Critical Writing Index

What's So Feminist about the Feministische Kunst Internationaal?: Critical Directions in 1970's Feminist Art

by Kathleen Wentrack

Frontiers, 2012, v. 33, no. 2, pp. 76-110

In 1978, when the first installation of the Feministische Kunst Internationaal (International Feminist Art, or FKI) exhibition opened in Amsterdam, it was enthusiastically embraced by its participants—women artists from throughout Europe and the United States. What were the definitions of feminist art that shaped the FKI, and how did feminist artists in Europe define and debate “feminist art,” a highly contested term, in this period? Parts of the essay discuss a selection of videos and films chosen for their emphasis on women’s lived experiences, most often as a critique of socially prescribed roles, which was one of the current themes in feminist art identified by the curators.

ITEM 2012.091 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

Learn Where the Meat Comes FromSuzanne Lacy

Reflexionen uber die Geburt der Venus (Reflections on the Birth of Venus)Ulrike Rosenbach

Intercourse WithHannah Wilke