PHotoEspaña: WOMAN: The Feminist Avant-Garde from the 1970s
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| Birgit Jürgenssen, Untitled (Self with Little Fur), 1974/77 © Estate of Birgit Jürgenssen / VBK, Vienna, 2012 / Sammlung Vebund, Vienna |
Hosted at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid and part of the PHotoEspaña International Festival of Photography and Visual Arts, WOMAN: The Feminist Avant-Garde from the
1970s features a fascinating selection of over 200 photographs and video-based
pieces from the Sammlung Verbund collection in Austria. The 21 exhibiting artists whose multi-layered practices
radically changed
female iconography and broadened the feminist debate include VALIE EXPORT,
Sanja Ivekovic, Suzanne Lacy, Martha Rosler, Cindy Sherman and Helena Almeida.
These
second-wave feminists broke with art
history, particularly with the notion that the image of women is to be constructed by men. Exploring their minds and bodies and determining their own feminine identities,
the feminist avant-garde established a new image of women. Curated by Vienna-born
Gabriele Shor, the group show provides a glimpse into how women in the 70s tackled the construction of identity in a provocative, ironic and poetic
manner.
PHotoEspaña 2013: 5 June – 28 July
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| Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Glass on Body Imprints), 1972/1997 © Estate Ana Mendieta / Sammlung Verbund, Vienna |
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| Hannah Wilke, S.O.S., 1975 Starification object series. One of 32 playing cards from mastication box © VBK, Vienna, 2012 / Courtesy of Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York / Sammlung Verbund, Vienna |
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| Francesca Woodman, Self Portrait Talking to Vince, 1975/78 © Estate Francesca Woodman / Sammlung Verbund, Vienna |
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| Renate Bertlmann, Zärtliche Pantomine (Tender Pantomine), 1976 © Renate Bertlmann / Sammlung Verbund, Vienna |