In 1970, Judy Chicago and fifteen students founded the groundbreaking Feminist Art Program (FAP) at Fresno State. Drawing upon the consciousness-raising techniques of the women's liberation movement, they created shocking new art forms depicting female experiences. Collaborative work and performance art - including the famous "Cunt Cheerleaders" - were program hallmarks. Moving to Los Angeles, the FAP produced the first major feminist art installation, Womanhouse (1972).

Augmented by thirty-seven illustrations and color plates, this interdisciplinary collection of essays by artists and scholars, many of whom were eye witnesses to landmark events, relates how feminists produced vibrant bodies of art in Fresno and other locales where similar collaborations flourished. Articles on topics such as African American artists in New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco's Las Mujeres Muralistas and Asian American Women Artists Association, and exhibitions in Taiwan and Italy showcase the artistic trajectories that destabilized traditional theories and practices and reshaped the art world. An engaging editor's introduction explains how feminist art emerged within the powerful women's movement that transformed America. Entering the Picture is an exciting collection about the provocative contributions of feminists to American art.

About the Author

Jill Fields is Professor of History at California State University, Fresno. She is the author of An Intimate Affair: Women, Lingerie, and Sexuality.

Reviews

'Witness the excitement of women who believe CHANGE IS POSSIBLE AND WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN. Detailed insights and histories from pioneers and custodians of the feminist art movement read like a pilgrimage and a call: Activism on behalf of women!'-Joanna Frueh, author of Clairvoyance (For Those in the Desert): Performance Pieces, 1979-2004

'Jill Fields' study is an important contribution to the cultural history of feminist art and a collective story of one of its origins at the Feminist Art Program in Fresno, California. The essays by artists and scholars explore interconnections between that locus of activity and feminist strategies nationally and internationally. Entering the Picture establishes a crucial foundation for the aesthetics and ethics of the early feminist movement, based on its magnificent ideas of liberation, exploration, and justice.'-Andrea Liss, Professor of Contemporary Art History and Cultural Theory, California State University San Marcos

'Fields' book, like Chicago's feminist education work that inspired it, continues the rewriting of art history to increase the inclusion of women and people of color. Her cogent introduction contextualizes the 22 essays that range from personal accounts of participation in the key developments of Feminist Art to manifestoes for the continuation of feminist activism.'- Betty Ann Brown, Artillery

'What makes the volume different from existing literature about feminist art movements in the US is its advocacy for, and insistent attention to, collective projects, voices and visions, without diminishing the role of individuals. ... Anyone with an interest in the cultural history of the women's movement in the US, feminist art and feminist pedagogies will find Entering the Picture a rich resource. The numerous essays with interconnected topics and trajectories provide the reader with the possibility of exploring issues in detail. It is likely to be a stimulating read for artists, art historians and scholars interested in the feminist art movement in the US and their collective cultural histories.'- Annette Krauss, European Journal of Women's Studies

Book Information
ISBN 9780415887694
Author Jill Fields
Format Paperback
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 700g