In our current exhibition Roots of “The Dinner Party”: History in the Making visitors le

In our current exhibition Roots of “The Dinner Party”: History in the Making visitors learn that the Brooklyn Museum was one of two (2!) American Museums “brave enough to exhibit The Dinner Party during its original crowd-funded, community-driven international tour” in 1980. This makes the Brooklyn Museum Archives’ holdings about this occasion especially critical in order to gain an understanding of the times and the controversy surrounding when it was first shown to the public. On October 25, 1980 Judy Chicago held a question and answer session in the Museum. This event was taped onto a U-matic videocassette. Since recording Museum events on video was still very new, they experienced technical difficulties, throughout which Chicago was understanding, humorous, and patient. She fielded many questions that, when we hear them today, can sound dated or incredibly relevant. One example of the former being a man making a statement insinuating that the danger of feminism was women becoming lesbians and forsaking male partnership. Conversations during the Q&A that resonate with our current political climate include people constantly casting doubt on Chicago’s clear intent which results in not believing women when they make emphatic statements. Throughout the event Chicago is brilliantly witty, sharp, and hilarious. While watching the video it is clear to me why Chicago was the able to be one of the most important forerunners of the feminist art movement. Seeing her speak with such tenacity and conviction about her art is inspirational and compelling. This video is one of seven related to The Dinner Party. The Archives houses and provides access to over 2,300 audiovisual items such as this video. If you would like to know more about our holdings please get in touch with us at [email protected]. Posted by J.E. Molly Seegers -- source link

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