Summer Enrollment is Open! Courses begin June 23, 2025.
Feminist Legacies/Feminist Futures
ART HIS 825.48
The recently published book Mothers of Invention: The Feminist Roots of Contemporary Art (2025) puts forth the notion that Feminist Art may be identified as the primary source of innovation in art produced over the course of the past half-century. Using this book as a primary text, this class will explore work being created by artists in Los Angeles today, taking into account historical precedents found in Feminist art of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and before.
Over the course of the past several decades, conventional art historical narratives have been overturned. Previously marginalized artistic tendencies and artists (read: women and people of color) have been inserted and highlighted, as is evidenced today by entering almost any museum. During this period, the dominant 1960s conception of Feminist Art as pertaining to white, middle-class women based in the U.S. broadened to include artists of color and different social classes, and men and people of various sexual orientations, while becoming international in scope. The recently published book Mothers of Invention: The Feminist Roots of Contemporary Art (2025) puts forth the notion that Feminist Art may be identified as the primary source of innovation in art produced over the course of the past half-century; that as an art positioned outside the mainstream, it was empowered to break rules and forge new paths, which are still being explored today. Using this new book as a primary text, this class will explore work being created by artists in Los Angeles today, taking into account historical precedents found in Feminist art of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and before. The course will begin with two online sessions examining concepts introduced in Mothers of Invention and following its thematic approach, with the focus being on performance art, ecofeminism, abstraction, and craft. Figuration will be considered as well. Among the pioneering artists to be discussed are Hilma af Klint, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Annie Albers, Louise Bourgeois, Alma Thomas, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Marina Abramovic, Laurie Anderson, Catherine Opie, and Betye Saar. The next three session will be spent visiting museums, galleries, and artist studios in the Los Angeles area, where we will explore and discuss work pertinent to the subject matter of our class. The final session will again be online, with one of the authors of the class text meeting with us on Zoom. At that time, we will also discuss the following: how do we define Feminist Art and is the concept still relevant today?
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