>> I WAS TELLING A YOUNG WOMAN WHO WAS INTERVIEWING ME IN THE 60sED BIGGEST COMPLIMENT YOU COULD GET WAS YOU PAINT LIKE A MAN.
>> DOES THAT ATTITUDE PREVAIL IN THE ART WORLD?
OR DOES IT EXIST AT ALL?
>> THERE IS DEFINITELY A RANGE OF ATTITUDES.
EITHER MORE SUBTLE OR MORE DISGUISED OR SIMPLY LACKING.
[♪♪] >> HELLO I'M BONNIE ERBE WELCOME TO TO THE CONTRARY WE ARE HONORED TO HAVE ARTIST JUDY CHICAGO WITH US AS PART OF OUR WOMEN THOUGHT LEADER SERIES.
CHICAGO IS THE WOMAN BEHIND THE TERM FEMINIST ART.
SHE IS KNOWN FOR THE INSTALLATION, THE DINNER PARTY WHICH IS CONSIDERED THE FIRST EPIC FEMINIST ARTWORK IT CELEBRATES WOMEN'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS THROUGHOUT WESTERN HISTOR.
BUT THAT IS ONLY ONE OF CHICAGO'S ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENTS.
JUDY CHICAGO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
WE APPRECIATE IT.
YOU ARE HAVING WHAT SOME MIGHT REFER TO AS A REVIVAL RIGHT NOW.
TELL ME ABOUT IT, PLEASE.
>> WELL, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS I'M REALLY, REALLY BUSY.
AND THIS YEAR HAS BEEN IS PRETTY INCREDIBLE FOR A VERY LONG TIME, THE DINNER PARTY BLOCKED OUT ALL THE REST OF MY WORK.
AND THOUGH I WAS GRATEFUL FOR THE ATTENTION IT BROUGHT ME, I USED TO SAY I HOPE I WILL LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SEE THE TIME WHEN THE DINNER PARTY BEGINS TO BE UNDERSTOOD IT'S JUST ONE WORK IN A LARGE BODY OF ART.
AND ACTUALLY, IN 2011 AND 2012, SOMETHING HAPPENED THAT BLASTED OPEN MY CAREER.
AND THAT WAS A GETTY-FUNDED INITIATIVE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THAT DOCUMENTED AND CELEBRATED SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ART FROM THE 60s TO THE 80s WHEN I WAS LIVING AND WORKING IN LOS ANGELES.
AND AT THAT TIME, LA WAS INCREDIBLY INHOSPITABLE TO WOMEN ARTISTS.
I USED TO BE TOLD ALL THE TIME YOU CANNOT BE A WOMAN AND AN ARTIST, TOO.
>> EVEN AFTER YOU HAD THE BIG NAME?
>> PART OF WHY I CHANGED MY NAME.
I WAS TELLING A YOUNG WOMAN WHO WAS INTERVIEWING ME IN THE 60s THE BIGGEST COMPLIMENT YOU COULD GET WAS YOU PAINT LIKE A MAN.
SHE WAS SHOCKED BECAUSE I WAS ONE OF THE ONLY WOMEN WORKING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN THE 60s.
BY THE TIME OF THE GETTY PACIFIC STANDARD TIME IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO INCLUDE WOMEN.
SO I WAS IN LIKE EIGHT MUSEUM SHOWS I HAD THREE EXHIBITIONS AND IT EXPOSED PEOPLE TO ALL OF MY EARLY WORK.
AND SO THEN PEOPLE STARTED SHOWING MY EARLY WORK AND SINCE THAT TIME, THE QUESTION I CAN SEE THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IS OK, WE NOW KNOW WHAT SHE DID, SHE DID THE DINNER PARTY IN THE SECOND DECADE AND HAS FIVE DECADES OF ART MAKING LET'S SEE WHAT ELSE SHE HAS DONE.
AND THIS YEAR -- >> TELL ME ABOUT THE FOUR EXHIBITIONS.
>> MY HUSBAND AND I DID A PIECE AT SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART CELEBRATING THE FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE MUSEUM'S NEW BUILDING.
AND I HAVE OVER THE COURSE OF MY CAREER WORKED IN FIREWORKS AND DRY ICE.
AND WE BUILT A BIG DRY ICE INSTALLATION AND, OF COURSE, DRY ICE SUBLIMATES OR DISAPPEARS.
SO IN KEEPING WITH WHAT WE ARE WITNESSING, WE BUILT THE WORD TRUTH.
AND THEN OVER A PERIOD OF 24 HOURS, JUST LIKE WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE IN WASHINGTON, THE WORD DISAPPEARED.
BUT IT TURNED OUT -- >> WAIT A SECOND YOU TOLD ME BEFORE WE STARTED YOU DID NOT GET INVOLVED WITH POLITICS.
>> SOMETIMES MY WORK COMMENTS ON POLITICAL REALITIES.
SOME OF MY PERFORMANCE PIECES NOT SO MUCH MY PAINTING AND SCULPTURE BUT MY PERFORMANCE PIECES AND THAT WAS FUN TO DO.
OK. THEN SO THAT WAS THE END OF APRIL.
AND THEN NOT LONG AFTER THAT WE WENT TO LIVERPOOL WHERE THEY WERE CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEATLES SERGEANT PEPPER ALBUM AND THE CITY OF LIVERPOOL ENGAGED WITH 13 INSTITUTIONS IN THE CITY FOR A CITYWIDE CELEBRATION AND EACH OF THE IBS CONSTITUTIONS WAS -- INSTITUTIONS WAS ASSIGNED ONE OF THE 13 SONGS ON THE ALBUM.
TATE LIVERPOOL WAS GIVEN FIXING A HOLE.
AND THEY COMMISSIONED ME TO DO A HUGE MURAL ON THE GRAIN SILO.
THE MURAL WAS 60 FEET WIDE AND 40 FEET HIGH AND WHEN ASKED WHEN THE CURATOR WAS ASKED WHY SHE SELECTED ME?
SHE SAID OUR FOREMOST FEMINIST ARTIST DOING A MURAL FOR THE BOYS?
WHAT WOULD BE BETTER THAN THAT?
[LAUGHTER] >> WERE YOU UP ON THE SILO?
>> I WAS NOT ALLOWED ON THE GRAIN SILO.
THERE WAS A PAINTER.
I SPENT OUR ENTIRE TWO WEEKS IN LIVERPOOL ON THE PATIO OF THE HOTEL WHICH WAS ADJACENT TO THE GRAIN SILO LOOKING THROUGH MY HUSBAND WHO IS A PHOTOGRAPHER, LOOKS THROUGH HIS TELEPHOTO LENS AND TALKING ON THE CELLPHONE TO THE PAINTER.
BLEND THAT.
GARY, TO THE LEFT, TO THE LEFT MORE GRAY TO THE LEFT.
BRING THAT WHITE UP THERE.
IT WAS A REALLY CHALLENGING WAY TO MAKE ART.
>> IS IT PROTECTED SO THAT IT'S THERE FOR THE AGES?
>> NOW, THE MURAL IS ON THE BEATLES MAGICAL MYSTERY BUS TOUR AND I HEAR THE OWNER IS THINKING ABOUT KEEPING THE MURAL UP LONGER.
WHICH WILL GIVE THE PAINTER AN I AM PERPETUITY JOB IN KEEPING IT LOOKING GOOD.
>> AND YOU HAVE ONE INSTALLATION IN WASHINGTON D.C. >> I HAD A SHOW OPEN AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN AND THE ARTS WITH WHICH I HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
AND IT IS A COMPANION SHOW TO AN EXHIBITION OPENING NEXT MONTH AT BROOKLYN.
BOTH SHOWS DEAL WITH THE DINNER PARTY.
HERE WE CALL THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN AND THE ARTS NMWA WHICH WILL BECOME THE REPERTORY OF MY VISUAL ARCHIVE THEY HAVE OPENED INSIDE THE DINNER PARTY STUDIO AND SHOWING A WONDERFUL FILM BY JOANNA CALLED RIGHT OUT OF HISTORY, THE MAKING OF JUDY CHICAGO'S DINNER PARTY AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF DOCUMENTARY MATERIAL AND EXHIBITION MATERIALS.
AND THEY HAVE THIS ONE REALLY GREAT LITTLE INSTALLATION OF SLIDES.
NOW, JESSICA SILVERMAN SHOW IS CALLED PUSSY'S, JUDY CHICAGO'S PUSSIES AND LOOKS AT THE OVERLAP IN MY WORK BETWEEN IMAGES OF FEMALE AGENCY AND MY INTEREST IN CATS.
THIS SHOW WHAT A SURPRISE TO SEE THE SLIDES OF PICTURES WE DID NOT REMEMBER OF THE DINNER PARTY STUDIO WITH ALL THE CATS THAT WE HAD THEN.
SO THAT WAS GREAT.
AND THEN NEXT MONTH, WE WILL BE GOING TO NEW YORK WHERE THEY ARE OPENING A MAJOR EXHIBITION RIGHT ADJACENT TO THE DINNER PARTY.
CALLED ROOTS OF THE DINNER PARTY, HISTORY IN THE MAKING WHICH WILL BE THE FIRST MAJOR EXAMINATION OF MY CREATIVE PROCESS.
SO I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
AND THERE'S GOING TO BE A BIG CATALOG FOR THAT BEING PUBLISHED BY MY NEW YORK GALLERY, SALON 94.
I'M REALLY BUSY.
>> YOU ARE SUPER BUSY.
SINCE THE TERM WAS COINED BY YOU AFTER YOU I'M NOT SURE FEMINIST ART -- >> WELL, I THINK IT GOES BACK TO 1970 WHEN I WENT FROM LA UP TO FRESNO, CALIFORNIA AND STARTED THE FIRST FEMINIST ART PROGRAM TO HELP YOUNG WOMEN TRY TO BECOME ARTISTS WITHOUT HAVING TO DO WHAT I HAD TO DO WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE AND IN GRADUATE SCHOOL AND IN MY EARLY DAYS AS PROFESSIONAL ARTIST WHICH WAS LIKE EXCISE ANY HINT OF GENDER FROM MY WORK BECAUSE IT WAS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE.
AND I WANTED TO SEE IF I COULD HELP YOUNG WOMEN BECOME PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS WITHOUT HAVING TO DO THAT.
AND THAT -- I CALLED THAT THE FEMINIST ART PROGRAM.
AND ALSO I WAS INTERESTED IN CREATING A FEMINIST ART PRACTICE.
IT WAS MY BIOGRAPHER, GAIL LEVIN WHO LOOKED BACK AND SHE DETERMINED THAT THE FIRST USE OF THE TERM FEMINIST ART WAS IN MY JOURNALS FROM THAT PERIOD.
>> DOES THAT ATTITUDE PREVAIL IN THE ART WORLD?
OR DOES IT EXIST AT ALL?
>> FEMINIST ART EXIST?
>> THAT FEMALE ARTISTS HAVE TO EXCISE THEMSELVES FROM THEIR WORK?
>> THERE IS DEFINITELY A RANGE OF ATTITUDES.
THERE ARE SOME WOMEN WHO WORK OPENLY LIKE I HAVE AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT, AND I GET A LOT OF PEOPLE FOLLOWING ME AND I LOOK AT A LOT OF THEIR WORK AND THERE ARE SOME UNBELIEVABLE SITES NOW.
LIKE VA GINNA CHINA OF VAGINA CHINA.
THOSE WOMEN DO NOT FEEL ANY NEED TO EXCISE ANYTHING THEY LET IT ALL HANGOUT AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE.
AND OTHER WOMEN AND THOSE ARE THE ONES WHO TEND TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN THE ART WORLD WHO ARE EITHER MORE SUBTLE OR MORE DISGUISED OR SIMPLY LACKING IN TERMS OF FEMALE CENTER CONTENT AS A RANGE.
CERTAINLY, THE ART WORLD DOES NOT CELEBRATE WOMEN-CENTERED ART THE WAY IT CELEBRATES MEN.
WOMEN'S AUCTION PRICES ARE WAY LOWER THAN MEN'S WORK.
YOU KNOW, AS I ALWAYS SAY WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN AND THE ARTS WHY DO WE NEED A NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS I SAY AS LONG AS THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART IS REALLY THE MUSEUM OF MEN'S ART WITH A FEW WOMEN AND ARTISTS OF COLOR TACKED ON THE EDGES, WE NEED OUR OWN INSTITUTIONS LIKE THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN AND THE ARTS, LIKE THE ELIZABETH A. SACKLER CENTER FOR FEMINIST ART.
PEOPLE DO NOT REALIZE HOW RARE THOSE ARE.
WHEN THEY DID THE 30-YEAR GALA AT NMWA I MOST OF POSTED PICTURES IT CELEBRATED THE FOUNDER AND I POSTED PICTURES FROM THE GALA AND I WROTE IN THE CAPTION THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN AND THE ARTS THE ONLY MUSEUM IN THE WORLD DEDICATED TO WOMEN AND I GOT AN INSTAGRAM POST BACK FROM RUSSIA.
AND THE WOMAN SAID REALLY?
THE ONLY ONE?
>> AMAZING.
THAT IS TOTALLY AMAZING.
NOW, YOU TALKED EARLIER ABOUT YOUR PERFORMANCE ART >> YES.
>> CLEARLY FEMINIST ARTISTS CREATED THEY WERE THE ONES YOKO ONO AMONG THEM WHO CREATED PERFORMANCE ART.
ARE YOU STILL DOING IT?
>> I DID A LOT OF DRY ICE AND FIREWORKS PIECES WHEN I WAS YOUNG.
IN THOSE DAYS I COULD BUY COLORED SMOKES AND MY FRIENDS AND I COULD GO OUT TO THE BEACH OR TO THE DESERT OR THE NATIONAL FOREST AND IGNITE FIREWORKS.
OK.
I DID THAT BETWEEN 1968, I DID 30 PIECES BETWEEN 1968 AND 1974.
THE LAST PIECE I DID WAS IN OAKLAND AS PART OF A SCULPTURE IN THE CITY SHOW THAT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM DID.
I DID A GIGANTIC BUTTERFLY FORM ON THE SHORES OF LAKE MERIT FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS I HAD TO STOP DOING THOSE THEN.
BUT WHEN PACIFIC STANDARD TIME HAPPENED THEY HAD A PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL AND A LOT OF ARTISTS FROM MY GENERATION WERE ASKED TO DUPLICATE PIECES THEY HAD DONE IN THE 60s AND 70s BUT I DID NOT WANT TO DO THAT.
I INSTEAD PICKED UP WHERE I LEFT OFF.
AND FOR MY 75TH BIRTHDAY, THERE WERE EXHIBITIONS ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY INCLUDING ONE AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM AND I DID THIS HUGE BUTTERFLY IN PROSPECT PARK THAT 12,000 PEOPLE SAW.
AND AT THE END OF THE PIECE THEY ALL SANG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.
WAS THAT NOT WONDERFUL?
>> WHAT A WAY TO TURN 75, RIGHT?
WHEN I TURN 80 THERE WILL BE A MAJOR EXHIBITION HERE AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN AND THE ARTS.
>> ARE YOU GOING TO DO FIREWORKS?
>> NO, I WILL NOT DO FIREWORKS THERE WILL BE A MAJOR MON GRAPH RELEASED.
MY -- THE PROJECT I FINISHED IS MAJOR, I SPENT FIVE YEARS ON IT'S GLASS, PORCELAIN AND BRONZE.
IT WILL BE PREMIERED HERE.
>> TELL ME WHAT THAT IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE?
>> IT'S CALLED THE END.
A MEDITATION ON DEATH AND EXTINCTION.
AND I HOPE THAT IT WILL HELP PEOPLE BOTH GRAPPLE WITH THEIR OWN MORTALITY IN WAYS THAT PARTICULARLY HERE IS REALLY AVOIDED, BUT MORE IMPORTANT, CONFRONT WHAT WE ARE DOING TO THE PLANET AND OTHER CREATURES.
>> DO YOU THINK YOUR ART HAS HAD POLITICAL IMPACT?
I SPEAK IN TERMS FOR EXAMPLE MOVING WOMEN FORWARD?
>> WELL, THE DINNER PARTY HAS WAS SEEN BY A MILLION PEOPLE IN ITS ORIGINAL EXHIBITION TOUR THAT WENT TO 16 VENUES IN SIX COUNTRIES ON THREE CONTINENTS.
AND SINCE IT HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY HOUSED AT THE SACKLER CENTER THAT WAS IN 2007.
20% OF THE AUDIENCE THAT DOES TO THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM GOES TO SEE THE DINNER PARTY.
SO THAT'S ROUGHLY 100,000 PEOPLE A YEAR.
AND PEOPLE TELL ME ALL THE TIME THAT SEEING THE DINNER PARTY CHANGED THEIR LIVES.
>> DESCRIBE THE DINNER PARTY FOR ME.
>> THE DINNER PARTY IS A HUGE TRIANGULAR BANQUET TABLE 48 FEET ON A SIDE.
AND THE TABLE RESTS ON A PORCELAIN FLOOR.
AND ON THE TABLE ARE 39 PLACE SETTINGS.
THE DINNER PARTY TELLS THE STORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION MUCH AS WE LEARN IT IN SCHOOL.
EXCEPT INSTEAD OF THROUGH MALE HEROS IT'S THROUGH FEMALE HEROS.
AND EACH WOMAN IS -- FIGURE HISTORIC FIGURE IS REPRESENTED BY A PLATE THAT RESTS ON AN EMBROIDERED RUNNER.
THE PLATE AND RUNNER ARE DONE IN THE NEEDLE WORK TECHNIQUES AND ART IMAGES AND MOTIFS OF THE TIME THE WOMAN LIVED.
AND THEN EACH PLACE EACH OF THE PLACE SETTINGS AROUND EACH OF THE PLACE SETTLINGS ON THE HERITAGE FLOOR ARE GROUPED THE NAMES OF HUNDREDS OF OTHER WOMEN WHO REPRESENT THE STREAMS OF ACHIEVEMENT FROM WHICH EACH WOMAN ON THE TABLE AROSE.
BECAUSE THE IDEA OF PULLING YOURSELF UP BY YOUR BOOTSTRAPS IS A MYTH.
AND IN TERMS OF ACHIEVEMENT.
THIS IS CERTAINLY TRUE.
WHEN THE DINNER PARTY WAS PREMIERED, IN 1979, AT THE SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM, AND IT HAD A HUGE AUDIENCE.
THERE WAS LIKE 100,000 PEOPLE.
A LOT OF THE WOMEN HAD NEVER BEEN TO A MUSEUM.
THEY WERE VERY CONFUSED BY THE FACT THAT OTHER PEOPLE HELPED ME AND HOW DID THEY KNOW THAT?
BECAUSE I ACKNOWLEDGED EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO WORKED ON THE DINNER PARTY.
>> THAT IS A LOT OF SKILLS AND ARTISTS WOULD NEED.
>> BUT INSTEAD OF APPRECIATING THAT I WAS ACKNOWLEDGING ALL THESE PEOPLE, THEY SOMEHOW GOT IT IN THEIR HEAD THAT I TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THEM.
AND YOU KNOW WHY?
BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT BEHIND THE SUCCESSES OF MOST OF THE IMPORTANT MALE ARTISTS IS A HUGE HUGE ASSISTANTS, SECRETARIES, DEALERS, CURATORS, COLLECTORS, LIKE WAY MORE THAN I HAD IN MY DINNER PARTY STUDIO.
AND SO IT'S INTERESTING ABOUT THE WAY IN WHICH THE DINNER PARTY CHALLENGED A LOT OF THE MYTHS ABOUT ART.
AND THE DINNER PARTY TAUGHT ME ABOUT THE POWER OF ART.
I ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT ART HAD POWER.
BUT WHEN I SAW PEOPLE WEEPING AND PEOPLE TELLING ME THAT THE PIECE CHANGED THEIR LIVES OR WHEN THE SACKLER CENTER OPENED AND YOUNG WOMEN CAME AND THEY SAID I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GET TO SEE IT.
I STUDIED IT.
IN SCHOOL.
I MEAN IT SHOWED ME THE POWER OF ART.
>> AND WHAT IS GOING ON WITH FEMINIST ART AND YOUNG WOMEN TODAY?
>> IT'S SPREAD ALL AROUND THE WORLD.
IT'S SPREAD ALL AROUND THE WORLD.
LIKE THERE IS A WOMAN ARTIST IN JAPAN WHO GOT INTO TROUBLE BECAUSE SHE MADE A VAGINAL CANOE AND GOT ARRESTED FOR OBSCENITY.
A LOT OF THE FIGHTS THAT WENT ON HERE AROUND KAREN FINLY'S WORK AND THAT PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO PROBABLY DO NOT REMEMBER IN THE 90s ALL OF THE ARGUMENTS IN CONGRESS AROUND OBSCENE ART.
THAT OF COURSE TARGETED WOMEN AND ARTISTS OF COLOR AND EVERYBODY WHO DID NOT FIT IN.
>> ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ROBERT MAPLE THORPE?
>> YES.
YES.
AND NOW WE ARE WATCHING A RECUR REPS OF THAT -- RECURRENCE OF THAT AND WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING THE STORY THE DINNER PARTY RECOUNTS OF A ERASE IS YOUR OF WOMEN'S AACHIEVEMENTS AND THE PUSHING BACK WHEN WOMEN CAME FORWARD.
FOR EXAMPLE HOWEVER CHILD IN AMERICA DOES NOT LEARN ABOUT THE SUFFER RAJ MOVEMENT OF THE 19TH CENTURY WHICH CHANGED THE LIVES OF MOST WOMEN IN AMERICA.
DO WE STUDY THAT IN SCHOOL EXCEPT IN WOMEN'S STUDIES?
WHY DOESN'T EVERYBODY STUDY THAT?
BECAUSE IT KEEPS BEING THIS PUSHING BACK AND WE'RE WATCHING IT NOW AGAIN TODAY.
AND I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS YOU HAVE BEEN ASKING ME IS ABOUT POLITICAL ISSUES.
BUT I NEVER WANTED TO MAKE ART THAT WAS TIED TO PARTICULAR POLITICAL PERIODS BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE ART THAT WOULD TRANSEND.
>> THAT IS AMAZING.
TELL ME, HOW DO YOU DO YOUR RESEARCH FOR THE DINNER PARTY?
TERMS OF LISTING THE NAMES OF WOMEN WHO HAD ACHIEVED THINGS?
THEY WERE NOT WRITTEN DOWN AT THE TIME HOW DID YOU FIND THE NAMES OF WOMEN IN ANCIENT HISTORY?
>> FIRST OF ALL, ONE OF THE THINGS THE SHOW THE DIN EARTH PARTY IS GOING TO -- DINNER PARTY IS GOING TO TEACH PEOPLE, IS ABOUT MY PRACTICE AS AN ARTIST.
WHICH USUALLY STARTS IN RESEARCH.
I'VE DONE A WHOLE SERIES OF MAJOR PROJECTS THE DINNER PARTY, THE BIRTH PROJECT, THE HOLOCAUST PROJECT WITH MY HUSBAND, RESOLUTIONS, FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS I STARTED IN RESEARCH.
AND FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN I DID A SERIES CALLED POWERPLAY IN THE 1980s THAT WILL BE SHOWN IN NEW YORK AT MY NEW YORK GALLERY SALON 94 IN JANUARY, IT IS AN EXAMINATION OF THE CONSTRUCT OF MASCULINITY BEFORE GENDER STUDIES, BEFORE QUEER THEORY SO WHEN I WENT TO THE LIBRARY AND LOOKED UP GENDER AS THE FIRST STEP IN LOOKING AT THE CONSTRUCTION OF MASCULINITY, THE ONLY BOOKS THAT CAME UP WERE ABOUT WOMEN AS IF ONLY WOMEN HAVE GENDER.
WHEN I STARTED THE DINNER PARTY, I HAD ALREADY BEEN RESEARCHING FOR MYSELF WOMEN'S HISTORY.
AT THAT TIME THE PREVAILING IDEA WAS THAT WOMEN DID NOT HAVE A HISTORY.
BUT I WAS HAVING ALL THESE PROBLEMS AS A YOUNG WOMAN ARTIST AND DECIDED TO LOOK BACK IN HISTORY TO SEE IF WOMEN BEFORE ME HAD ENCOUNTERED ANY OF THE SAME CHALLENGES AND WHAT THEY DID TO OVERCOME THEM.
>> AND WRITTEN OUT OF HISTORY FOR THE MOST PART?
>> THEY WERE WRITTEN OUT OF HISTORY BUT THEY COULD BE FOUND AND THIS IS HOW ONCE I GOT TO THE POINT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DINNER PARTY THAT I NEEDED HELP IT WAS LIKE BIGGER THAN WHAT I COULD DO BY MYSELF AND I STARTED TO ASSEMBLE A RESEARCH TEAM.
WE HAD TO TRAIN THE RESEARCHERS.
BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN WHEN THEY WOULD GO TO LOOK FOR SOMEBODY...
IN A BOOK...
IT WOULD SAY ABOUT HER HUSBAND, HER BROTHER, HER SONS, AND SHE WAS AN ASTRONOMER.
SO WHAT WE HAD TO DO WAS SAY FORGET THE HUSBAND THE BROTHERS AND THE SONS, WRITE DOWN ON A CARD SHE WAS AN ASTRONOMER.
AND SO BY GOING THROUGH THE BOOKS AND EXTRACTING THE LITTLE TIDBITS OF INFORMATION WE WERE ABLE TO ASSESS BASE METAL -- ASSEMBLE PROFILES OF 3,000 WOMEN.
I WANTED A HUGE COMMON PEND YUM TO CHOOSE WHO WOULD BE THE BEST ROLE MODELS FROM THE FUTURE, FROM WHO COULD WE LEARN THE MOST AND THE 999 WOMEN WHO WE ENDED UP CHOOSING BECAME THE NAMES ON THE HERITAGE FLOOR.
>> HOW LONG DO YOUTY WOMEN WILL HAVE TO WOMEN, WOMEN ARTISTS IN PARTICULAR, WILL HAVE TO STRUGGLE WITH THESE GENDER IMPOSED BOUNDARIES?
>> UNTIL THE END OF PATRIARCHY.
WHEN DID YOU THINK THAT WILL HAPPEN?
>> YOU ARE THE -- >> THE ONE THING I DO NOT HAVE IS A CRYSTAL BALL.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH, JUDY.
THAT'S IT FOR THIS EDITION OF TO THE CONTRARY.
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