there has never been a book with the ambition and scope of this one about that groundbreaking era. WACK! documents and illustrates the impact of the feminist revolution on art made between 1965 and 1980, featuring pioneering and influential works by artists who came of age during that period--Chantal Akerman, Lynda Benglis, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Valie Export, Mary Heilmann, Sanja Ivekovič, Ana Mendieta, Annette Messager, and others--as well as important works made in those years by artists whose whose careers were already well established, including Louise Bourgeois, Judy Chicago, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Lucy Lippard, Alice Neel, and Yoko Ono.
The art surveyed in WACK! includes work by more than 120 artists, in all media--from painting and sculpture to photography, film, installation, and video--arranged not by chronology but by theme: Abstraction, "Autophotography," Body as Medium, Family Stories, Gender Performance, Knowledge as Power, Making Art History, and others. WACK!, which accompanies the first international museum exhibition to showcase feminist art from this revolutionary era, contains more than 400 color images. Highlights include the figurative paintings of Joan Semmel; the performance and film collaborations of Sally Potter and Rose English; the untitled film stills of Cindy Sherman; and the large-scale, craft-based sculptures of Magdalena Abakanowicz.
Written entries on each artist offer key biographical and descriptive information and accompanying essays by leading critics, art historians, and scholars offer new perspectives on feminist art practice. The topics--including the relationship between American and European feminism, feminism and New York abstraction, and mapping a global feminism--provide a broad social context for the artworks themselves. WACK! is both a definitive visual record and a long-awaited history of one of the most important artistic movements of the twentieth century.
Essays by:
Cornelia Butler, Judith Russi Kirshner, Catherine Lord, Marsha Meskimmon, Richard Meyer, Helen Molesworth, Peggy Phelan, Nelly Richard, Valerie Smith, Abigail Solomon-Godeau, Jenni Sorkin
Artists include:
Marina Abramovič, Chantal Akerman, Lynda Benglis, Dara Birnbaum, Louise Bourgeois, Judy Chicago, Lygia Clark, Jay DeFeo, Mary Beth Edelson, Valie Export, Barbara Hammer, Susan Hiller, Joan Jonas, Mary Kelly, Maria Lassnig, Linda Montano, Alice Neel, Senga Nengudi, Lorraine O’Grady, Pauline Oliveros, Yoko Ono, Orlan, Howardena Pindell, Yvonne Rainer, Faith Ringgold, Ketty La Rocca, Ulrike Rosenbach, Martha Rosler, Betye Saar, Miriam Schapiro, Carolee Schneemann, Cindy Sherman, and Hannah Wilke.
Book Description
After the long period of cultural decline known as the Dark Ages, Europe experienced a rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science and began to develop a vision of Western society that remains at the heart of Western civilization today.
By placing the image of the Virgin Mary at the center of their churches and their lives, medieval people exalted womanhood to a level unknown in any previous society. For the first time, men began to treat women with dignity and women took up professions that had always been closed to them.
The communion bread, believed to be the body of Jesus, encouraged the formulation of new questions in philosophy: Could reality be so fluid that one substance could be transformed into another? Could ordinary bread become a holy reality? Could mud become gold, as the alchemists believed? These new questions pushed the minds of medieval thinkers toward what would become modern science.
Artists began to ask themselves similar questions. How can we depict human anatomy so that it looks real to the viewer? How can we depict motion in a composition that never moves? How can two dimensions appear to be three? Medieval artists (and writers, too) invented the Western tradition of realism.
On visits to the great cities of Europe—monumental Rome; the intellectually explosive Paris of Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas; the hotbed of scientific study that was Oxford; and the incomparable Florence of Dante and Giotto—Cahill brilliantly captures the spirit of experimentation, the colorful pageantry, and the passionate pursuit of knowledge that built the foundations for the modern world. Bursting with stunning four-color art, MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES is the ultimate Christmas gift book.
Customer Reviews:
All Over The Map.......2007-09-16
Maybe Cahill's a frustrated stand-up comic. Imagine the author as a stand-up inviting the audience to suggest topics for improvised comedic departure. Someone shouts out, "The Middle Ages!" and Cahill thinks, "Yeah. I can go with that." So we're off on tangent after tangent about Frank Zappa or Osama Bin Laden. Spare us the "cute" writing. Please.
Better Items Available.......2007-09-03
I agree with most of the negative reviewers of this product. The author is condescending and irritating. While he has a fine grasp of the English language, many of his conjectures are not only incorrect they are idiotic. His personal views, which he feels a need to share, detract from the story he is trying to tell in an unavoidable and irritating way. Stay away from this one.
Enjoyable overview of the Middle Ages & how they formed us.......2007-08-12
This is the fourth book in Cahill's "Hinges of History" series, and it is excellent. As others have pointed out it is not in-depth, not scholarly but rather written for people who don't usually read history. He makes it completly enjoyable, ties together main points, major movements, the pivotable people in a sort of quilt of moving shapes and colors that for a moment bring it all alive again. In this book famous and less famous people each are used to illustrate points about an era, and the changes that began in that era, and in fact that person may have been the one of powerhouses of the change, like Abelard, or Eleanor of Aquitaine, or simply a recorder or interpreter of it as Giotto was. Each fingernail sketch of a life in its unique era is memorable. Hildegarde of Bingen, at age 8, was given to the Church by her noble parents, to be interred as an anchorite, a life of complete sequestration, forever. Yet as she grew to adulthood the depth and breadth of her learning, taught to her in her little walled-in cell by a monk, grew to the point that her writings and correspondence was noted throughout Europe and even the Popes knew of her. She was perhaps the best known and best educated woman in Europe in her day and the most influential in the Roman Catholic Church. Made an abbess and allowed to preach and write openly she lived on to age 81, renowned and venerated. Eleanor of Aquitaine, the richest heiress in Europe at age 15, ruler of Aquitaine and other parts of France larger than the remaining lands of France itself was married first to the French king and went on Crusade with him, the first Noble woman known to do so; divorced him to marry her lover the much younger king of England; was the mother of several sons by him including Richard the Lion Hearted, her favorite...from her, most of the royalty of Europe descends. She was a strong, powerful,and free woman for most of her long life. The story of Heloise and Abelard, the great and tragic lovers is retold really well. Dante's story,his long exile due to the great wars of his native Florence and the feuding families at the root of it all reminds one of the Romeo and Juliet story: the "two houses"...But not to miss the point that each life discussed is tied in to a specific time and concept of an age different from us but leading toward us and our time. In fact, as the author points out, the events, the gradual change in thought-- never predetermined-- were how our era as it is now was formed; our way of seeing the world, our political, relgious, cultural and scientific, views were formed from theirs, our immediate cultural forebears.
An Engaging Writer but Superficial and Wrongheaded History.......2007-07-15
Though an engaging writer, Cahill is an appallingly bad historian. He compares the medieval nun Hildegard of Bingen to blues singer Bessie Smith (Hildegard's lyrics display a spiritualized eroticism) and the woman in bondage in The Story of O and refers to Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City in the same passage. ("This was one loose sister," is his characterization of Hildegard.) He compares Dante to James Joyce on the grounds that both were exiles infatuated with their mother cities. He characterizes WWI's Gallipoli as a "confrontation between ... Islam and the West," an appallingly bad summary of a complex military campaign which had little to do with religion and a great deal to do with military matters. Throughout the book, Cahill tramples history into a muddled paste of great figures and exalting moments, ignoring nuance or exception. He concludes with a five-page diatribe against sycophancy and buggery in today's Church. The footnotes don't inform much; the bibliography omits essential scholarship (e.g., R. W. Southern on medieval humanism, Roberto Lopez and Lauro Martines on Renaissance humanism). It is difficult to conceive of an audience that would benefit from reading this silly and superficial book.
Haven't finished reading it yet...too soon..........2007-07-05
but from the first page I have felt as though this is the easiest and most interesting way to experience history.
I don't believe anyone else can make reading & studying history such a pleasure. My method is to jot down notes on a small paper pad with the page number noted, so I can go back & make sure I have absorbed the links that have led to the future. There is such a stupendous wealth of detail.
I have all of Thomas Cahill's Hinges of History books so far and have never been disappointed yet.
Mary H.
Book Description
Global Feminisms is a celebration of contemporary feminist art that brings together works by over eighty women artists from around the world. Contributions by a multinational team of authors focus particular attention on socio-cultural, racial and gender identities. By offering new perspectives on feminist artistic expression since 1990, this ground-breaking book moves the discourse of feminism away from its traditional linear history and towards a global inclusiveness that acknowledges the cultural differences in women's lives and the ever-changing perceptions of feminism.
Features the work of more than eighty contemporary women artists from over fifty countries, among them Catherine Opie, Miwa Yanagi, Pilar Albarracín, Shahzia Sikander and Yin Xiuzhen
Includes essays offering new perspectives by internationally known contributors
Customer Reviews:
tremendous diversity and scope.......2007-07-30
Global Feminisms is a beautifully compiled collection of feminist art from all over the world, literally. Instead of focusing on works from the past, however, the earliest of the pieces in this book date from the year 1990 and looks forward to the future of feminism and art. The countless paintings, sculptures, pieces of installation art, photographs, portraits, etc. come from fifty countries and all continents (excluding Antarctica), and challenges the notion that feminism is Western-centric and male defined. It is comprehensive and easy to read, without being dry or inaccessible.
This book manages to cover such a broad arena so smoothly. Its chapters are focused: "Gender Mobility: The Lens of Five Women Artists in India," "Post-Totalitarian Art: Eastern and Central Europe" and "What is Contemporary About Asian-American Women's Art?" are just a few of the many chapters. The intersections of race, class and sex are presented, and many of the pieces deal with cultural, political, economic, gender and sexual identities. The artists share their experiences as women in their particular culture and have created profound works that inspire dialogue, critiques or, simply, wonder.
The art in this book is outstanding on its own with its tremendous diversity and scope - either in presentation, media and look; however, they all unite beautifully to present a successful global presentation of feminist art. And though the art can speak for itself, the writing accompanying it I fantastic and educational. A true enjoyment to read!
A celebration of modern feminist perspectives and works.......2007-06-17
Over 80 women artists from over 50 countries are profiled in the fine catalog Global Feminisms: New Directions in Contemporary Art, which captures feminist art since 1990. Struggles for women's equality are reflected in works by women who strive to portray alternative perspectives. GLOBAL FEMINISMS accompanies an exhibit which coincides with the thirtieth anniversary of the first major feminist art show to explore women in Western Art, but it stands well alone as a celebration of modern feminist perspectives and works and is an acquisition any college-level art or women's issues collection needs, pairing in-depth history and essays with full-page color photos.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in the Movies is a lively introduction to issues of diversity as represented within the American cinema. The first synthetic and historical text of its kind, America on Film provides a comprehensive overview of the industrial, socio-cultural, and aesthetic factors that contribute to cinematic representations of race, class, gender, and sexuality. The volume chronicles the cinematic history of various cultural groups, examines forces and institutions of bias, and stimulates discussion about the relationship between film and American national culture.Accessible and user-friendly, America on Film features 101 illustrations, a glossary of key terms, questions for discussion, and lists for further reading and further viewing. The book is organized within a broad historical framework, with specific theoretical concepts - including film genre, auteurism, cultural studies, Orientalism, the "male gaze, " feminism, and queer theory - integrated throughout. Each individual chapter features a concise overview of the topic at hand, a discussion of representative films, figures, and movements, and an in-depth analysis of a single film, including The Lion King, The Jazz Singer, Smoke Signals, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Celluloid Closet.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent colletction of essays
- Hooks and Hate Speech
- The Road Is Long
- Critical Analysis of Teaching to Transgress
- Essential for teaching freedom
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Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
bell hooks
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Experience And Education
ASIN: 0415908086 |
Book Description
In this book, bell hooks, one of America's leading black intellectuals, shares her philosophy of the classroom, offering ideas about teaching that fundamentally rethink democratic participation. Hooks advocates the process of teaching students to think critically and raises many concerns central to the field of critical pedagogy, linking them to feminist thought. In the process, these essays face squarely the problems of teachers who do not want to teach, of students who do not want to learn, of racism and sexism in the classroom, and of the gift of freedom that is, for hooks, the teacher's most important goal.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent colletction of essays.......2007-07-31
I couldn't put this book down! The essays were very thought provoking and interesting. The only section I skipped was the one on Paulo Freire. It was a little too dry from the beginning. I feel that the only people who won't like this book are the ones who choose to judge hooks on her word choice and try to read her words with their own connotations rather than the way she intended. Yes, she uses terms like "white supremecist" a lot. If you take that in the way we tend to use it in common language, you would think she believes that white people knowingly have some sort of racist agenda against other people; to draw that conclusion, you have to assume that she's just another black person blaming white people for their situations. It is clear that hooks is not at all playing a blame game, but is instead just calling it how she sees it. You have to read the book in its entirety to grasp the points she's trying to make. I also really liked how she included little stories from her own personal experience. She also attempts to explain her theory with support from events in history. Overall, I thought it was a great book. The vocabulary wasn't extremely difficult, so it could really be read by anyone, yet the points are very difficult to understand if you come to this book with preconceived ideas of how black women think or believe that your own life experience is the only truth. I would recommend this book to ANY college student, anyone interested in education, and also people who enjoy thinking. Definitely not a book for someone who doesn't want to have to think as they read.
Hooks and Hate Speech.......2005-09-27
We read this book in class at the graduate level and her ideas caused a great deal of controversy. Some loved her and others were sure she was radical with no agenda except for blaming others for her anger. I thought that her book was non-academic because it was not an academic piece of writing. Color or gender have nothing to do with it. I was not impressed by her ranting against white middle class educational values because she was a beneficiary of a scholarship that helped her achieve her education. Besides, at least in this book, she can't get past her anger to give real examples of transformative education in the classroom, except to assure the reader she practiced it. Not good enough. Playing the race-card, flagrant self-promotion and hate speech is not enough. Being a revolutionary requires more than a polemic against the things you don't like. I wasn't impressed.
The Road Is Long.......2005-07-12
If you teach--whatever you teach; wherever you teach--please consider reading this book. Some of these reviews demonstrate the urgency of cultural transformation. Transformation begins with dialogue among learners--in a field, by the side of the road, in an urban classroom, even in the academy where transformative learning is most deeply challenged.
Critical Analysis of Teaching to Transgress.......2005-04-04
Bell Hooks is an a highly achieved academic who overcame the oppression of a family that discouraged free thought (p. 60), being a black woman in a "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy" (p. 71), and an education system wrought with oppression to teach a variety of courses as an adjunct in ivy league universities. Hooks states that education is the practice of freedom and challenges her students by aggressively opposing authorities, parents (p. 61), fraternities (p. 20), social norms, white oppression (p. 32), the English language, and white feminists, to name a few. By practicing engaged pedagogy, Hooks successfully rebels from the "banking system" of education that states students are to learn information provided by the professor. The system also-according to Hooks-encourages professors to remain uncontroversial as a means of ensuring security and tenure in their academic posts.
The following pages will investigate and critically review several positions proposed by Bell Hooks within the text, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom.
Self Actualization
Though she does not define self actualization in her work, acknowledge the work of Abraham Maslow who spent a great deal of his career writing on the characteristics of self-actualized individuals, or mention the prerequisites to self-actualization (being devoid of psychopathology, using the extent of your natural abilities), Hooks refers to self-actualization and her disappointment in the lack of it with "the university" (p. 16). She states that as opposed to promoting self-actualization, academic institutions are instead havens for persons who are book smart and introverts-which Hooks describes as "unfit for social interaction" (p. 16). This addition of "necessary extroversion" for self-actualization is a dramatic and much needed contradiction to Maslow's study of self-actualized individuals, which shows self-actualized persons are generally more detached from others, as compared to the norm.
Regarding self-actualization still, though Maslow's subjects were profoundly non-religiously oriented, Hooks promotes an integration of spiritual and intellectual education, stating that separating spirituality from learning is to do a disservice and-in her educational experience-to find a professor that attuned to integrating his/her spiritual nature in teaching is a "rare treasure" (p. 17). She states further and brilliantly convolutes her point with a totally unrelated topic of dominance in the classroom: "Most of my professors were not the slightest bit interested in enlightenment. More than anything they seemed enthralled by the exercise of power and authority within their mini-kingdom, the classroom" (p. 17).
Though some white patriarchal academics maintain Hooks' work is non-academic solely because she is a black feminist (p. 71), Hooks proves otherwise by discovering the phenomenon of introverted academics becoming oppressive tyrants in the classroom.
In continued regard to dominance issues, they are exclusively presented as a characteristic of white males, as Hooks states:
It was particularly disappointing to encounter white male professors who claimed to follow Freire's model even as their pedagogical practices were mired in structures of domination, mirroring the styles of conservative professors even as they subjects from a more pedagogical standpoint (p. 17-18, italics added).
Safety
Hooks states regarding safety, "It is the absence of feeling safety that often promotes prolonged silence or lack of student engagement" (p. 39) and writes that with transformative pedagogy-which she encourages-the classroom is a democratic venue where all students have the obligation and privilege to participate. Though safety is important, a professor's focus should be on community, and a binding commitment to the common good (p. 40).
Community, according to Hooks promotes diversity, and students (as well as professors) need to spend time learning "different epistemologies" that are held by students, as well as "other ways of knowing." Reportedly, many of her students are dissatisfied with the time Hooks spends off topic during her classes and may state something to the degree "Why are we talking so much about feminism in a math class?" Hooks states that she has learned throughout the years to ignore these complaints, and that students who do not desire to talk about feminism in non-feminism related courses will realize it is good from them at a later time, and will often contact Hooks to tell her how right she is (p. 42).
Some additional interesting points by Hooks; who writes her text based completely on her experiences and reactions to others' works she has read that are based (I can confirm with many of them, Thich Nhat Hanh for example) completely on the reflective experiences of those authors, Hooks finds that her courses on feminism often go well except "those times when students abuse the freedom of the classroom by only wanting to dwell on personal experience" (p. 15).
Later, hooks criticizes white male students for valuing essentialist standpoints of logic, which oppress the "knowledge of experience" possessed by the minorities in the classroom (p. 81). It is stated voices from marginalized groups are given space to "speak from experience" only then the basis of experience is needed in a discussion. Instead, Hooks suggests that the "knowledge of experience" should be equal to any factual knowledge white male students possess. In addition, regarding the experiences of white male students-though white male students are preoccupied with objective knowledge-Hooks states:
The politics or race and gender within white supremacist patriarchy grants them their "authority" without their having name or desire for it. They do not attend class and say, "I think that I am superior intellectually to my classmates because I am white and male and that my experiences are much more important than any other group's." And yet their behavior announces this way of thinking about identity, essence, subjectivity.
These are very insightful points by Hooks, and her ability to read the minds of white students is compelling, trumped only by her ability to realize all white male students are homogenous in their perspectives of supremacy and dominance. Putting Hooks' tenets together in sum; white male students do not state that they are dominant even though they oppress, are attuned toward non-experiential objective knowledge, and incorrectly challenge minorities in the class who have "useful" experiential knowledge with their un-useful "white" experiential knowledge.
Lastly, such arrogance does not end with white males but transcends even to female white feminist academics, for Hooks states
Talking with academic feminists (usually white women) who feel they must either dismiss or devalue the work of Freire because of sexism, I see clearly how our different responses are shaped by the standpoint that we bring to the work (p. 50, italics added).
Language
Hooks most brilliant arguments are those regarding language. Hooks states, "This is the oppressor's language yet I need it to talk to you" (p.167), and repeats this line as a dramatic special-effect that is well placed in her academic literature (that is wrongly labeled by white supremacist researchers as "not academic enough").
English is the language of conquest and domination, and "it is difficult not to hear in standard English always the sound of slaughter and conquest" (p. 169) because the white people murdered Native Americans, according to Hook's knowledge of experience.
More profound than the claims Hooks makes is the information that Hooks omits from her writings. For example, black people are allowed to speak their native languages if they desire. It is not discouraged, and is comparatively equal to the situation of Caucasian men who's ancestors are indigenous to countries that do not speak English (France, Italy, Russia, etc.). Second, African persons do not speak one language that binds them as a group, but many different African languages. Third, the Americans that went into physical battle against the Native Americans are many years deceased. Fourth, English, the language of oppression, is not really spoken in America for English (from England) is significantly different than American English that this country speaks as its official language, and American English is constantly evolving/changing. Therefore, American English is different from the language used to exterminate Native Americans. Fifth, though it is true an academic submission written in Ebonics would not be accepted as appropriate, such may have to deal with the fact that Ebonics is promoted as a second language among its promoters-such as Russian or any other foreign language, which also would not be accepted in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal published for English speaking readers. Sixth, if Ebonics is considered an ethnic dialect of English, it is not alone in being considered not appropriate for academic submission-for even white "hillbilly" or "country" dialects are not accepted as proper academic language. Seventh, regarding the "bounding limitations" (p. 171) of the English language, much research contests the notion that language can be "binding." For example, it was believed people speaking English could not understand snow to the depth that northern Native Americans can, for northern Native Americans have seven (approximately) words for snow, while the English language has only one. It was later found the additional words were descriptive, such as "wet snow," "soft snow," etc. Eighth, rap music, which according to Hooks "has become one of the spaces where the black vernacular is used to invite the dominant mainstream to listen-to hear-and, to some extent, be transformed" (p. 171) may not be embraced by everyone-not to oppress blacks but-because rap music is often blatantly violent, promotes hatred, greed, and sexual promiscuity. Also contributing may be the high incidence of rap music producers and performers becoming involved in illegal activity, or gang warfare. Ninth, not addressed by Hooks is that poets, musicians, and other writers often create and alter English words in their works, and this is considered acceptable-even encouraged. In fact, some commonly used words in the English language originated as "new" words in music and literature. Lastly, having one language that a nation understands and can communicate with together mutually may not be intrinsically oppressive, but liberating.
Conclusion
The 10 rebuttals above are not written as a sincere challenge to Hooks. Instead, they are a blatant "devils advocate" written to display how claims contrary to Hooks' positions are obviously incorrect. That stated, it is difficult for me to clearly see the truth of the situation, being an educated white male. After reading Hooks work Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, I am convinced of my oppressive white supremacist attributes; the domination, slaughter, and conquest of my native tongue; and of the uncontestable value of Hooks' experiential knowledge.
Essential for teaching freedom.......2004-08-17
This book is essential for faculty who believe in libratory education. When I got my first job as an instructor I read a few books on college teaching and they were fine for nuts and bolts like how to plan a syllabus. However, hooks writes about heart-matters that really affect teaching and learning like engagement, multiculturalism, theory, feminism, community, class, and eroticism.
For example, she discusses teaching which engages the learner (why is this taken for granted preK-12 but abandoned at grade 13?) and being a diverse teacher with diverse classes in a predominantly white male academy (if you're female, or not white, or not straight, or 'political', this is you), and other topics essential to understanding the undercurrents which happen every day in lectures across the country.
I must say that I am struck by the strongly negative reactions of some reviewers. For me this book was an oasis in the desert.
Book Description
We were Guerillas before we were Gorillas. From the beginning, the press wanted publicity photos. We needed a disguise. No one remembers, for sure, how we got our fur, but one story is that at an early meeting, an original Girl, a bad speller, wrote 'Gorilla' instead of'Guerilla.' It was an enlightening mistake. It gave us our mask-ulinity. Ever wonder about the abundance of naked male statues in the Classical section of your favorite museum? Did you know medieval convents were hotbeds of female artistic expression? And how did those "bad boy" artists of the twentieth century make it even harder for a girl to get a break? Thanks to the Guerrilla Girls, those masked feminists whose mission it is to break the white male stronghold over the art world, art history-as we know it-is history. Taking you back through the ages, the Guerrilla Girls demonstrate how males (particularly white males) have dominated the art scene, and discouraged, belittled, or obscured women's involvement. Their skeptical and hilarious interpretations of "popular" theory are augmented by the newest research and the expertise of prominent feminist art historians. "Believe-it-or-not" quotations from some of the "experts" are sprinkled throughout, as are the Guerrilla Girls' signature masterpieces: reproductions of famous art works, slightly "altered" for historic accuracy and vindication. This colorful reinterpretation of classic and modern art, as outrageous as it is visually arresting, is a much-needed corrective to traditional art history, and an unabashed celebration of female artists.
Customer Reviews:
An absolute fun read for lovers of art history!.......2005-04-27
An absolute fun read for lovers of art history! This book gives a brief history of women in art, challenges they faced (and still face today), and the roles of women from classical times through the present time.
Just who are the Guerrilla Girls'? They are a group of artists and arts professionals, who in the 1980's, decided to fight discrimination in the art world and become the self-proclaimed "conscience of the art world."
"We wore gorilla masks to keep the focus on the issues rather than our personalities."
The Guerrilla Girls' begin with the images of women from the Classical Era, where reliefs of Amazons decorated buildings, but an ancient Greek or Roman "women could not vote or engage in transactions worth more than a grain of barley."
Travel through the Middle Ages where Hildegard von Bingen decorated beautiful texts and Christine de Pizan made her living as a writer (the first woman known to have done so!)
The journey continues through the Renaissance with Lavinia Fontana, Sonfonisba Anguissola, and Artemisia Gentileschi, through the 17th and 18th centuries with Judith Leyster and Angelica Kauffman; all on the way to the 20th century and Frida Kahlo, Lee Krasner, and Eva Hesse.
What makes this book so much more interesting than the other books coming out on women artists, is the humor the Guerrilla Girls' use to get the point across and the graphic nature of the book itself. Each page is filled with examples of artwork and fun graphics.
Far too short!!.......2003-04-02
This book takes you, with biting wit and humor, beyond the works of "accepted" masters (all of whom I deeply admire, by the way), showing you that for every renaissance man, there was an Artemisia Gentileschi. That among the plethora of still lifes from the 17th and 18th centuries, you that you would do well to study those of Rachel Rueysch, who captures every petal and leaf with intoxicating detail and color. They were able, even with my deep-seated resistance to "modern art", to instill in me a deep appreciation for works of impressionists, modernists, post-modernists and abstract artists.
In short, an ideal starting point for those looking to delve into art history, yet still ideal for those academics with short attentions spans. I only wish it were longer!
a bit basic, but useful for the non-artist.......2002-12-31
The book is informative and enjoyable to read through. Graphics and visuals support the text. Most artists and art educators are (or should be) familiar with the Guerilla Girls and their work and may find this a repeat of what is already known, For those who are unfamiliar with their works or who have had a typical western oriented art history background, this book will be an eye opener.
a bit basic, but useful for the non-artist.......2002-12-31
The book is informative and enjoyable to read through. Graphics and visuals support the text. Most artists and art educators are (or should be) familiar with the Guerilla Girls and their work and may find this a repeat of what is already known, For those who are unfamiliar with their works or who have had a typical western oriented art history background, this book will be an eye opener.
They make art history interesting!.......2002-06-28
I saw the Guerilla Girls two years ago at Barnes and Noble in New York's Greenwich Village. They were book signing 'Beside Companinon to the History of Western Art' and I must say I was impressed by their knowledge and intellect. They also made me laugh, which is refreshing, because art history is taking TOO seriously by the academy.
Anyone who loves art but could care less about the history should pick up this book. It does not bore you to tears with academic jargon, it is filled with illustrations and spunky commentary on a very large subject: Western art. The Guerilla Girls are smart enough to stay with certain topics and themes. Western art is too huge to cover it in one sitting, the girls go right to the good stuff. Well done.
Book Description
Judy Chicago's masterpiece The Dinner Party is a monumental work of art conceived as a symbolic history of women in Western civilization. Strategically countering the traditional erasure of women's achievements, this epic installation honours 1038 iconic, mythical, archetypal and historical women. This, the most definitive book to be published on Chicago's masterwork, reveals more fully than ever before the art and the artist's expanded research into the rich history embodied in the installation. In lively contextualizing sections, Chicago discusses the creative genesis of The Dinner Party, the technical processes involved, and the work's early - often hostile - reception by the art world, and its subsequent preservation and permanent exhibition.
A magnificently produced book and the ultimate source on an iconic work that is taught in art history and women's studies courses around the world
Profusely illustrated throughout with documentary images and new photography that displays the work in detail
Publication coincides with the release of Gail Levin's major biography, Becoming Judy Chicago, followed by the opening in March 2007 of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum, New York, permanent home of The Dinner Party
Customer Reviews:
THE DINNER PARTY.......2007-06-12
THIS IS A COMPREHENSIVE AND BEAUTIFULLY PRESENTED VOLUME ABOUT A COMPLEX AND HIGHLY ORIGINAL WORK OF ART.
An excellent, illustrated guide to the art of Judy Chicago........2007-05-19
The Dinner Party: From Creation to Reservation offers up an excellent, illustrated guide to the art of Judy Chicago. All other books documenting her DINNER PARTY are all out of print, but even when they were available, none offered such an extensive, full-color treatment as does THE DINNER PARTY: FROM CREATION TO RESERVATION. Documentary photos follow its creation and an essay by Judy Chicago surveys the history of women, the collaborative effort involved, and the history of the work's exhibition. Perfect for college-level art libraries; especially those with some works on Judy Chicago already in their holdings.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
"Lady." Let's face it: the word brings to mind a host of associations‚ many of which call to mind costume dramas or tea-sipping debutantes. That is, until The Art and Power of Being a Lady‚ the book that brushes the cobwebs off and makes "lady" relevant to every girl and woman — whether her role model is Audrey Hepburn, Oprah Winfrey, Madeleine Albright, Lauryn Hill, or Mia Hamm. In an era when looking out for one another and taking the high road is too often lost in the shuffle, today's lady has not forgotten what's important. She is kind and considerate without being a doormat. She's assertive, but never a bully. She is sexy without being vulgar. She has great style but is never superficial. She gives back without asking for kudos. And from now on, the perfect word to describe her is "lady."
Customer Reviews:
Just a star worshiping book........2007-09-23
I got up to page 87 and wanted to toss it in the trash. The only thing i got from it was that the women writing it LOVED Candice Bergen. They spent more time on clothes then needed and didn't even tell you what the difference between a black tie and white tie event is. A wast of $13.
Proverbs 31.......2007-05-26
Proverbs 31 in the bible talks about the virtuous woman. THE ART AND POWER OF BEING A LADY takes this one step further. It shows very powerfully what it means to be a virtuous woman in this millenium. I find the book a must-have.
Basic.......2007-04-29
It's a shame this book isn't better. Such a good title. I think this one would suit it better. "Modern Working Woman's Guide to Being Civilized".
This book is a very basic selection of dos and don'ts for the modern woman. Works from the results of a survey and has bits and peices about women the authors admire.
If you have never read much on manners and feminine qualtities this book might be a good place to start. It's easy to read and a good survey of the qualities and lacks of modern women. Some basic etiquette and suggestions on kindness and consideration.
But if you've ever cracked open a copy of Emily Post or something similar you might not want to bother with this book.
woman from within.......2007-03-07
i love the way it is written. very practical with advice on being a woman from within.
Finally a good book.......2007-02-17
This book explain in detail what was required to be a lady! I loved it - another suggested good read!
Book Description
In the wake of Sassy and as an alternative to the more staid reporting of Ms., Bitch was launched in the mid-nineties as a Xerox-and-staple zine covering the landscape of popular culture from a feminist perspective. Both unabashed in its love for the guilty pleasures of consumer culture and deeply thoughtful about the way the pop landscape reflects and impacts women’s lives, Bitch grew to be a popular, full-scale magazine with a readership that stretched worldwide. Today it stands as a touchstone of hip, young feminist thought, looking with both wit and irreverence at the way pop culture informs feminism—and vice versa—and encouraging readers to think critically about the messages lurking behind our favorite television shows, movies, music, books, blogs, and the like. BITCHFest offers an assortment of the most provocative essays, reporting, rants, and raves from the magazine’s first ten years, along with new pieces written especially for the collection. Smart, nuanced, cranky, outrageous, and clear-eyed, the anthology covers everything from a 1996 celebration of pre-scandal Martha Stewart to a more recent critical look at the "gayby boom"; from a time line of black women on sitcoms to an analysis of fat suits as the new blackface; from an attempt to fashion a feminist vulgarity to a reclamation of female virginity. It’s a recent history of feminist pop-culture critique and an arrow toward feminism’s future.
Customer Reviews:
Thought-provoking and very entertaining.......2007-01-18
I had quit writing reviews for books for a long time now. I live in Turkey so I do not get the magazine, but I purchased the book after reading many favourable reviews here on Amazon.com. It turns out that I was missing a lot! This book has great, great articles, some are very original in essence and it keeps you interested. Although I, too, skipped a few of the articles, 90% of them are really good ones, about many different subjects. The articles are sharp, witty and it is good that the subject variety is satisfactory. If I could, I would translate it to Turkish so it can reach more people over here. Great, great stuff, if you are interested in popular culture as well as gender issues, this is the essential reading for you. Can't recommend it enough!
Buy this book.......2006-12-29
Disclaimer-I subscribe to Bitch Magazine and have for a number of years. I love it! When I saw this book at the university bookstore, I bought it and savored reading through the book.
What I really like about Bitch Magazine, more so than Bust, is that the articles are more theoretical and erudite. I don't consider them dry, but I am WS educator and view BM as more a cutting edge zine that demonstrates the various feminist strands that exist today in the 3rd Wave, No Wave era of the feminist movement.
Buy this book! Subscribe to the zine for thoughtful, well-written articles about all sorts of issues.
After that plug, let me just say that I don't always agree with the essays. Some will definitely leave you with that sense that you want to grab a coffee with a friend and hammer out some of your thoughts.
Great food for thought........2006-10-06
Gotta hand it to Bitch:
- All of the articles are well written, if a bit dry at times.
- Even if you don't agree 100% with what the author is saying they usually make some good points and at least make you think.
- Many different views of feminism are offered.
I highly reccomend this along with a subscription to Bitch Magazine.
No Home Should be Without This Book!.......2006-09-08
"No home should be without this book. It can save relationships, provide direction for those who want it and offer humor for those who need it."
Good, at times.......2006-08-28
This collection of articles from Bitch magazine is a necessity to women. I enjoyed quoting it on my blogs and reading sections to my friends while we sat on my patio.
Unfortunately, I found myself skipping over some articles due to the rather dry approach to writing that some of the authors used.
Book Description
Born to Jewish radical parents in Chicago in 1939, Judy Cohen grew up to be Judy Chicago — one of the most daring and controversial artists of her generation. Her works, once disparaged and misunderstood by the critics, have become icons of the feminist movement, earning her a place among the most influential artists of her time. Early to reject the modernist move away from content in art, Chicago first mastered and then transcended modernism’s formalist austerity, before blazing a trail to the new esthetic now known as postmodern.
In
Becoming Judy Chicago, Gail Levin gives us a biography of uncommon intimacy and depth, revealing the artist as a person and a woman of extraordinary energy and purpose. Drawing upon Chicago’s personal letters and diaries, her published and unpublished writings, and more than 250 new interviews with her friends, family, admirers, and critics, Becoming Judy Chicago is a richly detailed and moving chronicle of the artist’s unique journey from obscurity to fame, including the story of how she found her audience outside the art establishment.
From her early training as a gifted child at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to the groundbreaking Feminist Art Program she created at Fresno State College in 1970–1971, Chicago has never feared to challenge the status quo. At a time when art history textbooks still omitted work by all women, she led her students on a remarkable journey during which they began to examine the meaning of being a woman, to explore women’s traditional crafts, and to compile a history of women artists. For Chicago, no topic has been taboo—from menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth to men’s abuse of power and the Holocaust.
Chicago has revolutionized the way we view art made by and for women. She has fundamentally changed our understanding of women’s contributions to art and to society. Influential and bold, The Dinner Party has become a cultural monument. Becoming Judy Chicago tells the story of a great artist, a leader of the women’s movement, a tireless crusader for equal rights, and a complicated, vital woman who dared to express her own sexuality in her art and demand recognition from a male-dominated culture.
Customer Reviews:
It's a survey all American artist reference collections must have........2007-06-17
Any who would understand the life and influences of artist Judy Chicago must have BECOMING JUDY CHICAGO: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE ARTIST. Where other art titles focus on a pictorial representation of her achievements, BECOMING JUDY CHICAGO, in contrast, provides an in-depth study of her life and is the only biography to offer such depth and details, considering not only Chicago's influences and contributions, but how her works helped transform society. It's a survey all American artist reference collections must have.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
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- A World of Art (Revised 4th Edition)
- A World of Art (Revised 4th Edition)
- After THE END: Teaching and Learning Creative Revision
- Alexej Von Jawlensky: Catalogue Raisonne of the Oil Paintings: Volume Two 1914-1933 (Alexej Jawlensky)
- Alphonse Mucha
- American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China
- American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China
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