Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s
Various Artists
The Photographers Gallery, Soho
7 OCTOBER 2016 - 29 JANUARY 2017
Free
Having studied the likes of Judith Butler and Germaine Greer at university I had a pretty good idea on what content this exhibition would hold. The exhibition was displayed over two floors of the photographers gallery and included a range of different female artists, each having one or two of their works on display.
There was a mix of media - photographs, video installations and sculpture within the exhibition which I found a good addition, however, the sculpture and video works were nowhere near on par with the quality of the photographs.
Now, this may have been because I spent three years dipping in and out of feminist teachings and artworks for my English Literature and Philosophy degree, or it may be because I have experienced better works because of this, but the exhibition left me feeling rather indifferent. I had seen it all before. Vulvas, women with penises, tampons, women trapped, women domesticated. I think that exhibitions like this are intended to make both a statement and a lasting impression on the viewer. Although the statement was clear throughout (the oppression of women, women as commodities, women's inequality etc.) I cannot honestly say I was left with any lasting impression.
My favourite piece of work was a series of images of a single woman dressed up as the different guises a woman can adopt in society. Guises ranged from Goddess to Lesbian to Working Girl. Now I don't mean to be pedantic but one of the photos did contain a spelling mistake, plus the photographer described the fact that the artist is beyond all definitions of society; they do not belong to a grouping (yawn) Given this was my favourite work, it still had many elements I did not like.
Overall, some of the works were skillful and developed well, however nothing particularly stood out to me and I was left with no lasting impression. I'm sure that had one not been exposed to works of the feminist movement previously then this exhibition would leave a positive impression due to a lack of negative comparison. Personally for me, however, it was an easy exhibition to forget, an odd thought given the brazen title.
OVERALL RATING: ***
http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/feminist-avant-garde-of-the-1970s
