The Reckoning: Women Artists of the New Millennium

by Eleanor Heartney, Helaine Posner, Nancy Princenthal

The authors of After the Revolution return with an incisive study of the work of contemporary women artists. In After the Revolution, the authors concluded that "The battles may not all have been won…but barricades are gradually coming down, and work proceeds on all fronts in glorious profusion." Now, with The Reckoning, authors Heartney, Posner, Princenthal, and Scott bring into focus the accomplishments of 24 acclaimed international women artists born since 1960 who have benefited from the groundbreaking efforts of their predecessors. The book is organized in four thematic "Bad Girls" profiles artists whose work represents an assault on conventional notions of gender and racial difference. "History Lessons" offers reflections on the self in the context of history and globalization. "Spellbound" focuses on women’s embrace of the irrational, subjective, and surreal, while Domestic Disturbances" takes on women’s conflicted relationship to home, family, and security. Written in lively prose and fully illustrated throughout, this book gives an informed account of the wonderful diversity of recent contemporary art by women.

Genres: Art, Feminism, Art History, Womens

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2013

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you like this review i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com

080915: more years ago than i care to admit, there was a newsstand a few storefronts from my regular coffeehouse. both are gone now, but i recall visiting, buying, many magazines there- usually art and architecture, sometimes literature- and this book reminds me, shows me, how the international project of women artists survives and flourishes in this millennium...

there are many voices, good reproduction, critical essays, following the original fourfold concept of women's art: bad girls, spellbound, domestic disturbance, history lessons. i am a man, mostly fortunate in health, consistent income, apparent ethnicity, but this work fascinates in a way that makes me think of other experiences, other lives, as this art demonstrates- from sex, gender, performance, display- how we are all women and men internalizing scripts of being, behaviour, expression- to questions and representation of gendered work- to an embodied sense of history, expressed particularly and racism and capitalism from other points of view, in art forms, from other genders, other ethnicities, all across the world...

i rec this collection as useful, intriguing, inspiring, for all artists and in particular women artists...

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, diverse, well-written survey of significant women artists working in the 2000s. Far from comprehensive, of course, but a lot of great artists are represented here and I loved reading about so many with whom I was unfamiliar. Nice contextualizing essays summed up their different working methods and subject matter, situating them within the larger scheme of women's art movements and political/social movements in general.

[Kristenyque · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must read for any woman artist. This provides a concise view of contemporary artists that are creating works with strong messages for the viewer. The scholarly and analytic viewpoint concerning each artist is thorough and enjoyable. Julie Meheretu and Kara Walker are included in this compendium.

[Brian Hutzell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is highly academic, and its writing is at times prone to excessive jargon and “critic-speak.” Nevertheless, it is an informative work. My only complaint is that I wish there were more and larger images, but with so many high-resolution art images available online, that is a problem easily solved with just a bit of clicking.

[Mills College Library]

704.042 H4368 2013

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent view into female artists.