Radical gestures : feminism and performance art in North America

302 Pages·2006·6.073 MB·English

by  Wark, Jayne

Radical Gestures
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J AY NE WARK
Radical
Gestures
Feminism and Performance Art
in North America
McGILL-QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY PRESS
Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca
©McGill-Queen’sUniversityPress2006
isbn 978-0-7735-2956-4(cloth)
isbn978-0-7735-3066-9(paper)
Legaldepositthirdquarter2006
BibliothèquenationaleduQuébec
PrintedinCanadaonacid-freepaper.
Reprintedinpaperback2009
Thisbookhasbeenpublishedwiththehelpofagrantfromthe
CanadianFederationfortheHumanitiesandSocialSciences,
throughtheAidtoScholarlyPublicationsProgramme,using
fundsprovidedbytheSocialSciencesandHumanitiesResearch
CouncilofCanada.
McGill-Queen’sUniversityPressacknowledgesthesupportof
theCanadaCouncilfortheArtsforourpublishingprogram.
WealsoacknowledgethefinancialsupportoftheGovernment
ofCanadathroughtheBookPublishingIndustryDevelopment
Program(bpidp)forourpublishingactivities.
LibraryandArchivesCanadaCataloguinginPublication
Wark,Jayne,1956–
Radicalgestures:feminismandperformanceartinNorth
America,1970to2000/JayneWark.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-0-7735-2956-4(bnd)
isbn978-0-7735-3066-9(pbk)
1.Feminismandart–Canada–History–20thcentury.
2.Feminismandart–UnitedStates–History–20thcentury.
3.Performanceart–Canada–History–20thcentury.
4.Performanceart–UnitedStates–History–20thcentury.i.Title.
n72.f45w372006 700’.82’097109045 c2006-900267-3
Thisbookwasdesignedandtypesetbystudiooneonone
inSabon10/13
To Peter
who makes all things possible
and to Claire and Lucy
for their endless patience and understanding
and to my mother, Lynn
who supported us all
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Contents
List of Illustrations | ix
Introduction | 3
1 Art, Politics, and Feminism in the 1960s | 11
2 The Origins of Feminist Art | 27
3 Cultural Feminism: The Essence of Difference | 58
4 Stories to Tell: Autobiography and Narrative | 86
5 Roles and Transformations | 124
6 Embodiment and Representation | 165
Conclusion | 204
Notes | 211
Bibliography | 239
Index | 267
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List of Illustrations
1.1 Carl Andre. Lever, 1966. 137 firebricks, 11.4 x 22.5 x 883.9 cm
assembled; brick: 11.4 x 22.5 x 6.4 cm each. National Gallery
of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 1969. Photograph: ©National
Gallery of Canada. ©vaga (New York)/sodart (Montreal),
2005. | 18
1.2 Donald Judd. Untitled, 1966, reconstructed. Galvanized iron,
23 x 101.6 x 78.7 cm each element – installed vertically on wall
with 23 cm intervals. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
Purchased 1976. Photograph: ©National Gallery of Canada.
©vaga (New York)/sodart (Montreal), 2005. | 19
2.1 Yvonne Rainer in collaboration with Steve Paxton.Word
Words, 1963. Photodocumentation of dance performance,
29 January, at Judson Memorial Church, New York. Photo-
graphs: Robert McElroy (top), Henry Genn (below), as original-
ly published in Yvonne Rainer, Work, 1961–73/Yvonne Rainer
(Halifax: The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and
Design; New York: New York University Press, 1974), 293.
Courtesy of the artist and the Press of the Nova Scotia College
of Art and Design. | 39
2.2 Carolee Schneemann. Eye Body: 36 Transformative Actions,
1963. Action for camera. Photograph: Erro. Courtesy of the
artist. | 41
2.3 Carolee Schneemann. Meat Joy, 1964. Photodocumentation of
performance with raw fish, chickens, sausages, wet paint, plastic