The female condition in art: the Artist's Book as an agent of feminist reflection

Abstract

Lucy Lippard (1980) said that feminist art constitutes a system of values and a revolutionary strategy, and the Artist's Book is seen as a useful tool for social reflection. With the purpose of analyzing how part of the feminist discourse is integrated into the Artist's Book, through qualitative methodology and the interpretive paradigm with a feminist approach, we carried out the case study. The exhibition is made up of works made by women artists who are critical of the female condition, and of the forms of participation and representation of women in history and contemporary society. We find that the Artist Books, due to their exterior-interior structural condition, emphasize the desire of feminist art to break the limits of the public-private system. In relation to the discourses around the condition of women, a broad view is articulated, where the feminine, the cultural and the community are intertwined. The Artist's Book is an interesting practice to rethink the feminine condition in the dominant culture and seek effective participation from the ideal of a more democratic art where all views have a place.