Judy Chicago
Judy Chicago is an American artist born in 1939 in Chicago. Judy has specialized in feminist arts, writer, and also an educator. She is famously known for the art installation pieces of images about the creation and birth, which plays a wide role in defining the different roles of women in history and culture. Chicago was recognized in the 1970s when she founded the first feminist art program at California State University. She also helped in recognition of the art education and feminist arts in the higher learning institution. The introduction of feminist art and art education helped women in addressing their challenges and hence seeking equality in the later dates. Judy also got involved in several publications in the different areas of the world showcases, which increased her influential power in the art community (“Judy Chicago – 170 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy.”). In addition to that, her books have been published globally, and many readers are able to read and understand the secrets and truths behind the feminist art and artworks. In most of her works, Chicago uses the needlework that is counterbalanced by the skills which are labor-intensive like pyrotechnics and welding. The most famous artwork of Chicago is called “The dinner party” and has been installed permanently at the Brooklyn Museum. It has been kept there as an illustration of the feminist artworks. The artwork means the celebration of what women have accomplished in history after a long fight for their recognition and equality. The other known artworks by Chicago include “The Birth Project,” “International Honor Quilt,” “The Holocaust Project,” and “Power play.” Since Judy Chicago is considered as the originator of the feminist artwork, this paper discusses the development of the feminist artworks. The paper also chooses her three artworks, including, “The dinner party,” “The Holocaust Project,” and “The Birth Project.”
The Feminist art development career of Judy Chicago
The career of Judy Chicago was at a peak in 1970 when she became the full-time lecturer at the California State University that was referred to as Fresno State College by then. Her main goal as the full-time lecturer was to teach the women art work skills and how they would help them express their ideas. As a lecturer at Fresno State College, Judy Chicago decided to have the classes composed of only females as a way of letting them understand their positions to society. During that time, women were facing a lot of discrimination. In addition to that, civilization was rising at an alarming rate hence awakening the women leaders. Judy took this opportunity to introduce feminist artworks and making up some extra classes to let women realize their positions in society. In order to escape the presence of men in her classes, Judy decided to offer classes outside the school. Her first feminist class that she taught was in 1970 during the fall season. The class was all about the feminist artwork and how important it was during those days, especially in fighting for the roles and positions of women in society. Later during the spring season in 1971, she was authorized by the College to make it a full feminist art program that consisted of the 15 units (Juan, 1). It marked the first feminist art program in the history of the United States of America. Her class consisted of the 15 students who later rented the off-campus studio in Fresno to practice their feminist artworks.
Miriam Schapiro and Judy Chicago came together and reestablished the feminist art program at the California Art Institute. This allowed them to have enough time to practice as many students as possible as long as the feminist artworks were concerned. Chicago later left the California Art Institute, whereby Joyce Aiken took over until she retired in 1992. The other people who helped Chicago introduce the feminist artworks included Rachel Rosenthal, Carolee Schneeman, and Mary Beth Edelson. They are considered famous women from Europe and the United States of America who highly contributed to the feminist art movement leading to the freedom and equality of women in many countries all over the world. Judy Chicago always ensured that women would express their feelings through artworks. She led as an example by coming up with the famous feminist artworks which communicated on why women should be given equal opportunities like men (“Judy Chicago | National Museum of Women in the Arts.”). She even sacrificed her time and resources to teach women about the feminist artwork, which later seemed to have had a lot of meaning not only in the United States of America but also in the whole world. Her feminist artworks such as “The dinner party” “The Holocaust Project,” and “The Birth Project” are even up to date kept in the historical museums to remember the originality of the feminist art worked and how they helped women have the freedom they were seeking for a long period of time.
“The Dinner Party” Artwork Project
“The Dinner Party” artwork project was done from 1970 to 1974. It took Judy Chicago five years and around $250,000 to make construct the artwork. In the beginning, Judy conceived her project in her own studio in Santa Monica that consisted of a triangle that measured 48 by 43 38 feet. The image also had around 39 place settings whereby each setting had a historical figure of women (“Brooklyn Museum: The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago.”). The figures represented by the artwork included the goddesses, martyrs, activists, and artists, among other dimensions. The thirteen women are also represented in the angels of artwork, which are considered to be the traditional witches and the women who attended for the last supper (Reeve, 1). The artwork has been kept in the Brooklyn Museum to mark the history of the feminist artworks in the United States of America. Judy Chicago designed the artwork in a way that people could easily understand what she meant and why it was important to the women.
“The Holocaust Project”
Judy Chicago came up with this project in the mid-1980s, which she used to explain the masculine exploration of power and powerlessness. The project was also referred to as ‘From darkness to light,” and it took her eight years before completing it, which was from 1985 to 1995. The artwork describes the identity of women in the 1980s and 1990s on how they had achieved the dreams of equal opportunities to men. The project consists of Judy’s husband and how she considered him equal (Levin, 2). She also elaborates on her Jewish identity as the people who dominated Chicago during those times. The feminist artwork is considered to have been made to celebrate how men and women were equal irrespective of the differences in the masculine. It is, therefore, a continuation of the feminist artworks as it as it was done by Judy Chicago.
“The Birth Project”
Chicago created this feminist art project from 1980 to 1985. The artwork has the childbirth as a way of celebrating the role of a woman as a mother. Judy was inspired by the fact that there was no artwork that represented the role of giving birth for women in the world. Judy installed the image based on the Genesis creation work that God created Adam without involving the woman (“Selected Work « Judy Chicago.”). Through the artwork, Chicago explains how women are the special creatures when for their roles of giving birth. The birth project inspired the feminist artworks all over the world, and since then, many artworks related to childbirth have been created. This means that Judy Chicago had a huge contribution to the development of the feminist arts in history.
Conclusion
From the analysis of the feminist artworks, as it was contributed by Judy Chicago, it can be concluded that it has impacted the modern society in settling the gender differences. The feminist artworks started in the 1970s when Judy Chicago was a lecturer at the California State University. She sacrificed her time and resources to let the female students understand the essence of feminist artwork and how it would help in addressing the issues related to women. The famous feminist artworks as they have been discussed by the paper include “The dinner party,” “The Holocaust Project,” and “The Birth Project.” The projects are believed to have highly contributed towards the development of feminist art, and it has since then been adopted in the higher learning institutions.
Works Cited
“Brooklyn Museum: The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago.” Brooklyn Museum, www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party.
“Judy Chicago – 170 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy.” Artsy – Discover & Buy Art, www.artsy.net/artist/judy-chicago.
“Judy Chicago | National Museum of Women in the Arts.” National Museum of Women in the Arts Page, nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/judy-chicago.
“Selected Work, « Judy Chicago.” Judy Chicago, www.judychicago.com/gallery/holocaust-project/hp-artwork/.
Juan San Nicolás, Mª. “El discurs femení en l’art dels 70 i els 80: el cas de Judy Chicago i Mary Kelly.” (2018).
Judy Chicago, www.judychicago.com/.
Levin, Gail. Becoming Judy Chicago: a biography of the artist. University of California Press, 2018.
Reeve, Charles. “Judy Chicago, the 1960s, and the Metaphor of Sex.” (2017).