WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution is the first comprehensive exhibition to explore the formation, development, and impact of feminism in post-war contemporary art from 1965 to 1980 and will include artists from around the globe.
It is the largest exhibition in NMWA’s 20-year history and will:
- Showcase nearly 300 works by 118 artists including painting, sculpture, photography, film, video and performance art;
- Include work produced by artists in the U.S., the U.K., western and central Europe, Australia, and Canada as well as India, Japan, China and South and Central America;
- Offer a major re-thinking of feminist art, add depth to the historical record and create interest in feminism as a vital force for a whole new generation.
The exhibition’s story begins in 1965 with important proto-feminist work by Louise Bourgeois, Yoko Ono, Yvonne Rainer and others who influenced the feminist art of the 1970s. It continues with iconic works by feminist artists such as Chantal Akerman, Eleanor Antin, Judith Baca, Judy Chicago, Ana Mendieta, Ulrike Ottinger, Howardena Pindell, Betye Saar, Miriam Schapiro, Nancy Spero, and Katharina Sieverding, among many others. The exhibition ends in 1980, with early work by artists such as Cindy Sherman, and Lorraine O’Grady whose work was informed by feminist practices of their foremothers.
NMWA is proud to host this historic exhibition in our Nation’s Capital, the focal point for so many women’s rights activities over the past forty years as well as home to our most important national women’s organizations. NMWA’s Fall 2007 presentation of WACK! will be an exciting landmark event that demonstrates feminism’s historical significance and acknowledges its continuing legacy.
Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), NMWA is the second venue on a tour that also includes the Museum of Modern Art/PS1 and the Vancouver Art Gallery.
image: Judy Chicago, Pasadena Lifesaver Red #5, 1970, Sprayed acrylic on acrylic, 60 x 60 inches
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Elyse and Stanley Grinstein
NMWA
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Washington, DC 20005-3970
202-783-5000, 1-800-222-7270
web site: www.nmwa.org
