Judy Chicago was born July 20 1939 in Chicago, IL. She left Chicago to go to Los Angeles and attend UCLA where she majored in art, which soon changed her life entirely. Judy Chicago is a female artist who has a reputation of being an educator, author, and an intellectual feminist during the 20th century. She has art in various areas in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, and even New Zeeland. She has written many books in foreign languages to distribute her knowledge all around the world about art and women. After attending a unique program for women at California State University, she grew a love for feminist art and the influence of its images. Judy's first husband was killed in a car accident when she was only 23 and in 1971, Judy decided to change her name from Judy Cohen to Judy Chicago, a name she had been given years prior to because of her accent. She hoped for it to be a radical change in he art making and would make a good start towards feminist art practice. In the novel by Chadwick, it is said, "Although critics writing from the perspective of the 1980's often linked central core imagery to the search for essential biological differences between women and men, from the beginning Chicago and Schapiro warned against the dangers of failing to take into account the ways that female experience is socially and culturally shaped, rather than biologically determined" (358).
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| Name Change Ad, Artforum, Oct., 1970
Quote from Judy Chicago’s Journal dated March 8, 1971: “I am beginning this journal now, because the work with which I am
involved has developed faster than I had ever imagined...and before the
moment is gone and forgotten, I want to (document)...the growth of the first
Feminist art ever attempted.”
Judy Chicago is known to bring awareness, many say that her art resembles the parts of the human body and it is not ironic. She purposely adds such specifics to her paintings so that women can be looked at in a greater light, given more recognition for their ideas and work, especially since she is one herself.
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Womanhouse, this painting was created in Los Angeles by Judy Chicago
and Miriam Schapiro with the students of the Feminist Art Program, the first
female-centered art installation. The exhibition was an instant sensation and
its reverberations continue today. This painting was most definitely one that was motivational to those females who were a part of the process because it indicates a change in time. It embraces women and the right to express themselves in any way they want to.
| Linen Closet by Sandy Orgel, a student
of Feminist Art Project, 1972 (left, Menstruation Bathroom by Judy Chicago, 1972
In
1974, Judy Chicago took her thoughts and put it towards one of her most known
art pieces called The Dinner Party. It was executed in a span of
about three years and the participation of many volunteers.
The Dinner Party represents a ceremonial banquet, arranged on a
triangular table with a total of thirty-nine place settings, each honoring an
important woman from history. The settings consist of embroidered runners, gold
cups and utensils, and china-painted porcelain plates with raised central motifs
that are based on butterfly forms and concentrated in styles appropriate to the
individual women being honored. The names of another 999 women are inscribed in
gold on the white tile floor below the triangular table. Judy Chicago makes it
a point to give recognition to the 1,038 women throughout history.
Judy Chicago initiated this series of works, "birth project" in an attempt to show the world
that the art of giving birth had not sufficed the thought and image from a woman's perspective. She wants to give life to her painting. To those who do not give this art the attention it deserves, it might come across as intense, maybe impossible. However, Judy Chicago does all women a favor by introducing life through art in the most realistic view. Yes, if this is intense then that is the definition of birth and the reward is directed towards women.
Tear/Tear, executed by Jane Thompson,
Judy Chicago working with L.A. Hassing, (from bottom left)
Judy Chicago working with Gerry Melot, Judy Chicago
working with Pamella Nesbit. Photos by Michele Maier
In the novel, Chadwick highlights the drive behind the images that Chicago painted. She made references to flowers because "a central core, my vagina, that which made me a woman...the self-conscious investigation of female subjectivity through images of the body was one aspect of the desire to celebrate female knowledge and experience" (354). I appreciate the work of Judy Chicago because she wasn't afraid of what others would have to say, all she cared about was educating others about women.
Work Cited:
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 4th ed. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Print.
"Judy Chicago." Illustrated Career History » About ». N.p., n.d. Web.
"Judy Chicago." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web.. |
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