After the revolution : women who transformed contemporary art /

Sporting a foreword by Linda Nochlin (New York Univ.), this collection of short essays on selected women artists makes a valuable contribution to scholarship in art history. Helaine Posner considers Louise Bourgeois, Nancy Spero, and Ann Hamilton. Critic Nancy Princenthal contributes pieces about Elizabeth Murray, Judy Pfaff, and Jenny Holzer, while independent curator Sue Scott treats the work of Marina Abramovic and Dana Schutz. Noted art critic Heartney rounds out the volume with essays on the work of Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith, Shirin Neshat, and Ellen Gallagher. Many more artists (Kara Walker, Carolee Schneeman, Barbara Kruger) are mentioned in the introduction and, while Nochlin's foreword suggests that artists who perpetuate stereotypes such as the great goddess have been intentionally avoided, those chosen represent major issues, styles, and media embraced by contemporary women artists. Close consideration of the included essays will empower readers to engage countless other examples; furthermore, the simultaneously engaging and informative writing style should inspire the next generation of art history scholars in the production of pieces that aim to stimulate thought as much as provide accurate information. For all collections. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through graduate students; professionals. E. K. Mix Butler University

Within the context of the broad cultural shifts that occurred in 1970s America, many art historians and curators have questioned the exclusion of women from both the pantheon of famous artists and the display floors of contemporary museums. This is an excellent overview of 12 significant and internationally successful female artists, among them installation artist Ann Hamilton, photographer Shirin Seshat, and sculptor Kiki Smith. Art historian Linda Nochlin's brief but important preface revisits a question she first asked in a 1971 essay: "Why have there been no great women artists?" True to form-feminist art scholarship is known for being smart and feisty-Nochlin refuses the very criterion of artistic "greatness" and notes that, for the artists considered here, "it is vitality...an incisive relationship to the present" that marks their work. A wonderful introduction by editors Heartney (Critical Condition: American Culture at the Crossroads), Helaine Posner (Kiki Smith), Nancy Princenthal (visual arts, Bard Coll. & NYU), and writer/curator Sue Scott carefully assesses feminism's impact on the art world. The bibliography is thoroughly compiled. Enthusiastically recommended for all libraries focusing on art history, gender, and cultural studies.-Katherine C. Adams, Yale Univ. Lib., New Haven, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.