Arlene Raven's Legacy

Art critic Arlene Raven's life and work are the subject of seventeen visual and narrative essays and a chronology in this special issue of the journal Critical Matrix: The Princeton Journal of Women, Gender, and Culture

Adrian Piper

While Barrow sketches the period of 1967-1970 in the career of Piper, Raven interrogates the artist's interest in subjectivity and recognition of the Other in her selfportraits and installations. Piper's statement surveys four turns along her career path. Biographical notes. Bibl. 6 p

Women Look at Women : Feminist Art for the '80s

Outlining the feminist movement, the authors argue for the continuing importance of feminist organizing. Peterson writes on the work of American women photographers and the change from pictorial to documentary photography. Raven discusses the work of seven feminist artists

At Home

Documenting the work of eight women artist from Southern California on the theme of domesticity, Raven explains the project as a taking count of feminism. The authors inquire into problems of sexual and socially-determined roles, and sketch the importance of women's performance art, artist's books, and diaries in the feminist movement. Biographical notes. Chronology (1970-1983) of events related to socially-concerned art in southern California. Subject index. Bibl. 3 p

Mapping the Terrain : New Genre Public Art

Anthology edited by Lacy, focusing on "new genre public art." Essays by 11 authors situate community-responsive and audience-directed art practices within diverse socio-political and art historical contexts. Emphasis is place on how relational, participatory and interactive art strategies respond to the institutional framework of art. Other topics discussed include: the social relevance of art; artist's reponsibility; non-museum-oriented forms of beauty; the value of collaboration; differences between community-oriented art and public art. Includes compendium of more than 80 artists working in the field. Biographical notes. Circa 110 bibl. ref

Cultures in Contention

The editors argue for a political understanding of art directed towards progessive social change. Political cultural work is seen as a process of redefining one's reality and of naming sources of oppression. The essays describe work in performance, theatre, installation, music and media. Biographical notes. Circa 140 bibl. ref

The Citizen Artist : 20 Years of Art in the Public Arena : An Anthology from High Performance Magazine 1978-1998, Vol. I

An anthology of articles from High Performance Magazine published between 1978 and 1998, comprised mainly of interviews with artists grouped under three themes: the art/life experiment, the artist as activist, and the artist as citizen. Durland claims the groupings reflect the evolution of the magazine’s editorial concerns, from performance art to activist art to community-based art. Each text, he notes, is linked by the desire to reach beyond the traditional forms, content, and context of the arts to engage with a broader community. Biographical notes. Bibl. 4 p