Spirit of America Bookstore
artist & feminist Judy Chicago
 | short profile |
"I won't show in any group defined as Woman, Jewish, or California. Someday when we all grow up there will be no labels."
"Remember, our heritage is our power."
"History is made by heroes."
"In order to change [the system] we had to be disobedient."
artist & feminist Judy Chicago has lived in Belén, New Mexico since 1996
photographer Donald Woodman has been married to Judy Chicago since 1985
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
Judith Sylvia Cohen was born in 1939 in Chicago, Illinois; she graduated from U.C.L.A. in 1964; changed her name in 1969; constructed her famous masterpiece The Dinner Party 1974-79; married photographer Donald Woodman in 1985; the couple purchased a historic railroad hotel in Belén, New Mexico and moved there in 1996.
Judy Chicago was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2018.
Judy Chicago's official website
Through The Flower [non-profit est. 1978] at the TTF Art Space [open July 2019], 107 Becker Avenue in Belén, NM
Wo/Manhouse 2022 exhibit in Belén, New Mexico [opening 18 June 2022]
Wo/Manhouse 2022 official website
4/2022 article & photos about Womanhouse Los Angeles (1972) and Wo/Manhouse New Mexico (2022)
browse books at the Judy Chicago Store {returns 20+ titles} at Amazon
Judy Chicago entry at Wikipedia
incomplete Judy Chicago credits [since 1974] at Internet Movie Database
Primary Art Works
famous feminist masterpiece "The Dinner Party" [1974-79]
"Because we are denied knowledge of our history, we are deprived of standing upon each other's shoulders and building upon
each other's hard earned accomplishments. Instead we are condemned to repeat what others have done before us
and thus we continually reinvent the wheel. The goal of 'The Dinner Party' is to break this cycle."
The Dinner Party is an installation artwork by feminist artist Judy Chicago. Widely regarded as the first epic feminist artwork, it functions as a symbolic history
of women in civilization. There are 39 elaborate place settings on a triangular table for 39 mythical and historical famous women.
The symbolic guests are listed as:
Wing I: From Prehistory to the Roman Empire
1. Primordial Goddess •
2. Fertile Goddess •
3. Ishtar •
4. Kali •
5. Snake Goddess •
6. Sophia •
7. Amazon · Wiki •
8. Hatshepsut •
9. Judith •
10. Sappho [630-570 BCE] · Wiki •
11. Aspasia [470-400 BCE] · Wiki •
12. {Queen} Boadicea [d. 60 CE] · Wiki ·
book •
13. Hypatia [350?-415 CE] · Wiki ·
book
Wing II: From the Beginnings of Christianity to the Reformation
14. Marcella •
15. Saint Bridget •
16. Empress Theodora of Byzantium •
17. Hrosvitha •
18. Trota of Salerno •
19. Eleanor of Aquitaine [1122-1204] •
20. Hildegarde of Bingen [1098-1179] DVD •
21. Petronilla de Meath •
22. Christine de Pisan •
23. Isabella d'Este •
24. Queen Elizabeth I [1533-1603] •
25. Artemisia Gentileschi •
26. Anna van Schurman
Wing III: From the American to the Women's Revolution
27. Anne Hutchinson •
28. Sacajawea [1788?-1812] •
29. Caroline Herschel •
30. Mary Wollstonecraft •
31. Sojourner Truth •
32. Susan B. Anthony [1820-1906] •
33. Elizabeth Blackwell •
34. Emily Dickinson [1830-86] •
35. Ethel Smyth •
36. Margaret Sanger •
37. Natalie Barney •
38. Virginia Woolf [1882-1941] •
39. Georgia O'Keeffe [1887-1986]
The Heritage Floor features the names of 998 women (and one man mistakenly included) inscribed on
2,304 handmade white porcelain floor tilings, with the names spread across more than one tile.
'The Dinner Party' entry at Wikipedia
 | "The Dinner Party: A Symbol of Our Heritage" [1979] by Judy Chicago complete details of the ceramic plates, the embroidered runners, and the names on the floor tiles Anchor Books 11x8½ pb [3/79] out of print/used Doubleday hardcover [3/79] out of print/used |
"Embroidering Our Heritage: The Dinner Party Needlework" [1980]
 | "Judy Chicago: The Dinner Party" [1987] beim Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt German-language companion volume for the "Dinner Party" Ausstellung (exhibition) at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt in May-June 1987 Athenäum pb [5/87] out of print/used |
"The Dinner Party / Judy Chicago" [1996]
"The Dinner Party: From Creation To Preservation" [Merrell Publrs 2007]
 | "Right Out of History: The Making of Judy Chicago's Dinner Party" documentary feature [1980] Produced by Victoria Mudd & Thom Tyson; directed by Johanna Demetrakas; starring Judy Chicago • docufilm credits at IMDb Phoenix Learning Group Home Use Edition color DVD [8/2008] out of prodn/scarce Phoenix Learning Group color DVD [8/2008] out of prodn/scarce available for purchase at producer website: digital for $29.99, DVD for $59.99 |
"Judy Chicago's Dinner Party" documentary [Jan 1981] /tt3974296/
episode of the "Omnibus" B.B.C. TV series [1967-2003]
"Judy Chicago and The Dinner Party" TV movie [CBC-TV Canada 1983] /tt1535530/
30-minute TV documentary produced, written & directed by Brigitte Berman
"Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party" [Sept 2017] narrated by blogger Kristy Gordon
close-up views of all 39 place settings
watch 9/2017 video visit [15:37] online at YouTube
"Judy Chicago | The Dinner Party, 1974-79" short video by ART in NewYork
watch quick 1/2019 video visit with piano music [1:52] online at YouTube
 |
"Judy Chicago: Roots of The Dinner Party - History In The Making" [2019] Edited by David Colman, text by Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn; Introduction by Anne Pasternak; Carmen Hermo interviews artist Judy Chicago Salon 94 9x11¼ hardcover [4/2019] out of print/used notice Judy in the rafters in the cover photo |
"The Birth Project"
"The Holocaust Project: From Darkness Into Light"
"Envisioning The Future Project: Pomona, California" [Sept 2003]
 | Cheryl Bookout, of SCA Gallery in Pomona, initiated a meeting in 2001 with Judy Chicago that evolved into a project led by Bookout and Barbara Way, Dean of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; the project was executed by Chicago, Woodman, and Cal Poly Pomona, and included artists from 47 communities within eight counties in California. Panel discus-sions and lectures brought together: British art historian Edward Lucie-Smith; Henry Hopkins, former director of the UCLA Hammer Museum; Los Angeles muralists Judy Baca and Gilbert Luján; composer Pamela Marsden; artists Patrick Nagatani and Isis Rodriguez, Susan Krieg, Martha Shaw, Deane Swick, Victoria Delgadillo, Bob Markovich, Nelson Trombley – and many others. Woodman and Chicago trained nine facilitators from California's art communities who worked with 70 partici-pants from Southern California to develop the concept for Pomona's future; more than 800 works of art were created over a three month period, including those made in digital media, sculpture, painting, installation, and performing arts
project entry at Wikipedia • City of Pomona [incorp. 1888] entry at Wikipedia 
self-publd color DVD set [2004] 3 disks for $25.00 - available at Judy Chicago's stores/websites also available for rent at Judy Chicago's Vimeo channel |
Judy Chicago and Wo/Manhouse [1972 & 2022]
"Womanhouse" 47-minute docufilm [Jan 1974] /tt0211123/
Womanhouse was a feminist art installation & performance space organized in 1972 at 533 No. Mariposa Street in Downtown Los Angeles, California
Judy Chicago's Wo/Manhouse 2022 exhibit [open June 2022] official website
8/2022 local TV interview of Megan & artist about Wo/ManHouse 50th [23:58]
'Looking Back At WomanHouse' exhibit [2022] at Through The Flower art space in Belén, NM
Books by Judy Chicago
browse books at the Judy Chicago Store {returns 20+ titles} at Amazon
outspoken first autobiographical memoir "Through The Flower: My Struggle As A Woman Artist" [1975]
"The Birth Project" [Anchor/Doubleday 1985]
"The Holocaust Project: From Darkness Into Light" [1993]
 | "Beyond The Flower: The Autobiography of A Feminist Artist" [1996] by Judy Chicago Penguin Books 7¾x5 pb [3/97] out of print/used Viking/Penguin 9¼x6¼ hardcover [3/96] for $31.09 |
"Fragments From The Delta of Venus" [PowerHouse Books 2004]
"Kitty City: A Feline Book of Hours" [Harper Design Intl 2005]
 | "Judy Chicago: New Views" [2019] by Judy Chicago, Susan Fisher Sterling, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Jonathan D. Katz, Martha C. Nussbaum companion book to the exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts from September 2019 to January 2020 Scala Arts Publrs, Inc. 11¼x10½ hardcover [9/2019] out of print/used |
 | "The Flowering: The Autobiography of Judy Chicago" [2021]  Foreword by Gloria Steinem covers much of the same ground as her 1996 autobiography/memoir and updates readers on what she's been up to in the intervening quarter century Thames & Hudson 9½x7¼ hardcover [7/2021] for $39.95 |
Movies & Television, Other Media
incomplete Judy Chicago credits [since 1974] at Internet Movie Database
Judy Chicago's Vimeo channel [est. 9/2020]
| | "Right Out of History: The Making of Judy Chicago's Dinner Party" documentary feature [1980] Produced by Victoria Mudd & Thom Tyson; directed by Johanna Demetrakas; starring Judy Chicago • docufilm credits at IMDb Phoenix Learning Group Home Use Edition color DVD [8/2008] out of prodn/scarce Phoenix Learning Group color DVD [8/2008] out of prodn/scarce available for purchase at producer website: digital for $29.99, DVD for $59.99 |
"Creativity with Bill Moyers" TV series [P.B.S. 1982-83] /tt0355076/
one episode in 1982, details not found
"Women and Art" [Aug 1996] /tt1117493/
Season 5, episode 22 of the "To The Contrary" TV series [Maryland Public Television 1996-2016]
produced & directed by Laura Brennan, produced & hosted by Bonnie G. Erbe
 | "No Compromise: Lessons In Feminist Art With Judy Chicago" [2002] by Judy Chicago, Edited by Susanne Schwibs Judy Chicago went back to school, to teach at Indiana University as a visiting professor; this program shows her work with a group of women students as they struggle with the artistic process, from conception to public presentation; along with the students, Chicago explores the nature of artistic expression, the character of feminist art, and the commitment needed to forge an independent artistic identity • not listed at IMDb WTIU/Indiana Univ Television color DVD [2002] for $20.27 54-minute WTIU/Indiana Univ Television color VHS [2002] out of prodn/used |
"Judy Chicago" segment [Chum TV Canada March 2005] /tt0992597/
Season 7, episode 15 of the "SexTV" documentary TV series [Canada 1998-2008]
segments produced, written & directed by Michelle Melles; aired with "The Meaning of Wife" segment
"! W.A.R.: Women Art Revolution" [Hotwire Prodns June 2011]
 | For more than forty years, artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman-Leeson collected interviews with her contempo-raries and shaped them into an intimate portrayal of their fight to break down barriers facing women both in the art world and society at large • Co-produced by Abigail Disney & Susan Swartz; co-produced & directed by and featuring Lynn Hershman-Leeson; a rousing score by Carrie Brownstein; also featuring Miranda July, Yvonne Rainer, The Guerilla Girls, Judy Chicago, Marina Abramovic, Yoko Ono, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, B. Ruby Rich, Ingrid Sischy, Carolee Schneemann, Miriam Schapiro, Hannah Wilke, New Museum founder Marcia Tucker, and countless other groundbreaking figures •
full credits at IMDb •
official movie site
Zeitgeist Films widescreen color DVD [3/2012] for $13.99 Zeitgeist Films widescreen color DVD [3/2012] for $19.99 watch 3/2011 official trailer [1:46] online at YouTube watch full movie [7/2015 upload; 1:22:52] online at YouTube - requires sign-in as proof of age |
"Evening Bulletin" [1 June 2017] /tt7439018/
episode of the "B.B.C. North West Tonight" TV news series [est. 1957]
 | "Pussy Power: Judy Chicago - In Conversation With Sarah Thornton" [Sept 2017] at Jewish Community Center of San Francisco - Arts & Ideas Program not listed at IMDb • watch full 9/2017 event [1:03:02] online at YouTube |
 | "Feminists: What Were They Thinking?" documentary film [Netflix Original streaming Oct 2018] "It's about identity. It's about transformation. It's about time." 'departs from traditional linear storytelling and becomes an immersive, organic experience that pushes, prods, and provokes' • Produced & directed by Johanna Demetrakas; featuring new interviews with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Laurie Anderson, Judy Chicago, Michelle Phillips, Meredith Monk, Sally Kirkland, and others; archive footage of Bella Abzug, Hillary Clinton, Dabney Coleman, Audrey Hepburn, Florynce Kennedy, The Mamas and The Papas, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Gloria Steinem, Malala Yousafzai; also featuring Funmilola Fagbamila, Phyllis Chesler, Wendy J.N. Lee, Margaret Prescod, {producer} Cheryl Swannack, Marej Vaj full credits at IMDb • official movie site • official Netflix movie page • movie entry at Wikipedia VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • watch 10/2018 official trailer [2:06] online at YouTube |
"Commemorating Women Featuring Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party" [aired March 2020]
Season 1, episode 16 of the "Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater" TV mini-series [2017-2020]
 | 39 female dancers from the Ailey School perform while seated around the Dinner Party art installation at the Brooklyn Museum • Directed by Katya Martín & Redha Medjellekh; choreography by Jessica Castro; music by The StormZ •
full credits at IMDb
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • watch 3/2020 official trailer [1:27] online at YouTube |
 | Judy Chicago's 'Through The Flower' Vimeo Channel [est. 9/2020] offers package of 8 instructional videos totalling 6 hours and 7 minutes; rent all for $19.99, purchase all as downloads for $29.99; also available separately visit Judy Chicago's Vimeo Channel |
"CBS News Sunday Morning: Episode #43.53" TV series [2022]
Works About Judy Chicago
 | "Becoming Judy Chicago: A Biography of The Artist" [2007] by Gail Levin Univ California Press 9x6 pb [10/2018] for $29.95 Crown 9½x6½ hardcover [2/2007] for $35.00 |
getty show 2011-2012
 | "Judy Chicago, The Godmother" [7 Feb 2018] The New York Times Magazine article by Sasha Weiss 'For decades, the feminist artist was pushed to the sidelines. Relevant once again, she can no longer be ignored.' read the article at the New York Times website {behind the pay-wall} |
 | Judy Chicago was named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2018 "Judy Chicago: Feminist Genius" article by television director Jill Soloway, 19 April 2018 read the short article for free on the TIME Magazine website |
 | "Judy Chicago Talks The Dinner Party, #MeToo, and Her New Tabletop Collaboration: In a collaboration with Prospect New York, the artist brings her groundbreaking installation to a dinner party near you" • April 2018 article by Hadley Keller read Architectural Digest April 2018 article {behind the pay-wall} Architectural Digest single-issue magazine [4/2018] for $13.99 Architectural Digest single-issue magazine - shipped in a box [4/2018] for $18.99 "Inside Judy Chicago and Donald Woodman's New Mexico Art Mecca: The creative pair transformed a onetime hotel in a remote desert town into a center of imaginative output" September 2019 article by Maggie Bullock, Photography by Donald Woodman read Architectural Digest September 2019 article {behind the pay-wall} Architectural Digest single-issue magazine [9/2019] for $3.75 |
 | "Labia and Lotuses: Who Is Feminist Artist Judy Chicago?" January 2019 article by Loney Abrams read ArtSpace January 2019 article - free online "Q&A: An Interview with Judy Chicago, Feminist Art Pioneer" August 2019 article at ArtSpace Online Gallery read ArtSpace August 2019 article - free online |
"Judy Chicago: Los Angeles, 1965-72" survey art show [Sept-Nov 2019]
text and photos at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery website
 | "Judy Chicago: Book of 36 Postcards" [2019] from the show at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in Los Angeles images of Chicago’s artworks made in Los Angeles from 1965 to 1972 book not found on Amazon; 4x6 pb available from other art venue stores, including publisher Prospect New York |
hit survey art show “Judy Chicago: A Reckoning” curated by Alex Gartenfeld & Stephanie Seidel
is at the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami until April 19 in 2019
8/2019 she has a survey art show at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos "Judy Chicago: The Birth Project" from New Mexico Collections
the exhibition "Judy Chicago: The End" on view at the National Museum of Women in the Arts from September 2019 to January 2020
 | "Judy Chicago: A Retrospective" exhibition in San Francisco [Aug 2021 to Jan 2022] The exhibition includes approximately 130 paintings, prints, drawings, and ceramic sculptures, in addition to ephemera, several films, and a documentary at the de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California museum website • exhibition homepage |
 | "Forever de Young: A Judy Chicago Performance" [streamed live on 16 October 2021]
watch 10/2021 video compilation [1:13:00] online at YouTube |
May 2024 interview by Rachel Cooke in The Guardian U.K. newspaper
Image Gallery
Family & Friends
Judith Sylvia Cohen was born in July 1939 in Chicago, Illinois; she graduated from U.C.L.A. in 1964; changed her name in 1969; constructed her famous masterpiece
The Dinner Party 1974-79; married photographer Donald Woodman in 1985; the couple purchased a historic railroad hotel in Belén, New Mexico and moved there in 1996.
first husband Jerry Gerowitz [?-1963] - met 6/1959, married 1961, died 1963
second husband sculptor Lloyd Hamrol [] - married 1965, divorced in 1979
third husband photographer Donald Woodman - married since 1985
DW official website •
Donald Woodman entry at Wikipedia {empty}
browse the Donald Woodman Store at Amazon
mentor, circa 1970 Anaïs Nin [1903-77]
L i n k s
Judy Chicago's official website
Through The Flower [non-profit est. 1978] at the TTF Art Space [open July 2019], 107 Becker Avenue in Belén, NM
Through the Flower Archives are housed at Penn State University Archives
Judy Chicago entry at Wikipedia
incomplete Judy Chicago credits [since 1974] at Internet Movie Database
Judy Chicago's Vimeo channel [est. 9/2020]
here on the Judy Chicago Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
top of page • short profile • primary art works • books by Judy Chicago • works about Judy Chicago •
movies & TV, other media • image gallery • family & friends • links
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