Born into a left-wing, politically active Jewish family in Chicago in 1939, Judy Cohen grew up in a household in which human rights and values were issues of principle, and the empowerment of the individual was an imperative rather than an aspiration. This environment, and the untimely death of her father, helped to shape the artist known today as Judy Chicago. A combination of talent, sheer will, vision, courage and ambition led her to became one of the most pioneering, daring and controversial artists of her generation. This fully illustrated book presents a unique perspective on the art of Judy Chicago, highlighting selected major themes from four decades, explored across a wide range of media including painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, film, performance and textile work. In contrast to the monumental series and large-scale works for which Chicago is best known, the publication reveals a more private and intimate side to her work, hitherto largely unfamiliar to the public. The authors explore recurrent themes which emerge from her art: autobiography, art as diary, erotica, feminism, the nude, self-portraiture and issues of power, birth and motherhood. Reproductions of Chicago’s work, drawn from the artist's archive and from public and private collections in the USA, and including a number not previously seen in public, are contextualized with works by Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin and Helen Chadwick, each of whom has addressed similar issues in their own distinctive fashion during the latter part of the 20th century.
Author:Alexandra Kokoli, Andrew Perchuk, Diane Gelon, Frances Borzello, Judy Batalion, Rachel Dickson