In Arles: The Political and Subversive Figures of Feminist Art Pioneers

Feminist vanguard is an essential demonstration, in other words, radical and subversive. Building on Simone de Beauvoir’s famous saying, “We are not born women, we become one,” it brings together more than 200 works by 71 women artists that address the question of the construction of femininity in the 1970s. Illustrated by Christophe. Wiesner, director of the Rencontres d’Arles, as a partner of last year’s Masculinités exhibition organized by the Barbican Art Gallery, Feminist vanguard comes from the collection of the Austrian company Verbund, which was founded in 2004 by the initiative of art critic Gabriel Schor.

Behind the Scenes of the 6th Madame Figaro Photography Prize Jury Visits in Arles

It now has more than 800 works by 160 artists, questioning feminine, unmasking stereotypes, exploding clichés and showcasing the work of these pioneers. In the 1970s, many artists moved away from the predominantly male visual arts and embraced new mediums such as photography, video and performance. Activists, most of whom were born between 1930 and 1950, created a new language and addressed the position of women in society. Their characters are provocative, raw, ironic, cruel.

The body as a weapon

The exhibition presented at “Mécanique Générale de Luma” is divided into five thematic parts. about sexuality and establishing their roles and identities. It brings together discoveries and famous artists such as Helena Almeida, Vali Export, Orlan, Cindy Sherman or Francesca Woodman, who takes center stage in this anthology. The American photographer, who died in 1981 at the age of 22, dramatizes his anger with the standards of the time, such as advertising images. A format also mocked by Cindy Sherman, who adopts a pose viewed with nausea to emphasize its ridiculousness.

Behind the Scenes of the 6th Madame Figaro Photography Prize Jury Visits – Arles

Rita Myers, she uses collages to show the impossible perfection of the body, while Ana Mandieta’s self-portraits with her face pressed against the window distort her features. These artists use their bodies as weapons. They use tape, bandages, hide their gender with a mask (Francesca Woodman) or hide their face under an animal skin. Untitled (Me in Fur), 1974, by Birgit Jurgenssen, who laments: “Woman is often the subject of art, but she is rarely and reluctantly given the opportunity to express herself in words and images.” For her part, the German Annegret Soltau photographed herself in 1975, her face covered with black threads like a spider’s web, which is synonymous with confinement and alienation…

Behind the Scenes of the 6th Madame Figaro Photography Prize Jury Visits – Arles

Get rid of the prompts

Beyond the diversity of their appearance, all these women say is that they want to break free from the dictates of a patriarchal society. And the exhibition shows that although they are from different parts of the world and do not know each other, these artists share similar approaches and common demands. The last word goes to the curator Gabriel Shore, who made a remarkable work that was shown in France for the first time. This speech of protest is coupled with the affirmation of another desire: finally recognized freely chosen sexuality and the right to pleasure.

“Feminist Avant-Garde”, 1970s Photographs and Performances from the Verbund Collection, Vienna.

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