There's a big-deal art exhibition at Fresno State that I want to make sure people know about. I wrote in my Sunday Spotlight column about "A Studio of Their Own: The Legacy of the Fresno Feminist Experiment, 1970," which continues through Oct. 9 at the Conley Art Gallery. This is an exhibit that celebrates Fresno State's role in the blossoming of the feminist art movement that occurred when well-known artist Judy Chicago, best known for "The Dinner Party," spent a groundbreaking year as a guest professor at the university.
Don't look for any works by Chicago, however. Curator Laura Meyer, an art history professor at Fresno State, puts all the focus on Chicago's Fresno State students, several of whom went on to significant careers. Meyer's contention is that since Chicago embraced a collaborative creative process, which in the case of her Fresno tenure meant that she and her students actually opened a communal art studio off-campus, Chicago was as much influenced by her students during a formative and profound time in art history as they were by her.
There are several familiar local names in the exhibition, including Nancy Youdelman (who collaborated on "Kewpie Doll," above), Karen LeCocq and Jackie Doumanian. You'll see some fascinating and provocative works, including an amusing collaborative piece documenting an attempt by one woman to increase her bust size by using fly-by-night magazine offers. (Be sure to read Youdelman's perky letters that she sent to the different con-artist bust-enlarger companies.)
There's are important dates to mark on your calendar regarding this exhibition: A symposium Sept. 17 and 18 will include many of the original Judy Chicago class members together again for the first time, along with special artist performances.
Thanks Donald for giving the show such good press so far. You always have such good insights. I hope to see you at the opening.
Karen
Thank you, Donald. I was so pleased to read the article in the Fresno Bee and this online posting about "A Studio of Their Own". Dr. Laura Meyer has done an incredible job curating the exhibition and writing the catalog. The show is beautifully installed and serves as an important reminder about those years when women were making conscious efforts to break through societal barriers connected to artistic expression. I hope many people attend this exhibit and also the one at Gallery 25 which celebrates its founding 35 years ago by Joyce Aiken and the women who took the feminist art classes she taught.