'Judy Chicago's 'The Flowering' is the update to her autobiographical writings we urgently need. It recasts Judy's pioneering sensibility for the important debates of our times, ensuring her pivotal place in the discourse of feminism and art' - Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries
'This inspiring read tells the story of one of our most influential contemporary artists: a woman who was able to break the barrier of a male-dominated, chauvinistic system by revealing to the world what feminine creativity can produce. The imperative now lies in transforming this message into a reality for tomorrow' - Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director of Women’s Collections, Dior
'Now, we need Judy Chicago more than ever' - Gloria Steinem
'Combining engrossing, urgent storytelling with illustrations, personal images and a foreword by Gloria Steinem, Chicago relays the story of an artist determined to ensure that women’s cultural achievements are permanently valued' - TIME
'The art icon’s frank autobiography unpicks a long career dedicated to changing the world for the better' - Elephant
'A full and frank life story' - Harper’s Bazaar
The Flowering is her vivid and revealing autobiography, fully illustrated with photographs of her work, as well as never-before-published personal images and a foreword by Gloria Steinem. Chicago has revised and updated her earlier, classic works with previously untold stories, fresh insights, and an extensive afterword covering the last twenty years. This powerful narrative weaves together the stories behind some of Chicago’s most significant artworks and her journey as a woman artist with the chronicles of her personal relationships and her understanding, from decades of experience and extensive research, of how misogyny, racism and other prejudices intersect to erase the legacies of artists who are not white and male while dismissing the suffering of millions of creatures who share the planet.
With the first career retrospective of her work forthcoming at the de Young Museum in 2021, Chicago reinforces her message of resilience for a new generation of artists and activists. The Flowering is an essential read for anyone interested in making change.
With 90 illustrations in colour
1. Introduction
2. Coming of Age
3. Making a Professional Life
4. Becoming Judy Chicago
5. Making Feminist Art
6. Learning from the Past
7. Back to L.A., and Womanhouse
8. Dreaming Up the Dinner Party
9. Controversy? What Controversy?
10. Giving Birth to the Birth Project
11. Is There an Alternative to the Art World?
12. Expanding My Gaze
13. If You Don’t Have, You Can’t Lose
14. Why the Holocaust?
15. The Dinner Party Goes to Congress
16. Lost in Albuquerque! Found in Belen?
Afterword