Saturday, February 20, 2010

The Dinner Party



Went to the Brooklyn Museum today to see Kiki Smith's exhibition and most importantly 'The Dinner Party', an amazing feminist art installation by Judy Chicago and her group of 129 women who contributed to its making.

Introduction to the work on the Brooklyn Museum website:-
'The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago is an icon of feminist art, which represents 1,038 women in history—39 women are represented by place settings and another 999 names are inscribed in the Heritage Floor on which the table rests. This monumental work of art is comprised of a triangular table divided by three wings, each 48 feet long.'

A friend of mine on my foundation course introduced me to the work ten years ago, I don't think I ever thought I'd see it, especially since despite its first being exhibited in 1979, it had no permanent home until 2007 due to its controversial nature. I was, awestruck, it's beautiful and spectacular and monumental, I know that many things are described this way when it's certainly not the case, due to our culture's fondness for hyperbole, but I'm not exaggerating, it is a magnificent work.

I'm not sure if photography is allowed,and I didn't take any of my own because I felt almost reverent before it, I just want to have recourse to it from my own shabby memory imbued with my awe, rather than any half-arsed photograph I might have taken.


http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party/

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