Feminist Art. Le donne che hanno rivoluzionato l'arte

by Valentina Grande, Eva Rossetti

"L'arte femminista non è l'arte realizzata da donne, non è un movimento che si differenzia per scelte tecniche o per forme innovative, ma è un movimento artistico e politico in cui le artiste erano attiviste per i diritti delle donne e utilizzavano l'arte come mezzo di lotta."
Gli anni '60 e '70 sono gli anni dei movimenti per i diritti civili, della contestazione studentesca e della seconda ondata femminista. Sono gli anni in cui nasce la Feminist Art, un movimento complesso e fondamentale per capire la storia dell'arte contemporanea. Attraverso le parole e i monologhi interiori di artiste come Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold, Ana Mendieta e delle Guerrilla Girls questa è la prima graphic novel che racconta come le donne hanno cambiato per sempre l'arte.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Art, Feminism, Nonfiction, Comics, Biography, History

127 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2020

About the author

Valentina Grande is a teacher and a radio author and host for the literary programmes McLuhan Is Here, 42 - The Answer, and Simply Salinger, airing on Radio Onda d’Urto and Radio Città Fujiko. In 2017, she wrote the script and screenplay for the graphic novel Il mio Salinger (My Salinger), BeccoGiallo editions,
published in France for Steinkis editions.
She currently lives and works in Bologna, Italy.

Reviews

[Kate Kiriakou · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the illustrations but the content is very basic. I liked the artists it chose to highlight (Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold, Ana Mendieta and the Guerrilla Girls) but the way they tell each of their stories and contextualize their work isn't very nuanced or complex.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting--lots of information portrayed in an easy-to-follow format. I read this for the section on Ana Mendieta, an artist I've long been fascinated by. It was worth reading but so are the others sections, Judy Chicago, Faith Ringghold, and the Guerilla Girls. It's not only about these artists but also the struggle for women artists to be recognized by, admitted into, the art world.

[S. Wigget · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like a kindred spirit. It lights up my heart. I was already familiar with all the main artists featured here, but I still enjoyed it and learned quite a bit and feel inspired. Plus in back there are mini biographies of artists who were briefly mentioned, and I wasn't familiar with all of them.

The book vaguely reminds me of the 1990s, because that's the decade when I learned about these artists and about prehistoric goddess art. Also, years ago I attended a talk by Kathe Kollwitz of the Guerilla Girls.

I remember a documentary (maybe about Artemisia Gentileschi) in which someone approached pedestrians and asked them to name five women artists... and they couldn't think of any.

"Your art is activism. Your activism lives in your work. Every action we take is political. It doesn't matter what they think (p. 63)."

This graphic novel about feminist art--mainly Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold, Ana Mendieta, and the Guerilla Girls--is an enormous FUCK YOU to the arrogant white man who started a novel critique  group and stood over me yelling, "Art isn't political! Art isn't political!" and--referring to my protagonist, "Why is she so angry! Why is she so angry!" The real question was: why was he so angry? Because he enjoyed taking his privileges for granted and felt threatened by my feminist novel.

[claire ʚĭɞ ༉‧₊˚✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

renforce ma détermination féministe 💌

« vous savez quel est le problème ?
c’est qu’on présente ces femmes peintes et créées par des hommes comme des visions universelles de nous, alors qu’il s’agit seulement de la vision qu’a de nous la moitié de la population mondiale.
quand dirons-nous qui nous sommes ? »

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una graphic novel molto carina da leggere tutta d’un fiato.
Artiste che non conoscevo, ma che non vedo l’ora di approfondire.

[Paulina · Rating 5 out of 5]

hab das eigentlich für den kunstunterricht gekauft und wollte nur mal durchblättern, ob das für die schule geeignet ist. aber hab dann direkt angefangen zu lesen und den zeichenstil zu bewundern und habs in einem rutsch durchgelesen. I like!!

[Valentina Pinza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Necessario. Si dice spesso di quei libri che colmano un vuoto: di tematica, di stile, di poetica. Questo graphic è dunque necessario, perché nel panorama italiano ancora troppo poche sono le opere che parlano della galassia dei femminismi, e di femminismi nell’arte ancora meno. Questo è un graphic novel pensato per essere divulgativo, ancorché accurato nelle informazioni e raffinato nell’approccio, e al tempo stesso anche per chi sa o crede di sapere qualcosa sia della seconda ondata femminista, sia dell’arte prodotta dalle artiste che lavoravano in quegli anni, sarà una lettura sorprendente. I disegni di Eva Rossetti ci accompagnano nel viaggio tra i medium differenti delle artiste scelte interpretandoli con grande qualità e privilegiando invenzioni grafiche in perfetto equilibrio tra il fumetto e i dipinti, le performance e le installazioni raccontate. La sceneggiatura di Valentina Grande si muove con disinvoltura tra le biografie, la critica d’arte e una sottotrama che strizza l’occhio a Virgina Woolf, permettendosi tocchi personali in forza a un'estrema attenzione per l’accuratezza storiografica. In coda al libro, una ventina di ritratti di artiste che sono state protagoniste consapevoli di quella stagione rivoluzionaria che, per nostra fortuna, non è affatto conclusa.

[Carol Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this in a display of graphic novels at the library. The fact that it included Judy Chicago, who I am a fan of, enticed me to take it home. I was unfamiliar with most of the female artists who are featured in this book. That made it fascinating. Where was I in the last century to miss all this!
One thing that really spoke to me was a poster from the Guerilla Girls: an artist is hanging a huge sign that says HYPOCRITE - If you buy art at benefits for liberal causes, but never buy art by women or artists of colour, ask yourself who's the hypocrite.

I'm glad to say that I do support women artists but I am doing it because I like the art, not because it was done by a woman. This poster made me really think about what I'm doing.

Beautiful illustrations!

[Sebasori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tant la part dibuixada com l'escrita estan bé. Però el títol és un pèl massa ambiciòs. Només parla de quatre casos que volen ser el paradigma de la revolució feminista en l'art contemporàni (Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold, Ana Mendieta i Guerrilla Girls), però es queda curt, no pot evitar citar molts altres casos de dones artistes que, en certa manera i unes més que altres, han format (i formen) part d'aquesta revolució. Com a mostra, el propi apèndix final.

De totes maneres, com deia, cal anar fent aquest tipus de lectures i descobrir la lluita que les dones han efectuat per a ser reconegudes no només dins el món de l'art, sinó del món en general. Potser caldria fer tota una col·lecció de Feminist Art: un sol volum, tot i que deixa un bon sabor de boca, no t'acaba de treure la gana

[SaraLaskia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novela gráfica sobre el movimiento feminista en el arte. A través de la voz de varias artistas, narradas en primera persona, nos presentan la lucha por un arte feminista y reivindicativo. Más que una biografía, es un retrato colectivo centrado en la dimensión social y política del arte, con protagonistas como: Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold, Ana Mendieta y las Guerrillas Girl.
Me ha encantado: textos e ilustraciones se funden en una mezcla muy potente, un total acierto. Un homenaje visual y narrativo a quienes se atrevieron a cambiar el arte... y el mundo 💜

[Lauren Bolles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall: cool visual history lesson. This was a riveting (pun intended) graphic novel of four different stories of women or movements who made significant feminist changes in art history. It’s a reminder that rebels and troublemakers can be needed to shake up and challenge society in good ways. And that artists are sometimes able to see things in new or expanded ways and help others to open their eyes too. 👀🎨

Notable quote: “the sky was mother-of-pearl; only the unobservant would have called it grey”

[Nora Bono · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book. Not only is the artwork inside beautiful, but the stories of all the different women artists and how they really did change art forever. This book inspires me that art is not just one form or idea, art can send messages for the whole world to hear or just for those who need it most. I recommend this book to any young women (or men) who need inspiration or something to tell you to just go for it.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wished for more depth in the writing and breadth in artists covered, but the Ana Mendieta chapter included some beautiful drawings by Eva Rossetti (e.g., page 76). Rossetti is also (this seems strange to point out, but) very good at drawing women's noses (e.g., page 54).

[Cristina Munteanu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un roman grafic care provoacă, asta-i clar. Este plin de random facts despre subiect. Încă de la prima pagină îți este trezită curiozitatea, este un fel de prefață a întregii mișcări. Doar că pentru întreaga poveste trebuie să cauți singur(ă) informația.

[Poppy O’Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has everything important just lacks some depth

[Nuray Nonsense · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein sehr schön gezeichnetes Graphic Novel mit spannenden Künstlerinnen, deren Stimmen viel zu unterrepräsentiert in der Gesellschaft sind.

[malena · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautifully made and absolutely inspiring

[Kārlis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art and a cool insight into these artists, but it doesn't fully get the right balance of educational content and immersive storytelling - it jumps from one to the other, never really getting both.

[Chris Shores · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot and loved the visual storytelling. I would have loved to learn even more about each of the featured artists but this graphic novel gave a good overview and resources to learn more.

[Jonna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short view of a number of notable feminist artists. I didn't know all of them, so I would like to read/see more about/of their work to get an idea about what it's like. I had expected more of the visual side, considering the subject....

[Claire Wrobel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was too hurried and rushed. I felt like I didn’t learn anything, and the part at the end about Ana Mendieta and the protests her death sparked seemed like it was literally thrown in. This strange circumstance also gets an entire half page of the forward, which made it seem lopsided because the book is about her art and not her mysterious death. The other women did not get this bizarre attention.

[Athziry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to feminist artists. The illustrations are beautiful. It doesn’t go too in depth about each artist but if you are just getting into feminist art, it’s a great start. In addition to Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold, Ana Mendieta, and the Guerrilla Girls, I enjoyed reading the brief biographies of other influential artists in the “Characters” part. I do wish there were more images depicting the artists’ work though.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shallow bios, and the selection of artists seemed arbitrary. Form and function seem misaligned here: although some of the pages are gorgeous, the book doesn't coalesce into a whole.

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the great potentials of graphic non-fiction is the ability to reach audiences usually beyond our ability to engage, for many reasons. Yet somehow they seem ideally suited as a medium for art history, where we can do the work and give a sense of the artist’s style, of their work. That is one thing this promising but ultimately frustrating piece does – in shifting style for each of the four cases considered, Eva Rossetti gives us something of the respective subject’s context and significance.

The book focuses on three artists and one movement – Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold, Eva Mendieta, and The Guerrilla Girls – as artists who challenge notions of the body, of the reach of feminism, of identity, and of the structure and practice of the art industries. We get a good sense of their context, of what they set out to do, of the tensions that surrounded their work, and the struggles and debates they engage(d) with – and in that sense the book does reach out to new audiences.

And yet, paradoxically given the shifts in style for each focus, we don’t get much of a sense of their actual art works (not really applicable in the case of the Guerrilla Girls where Rossetti reproduces some of their posters and intervention pieces. Admittedly, the performative character of much of her work makes this a challenge also for Mendieta – but for Chicago & Ringgold. For instance, Ringgold’s work with textile arts (although perhaps this is after the period focused on here) seems to me to be important in understanding her as a Black feminist artist in the USA yet that seems almost non-existent here. It seems a missed opportunity for a promising book.

Promising, but ultimately frustrating.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artists whose stories I have told let us reflect on four different aspects. Judy Chicago was one of the movement's pioneers: she saw it emerge and worked on the reappropriation of language. Hers was a political choice to name and represent what were, and unfortunately remain, taboos: blood, the vagina, sanitary towels... Chicago started from the vagina, which is a powerful symbol of female identity...

As an African-American woman, Faith Ringgold, the second artist, reflected on the limits of 1970s feminism as a movement for middle-class white women, which did not include the question of Civil Rights within its struggle... Black women were thus fighting on two fronts: both as women and as Black women. Often, as happened to Ringgold, they came up against a wall within their own communities because the men felt threatened.

Ana Mendieta, a Cuban exile in the United States, turned her gaze towards notions of origin and identity. In her work, Mendieta seeks a return not to a homeland but rather to the origin of all things: the myth of the Great Mother, the goddess who was the origin, end and becoming of every living being...

... the Guerilla Girls, who represent the most all-embracing conclusion to this journey. They are feminist artists with no specific identity or geographical location; they stand for all women, those who have been forgotten in the past, and those fighting today to ensure that culture is for - and represents - all people and all genders. They are intersectional feminists: they call out the injustices perpetrated in the art world not only towards women, but also towards Black, gay, lesbian and trans people, and all those who are oppressed by the privileges of patriarchal power."
Foreward - pgs. 6-7

This Graphic Novel is a captivating & adroit way to explore Feminist Artists and their legacy. Divided into chapters by the four featured Artists, Valentina Grande sensitively and engagingly portrays these subversive Women. The illustrations by Eva Rossetti are created in a muted, understated colour palette that compliments the narrative. I also enjoyed the inclusion of their contemporaries which enhanced the overall richness of the novel. A remarkable contribution to the genre.

[Liv · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t expect to dislike this book, but I did. It was too confusing. Most of which is owed to the medium (art culture is way too pretentious)—and I already stay away from fine art type things so it’s mostly my bad for reading this.

But my criticisms are:
—only FOUR women* changed art?? Obviously it notes that there are more but for the title to be what it is, I expected many more bios and stories about women artists but instead it cameo’ed some and talked about 3 individual women and the guerrilla girls (*a group not one girl in particular as they’re anonymous).
—The writing was all over the place. I couldn’t tell what was first person narrative, what was a quote, what was nonfiction explanation, etc. I ended up lost a handful of times throughout my reading.
—No queer representation. At least none that was mentioned—idk how the women depicted identify. There was also a lack of bodily and gender diversity. No need to include men (obviously) but what about trans artists or those who don’t fit a gender mold?

Overall, it felt like it was missing more of a theme. The link between these four wasn’t concrete enough for a book. At least in my opinion.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valentina Grande wrote and Eva Rossetti illustrated this engaging set of biographies. Tales of artists Judy Chicago, Faith Ringgold and Ana Mendieta plus the feminist arts collective Guerrilla Girls provide portraits of second and third wave feminist art in the United States.

The artwork is Rossetti's, but the manuscript is a translation by Edward Fortes. In school I never knew whether I loved The Divine Comedy or John Ciardi's translation of it. I'm in a similar quandary about this slim volume which is based on an Italian graphic work titled simply Feminist Art.

"Forever" is a long time. Perhaps it is time for Grande and Rossetti to tackle something about backlash. Yes, the art market and museum shows have progressed, but someone should look into what feels like a sustained stall.

[Barbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questo libro ha quattro grandi pregi:
1. Racconta delle donne nell'arte. O meglio dell'assenza di donne nell'arte e lo fa attraverso quelle donne che quest'assenza l'hanno denunciata e hanno lottato per riempire i vuoti.
2. È magnificamente illustrato.
3. Mette ben in luce il forte legame tra arte e femminismo.
4.. Mette una gran voglia di saperne di più. Di aprire Google e conoscere ogni cosa di queste artiste.

Avrei preferito che le storie presenti fossero un po' più approfondite, meno "evicative" e più biografiche, forse (essendo storie di donne e artiste ahimé poco note), ma comunque molto bello e necessario.

[SusyG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quanto spazio hanno le donne nel mondo dell'arte moderna? Molto poco e tutte queste artiste combattono affinché ci sia più arte prodotta da donne nei musei, affinché le donne vengano prese sul serio e non debbano sempre stare nell'ombra degli uomini. Non conoscevo queste artiste ma le loro storie di lotta contro la misoginia e il razzismo sono davvero importanti e bisogna farne tesoro. Il tratto e i colori di Eva Rossetti mi sono piaciuti molto, come anche la scrittura (con tanta minuziosa ricerca, trovate una preziosa bibliografia sul fondo) di Valentina Grande. Se vi interessa l'arte insieme alla lotta femminista intersezionale, ve lo consiglio assolutamente! ❤️

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
An excellent 'glimpse' into the world of feminist art, by women, as produced by three artists and one long-running artists collective; Guerrilla Girls.
As the author readily admits, this book skims the surface, but probably does more than many art books and relevant encyclopedias do to outline the work that 50% of the world's population also creates, but has been sidelined by galleries, curators and art historians through the decades/centuries. The most heartbreaking is the story of Ana Mendieta, a Cuban refugee from a young age, who was most likely murdered by her sculptor husband and who's work is regularly put on display, where hers is not.
Highly recommended.