Unspeakable Acts: Women, Art, and Sexual Violence in the 1970s

by Nancy Princenthal

The 1970s was a time of deep division and newfound freedoms. Galvanized by The Second Sex and The Feminine Mystique, the civil rights movement and the March on Washington, a new generation put their bodies on the line to protest injustice. Still, even in the heart of certain resistance movements, sexual violence against women had reached epidemic levels. Initially, it went largely unacknowledged. But some bold women artists and activists, including Yoko Ono, Ana Mendieta, Marina Abramovic´, Adrian Piper, Suzanne Lacy, Nancy Spero, and Jenny Holzer, fired up by women’s experiences and the climate of revolution, started a conversation about sexual violence that continues today. Some worked unannounced and unheralded, using the street as their theater. Others managed to draw support from the highest levels of municipal power. Along the way, they changed the course of art, pioneering a form that came to be called simply, performance.


Award-winning author Nancy Princenthal takes on these enduring issues and weaves together a new history of performance, challenging us to reexamine the relationship between art and activism, and how we can apply the lessons of that turbulent era to today.

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

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Jill Verenkoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sexual violence has been a sobering reality for women since the dawn of humankind. The Bible recounts numerous examples of rape. Even those cute myths taught in school are full of stories of the gods swooping down from the heavens to ravish woman. Ever read about Zeus, disguised as a swan, raping Leda or Odin raping Rindr? Nancy Princenthal’s “Unspeakable Acts, Women, Art and Sexual Violence in the 1970s” documents a wave of protest artists who brought the issue of sexual violence to light, often through their shocking performance art, testimonials and graphic works of art.

It is stupefying how many women have shared with me lately that they, or their daughters, were assaulted or raped but have kept silent for years. Although the recent Me-Too Movement has helped to give women a voice, Princenthal’s book highlights the second-wave feminist artists who bravely broke the silence of the past. She reinforces interpretations of their artwork with meaty extracts from the works of numerous theorists and documents without bias their perceptions, and frequent misconceptions, of rape, assault and unspeakable acts of violence. A discussion of a canon of novels, films, TV shows, older art and historical events that deal with sexual violence concludes her discourse.

I enjoyed the book, especially the detailed descriptions of performance pieces. I recommend it but with one caveat: Because the book reads like a college textbook - with long paragraphs, academic language and copious citations - it is not easy to read. The book caters to a niche audience, experienced in reading critical theory and somewhat savvy about the art world circa 1970. The book’s reading base might be expanded if some illustrations of the artists’ works were included. I found myself running to the internet to get a better picture in my mind of works of performance art like Yoko Ono’s “Cut Pieces” and Vito Acconci’s “Pryings.”

My internet searches though only compelled me to return to the book and read more about the artistic reaction to female violation. Early in her book, Princenthal cleverly observes, “Perhaps it is too tidily significant that ’violation’ is just a few letters away from ‘volition’: the former names an impulse to hurt and dominate, and above all to substitute one will for another, moving an ‘I’ into a place where it doesn’t belong.”

Princenthal’s work makes me shake my head at leaders who aim to keep women under their thumb. To defend his pro-life position, for example, Rep. Steve King of Iowa recently asked, "What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest? . . . . Would there be any population of the world left if we did that?" Appalling statement? YES. Surprising? NO.

We still have a long way to go and a lot to learn when it comes to the mistreatment of women. This well-researched book goes a long way to fill in that gap of knowledge.

[Viral · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to MacMillan for the ARC at BEA 2019!

I don't know too much about art history, but this book from Princenthal was still a phenomenal look at how second-wave feminists of all different stripes used different mediums of art to express their many feelings about sexual violence, and draw awareness and organize women around ending sexual violence. It was an incredibly informative and powerful read. My sole critique is based in the fact that I did not know about many of the paintings discussed in the book, so I had to Google them as I was reading to follow along, as there was no picture section in the middle or end of the book. I think the book would have benefited from that for general adult audiences like myself who aren't as familiar with the specific paintings discussed in this book. Otherwise, recommend for audiences interested in art and feminist activism.

[Madeleine M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-written survey of early feminist art addressing sexual violence. Nancy Princenthal writes clearly and carefully without a pretense of total objectivity, and the book is a helpful reminder of what the climate for American women was like fifty years ago. It's easy for those of us born later to forget that in 1970, women rarely talked about being raped even to each other. "To broadcast these experiences, even if only anonymously, to an audience of strangers, was radical – to a degree nearly incomprehensible now, in an age where memoir is the default means of expression, and trauma its dominant narrative."

[TammyJo Eckhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't remember the art of the 1970s because I was too young but I do remember even as a child being trained to fight back against sexual violence so I was curious to learn about what art's role was in starting the movement to address and change rape culture decades ago. Unfortunately, this book didn't help very much because of how it was organized.

While the back text of the book mentions specific artists finding them was a challenge -- having their sections labeled with titles would have been very helpful. Also, a couple of times, the topic switched from one artist then to another and then back to a previous artist without warning. When the artists were connected by a project or an organization they both belonged to, a bit of switching made sense but even that needs to be clearly signaled by the text and the layout of it. This was quite disappointing because I wanted to learn more about the art and the artists.

At first, I was surprised that pro-sexual violence artists were a part of this book but Nancy Princenthal is reporting on the acts and atmosphere of the 1970s. In the conclusion, she mentions how fractured art and society was about sexual violence and sexual freedom, so to show that, she needed to include things that were disgusting to read.

Princenthal does have a personal and political opinion, but I think she does a good job of being fair and documenting, it just sadly is confused by the layout of topics. I really wish the focus had stayed on the 1970s with more examples (unless there aren't more) and less pushing the discussion into the 1980s, 1990s, and into the 21st century. I think the chapter about pre-20th century arts that addressed sexual violence could have been left out or set as an introduction; where it was lost it's punch because we'd already read about the 20th century.

Note: I received an ARC of this book so I am hoping that photos and illustrations were added to the final book to help readers.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

difficult but important, and a conversation i didn't have nearly enough of during my time as an undergrad in art history. though a book that focusses on a specific period in time, it addresses the canon wherein women & art & sexual violence also feature prominently & rightfully points out that the relationship between these three has long been established & down-played. because i studied art of an earlier time period, princenthal's book was also like a refresher course in art & artists i only knew by name, or artists i had only spent a semester looking into and never looked back at again. i think she does a great job of presenting the history of the art and artists alongside the feminist texts & critiques popping up at the time these artworks were produced, without dismissing everything as "products of their time" — princenthal doesn't shy away from contextualising events and items, but also reading them with lens from today & critiquing, agreeing, or arguing with as necessary. a troubling read but a necessary one.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book that looks at the very real issue of violence towards women. It discusses how women took this issue and used their art to bring it to the forefront. It’s a difficult issue to discuss as even now people don’t want to admit to being victimized and the transgressors refuse to acknowledge they are in the wrong. The author has done a wonderful job of writing this book and making it readable and also informative and helpful. It’s a topic and a problem that has been with us since the beginning of time and it’s one that unfortunately doesn’t look like it’s about to go away anytime soon.

[Jasmine Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

An annotated bibliography of the history of the representation of sexual assault in art, and how feminist artists (Yoko Ono, Ana Mendieta, Suzanne Lacy, Adrian Piper Jenny Holzer) responded to sexual violence in their art. I would have preferred some more analysis of key pieces rather than a passing description of every contribution to the topic that has ever been made; but on the other hand, this kind of treatment gave me an exhaustive survey.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

With regards to tight skirts and high heels.. “Is it not an intriguing observation that those very clothes which are thought to be flattering to the female and attractive to the male are those which make it impossible for a woman to defend herself against aggression?”

[Hannah DiGregorio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and accessible overview of second wave feminist art. I felt like this gave me a stronger understanding of the foundation of feminist art and the historical context of it.

[Servabo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much feminism talk.

[Lila Hathaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book if you are interested in art history and feminism. gives us a glimpse into the sexist and challenging environment females, particularly female artists, faced in the 70s.

[Gelly Gryntaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe the most remarkable element of Princenthal's research is that in spite of the roughness of the subject, it succeeds to be unexpectantly easy to read. Avoiding gracefully the sterilized academic language without letting up its scientific credibility, it records with objectivity but no neutrality. The result is a book exceptionally important -not only for the current historical moment but generally, as a contemporary retrospective to the 2nd wave of feminism- and interesting at the same time.