The Dinner Party: Judy Chicago and the Power of Popular Feminism, 1970-2007 (Since 1970: Histories of Contemporary America Ser.)

Judy Chicago's monumental art installation__The Dinner Party__was an immediate sensation when it debuted in 1979, and today it is considered the most popular work of art to emerge from the second-wave feminist movement. Jane F. Gerhard examines the piece's popularity to understand how ideas about feminism migrated from activist and intellectual circles into the American mainstream in the last three decades of the twentieth century.More than most social movements, feminism was transmitted and understood through culture—art installations,__Ms. Magazine__,__All in the Family__, and thousands of other cultural artifacts. But the phenomenon of cultural feminism came under extraordinary criticism in the late 1970s and 1980s Gerhard analyzes these divisions over whether cultural feminism was sufficiently activist in light of the shifting line separating liberalism from radicalism in post-1970s America. She concludes with a chapter on the 1990s, when__The Dinner Party__emerged as a target in political struggles over public funding for the arts, even as academic feminists denounced the piece for its alleged essentialism.The path that__The Dinner Party__traveled—from inception (1973) to completion (1979) to tour (1979-1989) to the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum (2007)—sheds light on the history of American feminism since 1970 and on the ways popular feminism in particular can illuminate important trends and transformations in the broader culture. Judy Chicago's monumental art installation The Dinner Party was an immediate sensation when it debuted in 1979, and today it is considered the most popular work of art to emerge from the second-wave feminist movement. Jane F. Gerhard examines the piece's popularity to understand how ideas about feminism migrated from activist and intellectual circles into the American mainstream in the last three decades of the twentieth century. More than most social movements, feminism was transmitted and understood through culture—art installations, Ms. Magazine , All in the Family , and thousands of other cultural artifacts. But the phenomenon of cultural feminism came under extraordinary criticism in the late 1970s and 1980s Gerhard analyzes these divisions over whether cultural feminism was sufficiently activist in light of the shifting line separating liberalism from radicalism in post-1970s America. She concludes with a chapter on the 1990s, when The Dinner Party emerged as a target in political struggles over public funding for the arts, even as academic feminists denounced the piece for its alleged essentialism. The path that The Dinner Party traveled—from inception (1973) to completion (1979) to tour (1979-1989) to the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum (2007)—sheds light on the history of American feminism since 1970 and on the ways popular feminism in particular can illuminate important trends and transformations in the broader culture. Judy Chicago's Monumental Art Installation The Dinner Party Was An Immediate Sensation When It Debuted In 1979, And Today It Is Considered The Most Popular Work Of Art To Emerge From The Second-wave Feminist Movement. Jane F. Gerhard Examines The Piece's Popularity To Understand How Ideas About Feminism Migrated From Activist And Intellectual Circles Into The American Mainstream In The Last Three Decades Of The Twentieth Century. Toward A Cultural History Of The Dinner Party -- Making Feminist Artists: The Feminist Art Programs Of Fresno And Calarts, 1970-1972 -- Making Feminist Art: Womanhouse And The Feminist Art Movement, 1972-1974 -- The Studio As A Feminist Space: Practicing Feminism At The Dinner Party, 1975-1979 -- Joining Forces: Making Art And History At The Dinner Party, 1975-1979 -- Going Public: The Dinner Party In San Francisco, 1979 - The Tour That Very Nearly Wasn't: The Dinner Party's Alternative Showings, 1980-1983 -- Debating Feminist Art: The Dinner Party In Published And Unpublished Commentary, 1979-1989 -- From Controversy To Canonization: The Dinner Party In The Culture Wars, 1990-2007 -- A Prehistory Of Post Feminism. Jane F. Gerhard. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The author examines the popularity of ́The Dinner Party ́, Judy Chicago ́s art installation (1979), to understand how ideas about feminism migrated from activist and intellectual circles into the American mainstream in the last three decades of the twentieth century