Global Feminisms

Best. Art. Coffee. Table. Book. Ever.

My dear dear dear friend Meredith gave me this book as a Christmas present, and I've been savoring it bit by bit since then. I wish desperately I could have seen the exhibit the book is based upon at the Brooklyn Museum. As a former art history minor, I was always frustrated on how you can get a really good background in art before 1990, but learning about truly contemporary art (let alone contemporary feminist art!) is rarely done through coursework. This book did wonders to fill that void in my understanding.

Linda Nochlin and Maura Reilly both wrote totally hot intros about the necessity of the plurality of feminisms–at a time when it feels like most older feminists are complaining about the younger Obama-supporting ingrates, it's especially refreshing to hear Nochlin reflect on her changing understanding of feminism(s). The global part is addressed comprehensively: seven different women from seven different regions of the world were invited to discuss the work of female artists their localities have produced, and how feminism has interacted with cultural values and historical events in those parts of the world. REALLY interesting stuff, and many gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous color plates to complete the book.

My one minor complaint (hence, four stars, not five) is while I generally really enjoyed what the individual essayists had to say, a few of them (I won't mention names) slipped into what I like to call Butlerism–the belief that you can write like Judith Butler. Only Butler can write like Butler, and god bless her for it, but if you attempt it, you'll probably sound like a bit of an asshole, and would have been more effective getting your point across in less complicated sentences.

Nonetheless, overall, tra la la for women artists!