The Pink Glass Swan: Selected Essays on Feminist Art

by Lucy R. Lippard

In the 1970s, Lucy R. Lippard, author of the highly original and popular Mixed Blessings , merged her art-world concerns with those of the then-fledgling women's movement. In a career that spans sixteen books and scores of articles, catalogs, and essays on art, political activism, feminism, and multiculturalism, her engaging and provocative writings have heralded a new way of thinking about art and its role in the feminist movement. This new collection of previously published essays covers more than two decades of Lippard's thinking on the ever-evolving definitions of feminist art, the convergence of high and low art, political and activist art, and the contributions of feminist theory to the politics of identity that infuses the production and exhibition of much of today's fine and popular art. With a new introduction from the author, The Pink Glass Swan brings together selections from two of Lippard's leading works, From the Feminist Essays on Art and Get the Message?: A Decade of Art for Social Change , and numerous other articles written for newspapers, magazines, and art catalogs across the country.

Genres: Art, Feminism, Nonfiction, Art History, Womens, Gender Studies, Philosophy

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

About the author

Since 1966, Lippard has published 20 books on feminism, art, politics and place and has received numerous awards and accolades from literary critics and art associations. A 2012 exhibition on her seminal book, Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object at the Brooklyn Museum, titled "Six Years": Lucy R. Lippard and the Emergence of Conceptual Art", cites Lippard's scholarship as its point of entry into a discussion about conceptual art during its era of emergence, demonstrating her crucial role in the contemporary understanding of this period of art production and criticism. Her research on the move toward dematerialization in art making has formed a cornerstone of contemporary art scholarship and discourse.

Co-founder of Printed matter (an art bookstore in New York City centered around artist's books), the Heresies Collective, Political Art Documentation/Distribution (PAD/D), Artists Call Against U.S. Intervention in Central America, and other artists' organizations, she has also curated over 50 exhibitions, done performances, comics, guerrilla theater, and edited several independent publications the latest of which is the decidedly local La Puente de Galisteo in her home community in Galisteo, New Mexico. She has infused aesthetics with politics, and disdained disinterestedness for ethical activism.

Reviews

[Jennpants · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had read this in college I would have destroyed so many people in critiques. (Destroy in a good way)

It's always amazing to read something that feels like it was written for you. Great stuff. Her politics are right on (so far) -- which is something I haven't ever been able to say, for many reasons, when it comes to art theorists, reviewers, and historians.

Having read a lot of art theory/art review/art biographies/etc, I really appreciate Lippard's detailed information accompanying every photo throughout the book. Often times I find myself reading an art book on something/someone that I'm not too familiar with and the example photo (that's supposed to be helpful) doesn't link up or is completely out of context -- that's frustrating! Lippard doesn't do this and from what I can tell, this use of information caption with photo is something she includes in many of her books.

[Kusuma · Rating 5 out of 5]

You pretty much can't lose with a profound discourse on feminist art.

[Tatiana Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

eve ensler's lecture has whipped me into a feminist frenzy! grrr

[Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is art for? Lippard seems to have a good idea.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly important book. I can't believe this is out of print! Can't wait to check out Mixed Blessings.

[Mar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiene reflexiones muy interesantes sobre el arte, la clase y el feminismo. No obstante hay momentos en que el hilo conductor se pierde y resulta en un cumulo de reflexiones interesantes pero "all over the place".