Beyond the Flower: The Autobiography of a Feminist Artist

by Judy Chicago

This detailed portrait of the evolution of internationally renowned artist, writer, and feminist Judy Chicago--creator of "The Dinner Party" and "Holocaust Project"--lifts the veil of the public persona she has become and reveals Chicago's personal struggles as an artist and feminist in late 20th-century America. of photos. of color plates.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Feminism, Biography, Memoir

304 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 1997

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up thinking I'd just read the chapter/s on "The Dinner Party," but the whole book was so open, with so many details about what it's really like to think big, to truly go for it. I found Chicago to be an enlightening, inspiring, and challenging leader.

[Pia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chicago's two autobiographies bring the heady days of early 1970s feminism vividly to life. Chicago details her evolution as a feminist artist and brings into her process of how she created her paintings, drawings, and most famously, her dinner party. If Chicago's work has a blind side, it's that her dinner party series only featured one or two African American women and few, if any, other women of color. Even so, her work is in many ways spectacular and a beautiful representation of what is possible when many women work together (there were many artists who helped Chicago create and execute crafted pieces of the dinner party).

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great background on Chicago's more famous work, especially the Dinner Party. Aesthetically, I've never been much of a Chicago fan, but with this added insight into her process, she's becoming one of my biggest heroes.

On the other hand, where "Through the Flower" left me feeling triumphant and ready to kick some ass, this book has a much more somber, defeated tone. So it's a great look at Chicago's career, but not a great inspiration.

[Alexis Beasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This autobiography offers a wonderful insight to Judy Chicago's mind. It allows me to be aware of the issues she struggled with throughout the decades. As well as learning about the progress of the Women's Rights Movement.

[K8teebug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judy Chicago is one of my favorite artists. This is an interesting account of how she made some of her most famous works, including, The Dinner Party.

[Andrea Cajucom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such an interesting artist, but not a very good writer, unfortunately.

[Lindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most celebrated feminist artist whose exhibits inspire and enlighten and who has lived a life that is gifted with self-expression and little repression.

[Julia Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one because I had it. Now I need to go back & read her earlier book, Through the Flower, in order to understand her work in Fresno and LA.