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• 1 media/via-Judy-Chicago.jpg media/thedinnerparty.jpg media/via-Judy-Chicago.jpg 2020-10-14T22:05:21+00:00 The Dinner Party, Judy Chicago 28 By Rhea Rangarajan image_header 2020-12-07T05:36:42+00:00 Judy Chicago, born in Chicago, Illinois in 1939, has developed her career as an artist over the span of five decades. She is known around the world for her exhibitions, publications and specifically her feminist art and philosophy which she continues to preach and educate to younger generations today. Chicago was especially active in the 1970’s when there was a second wave of feminism which shaped the work of many women artists, including herself. This movement heavily influenced Chicago’s work as she focused on women and their roles in society. During this Postmodern period, Chicago created one of her most famous pieces, The Dinner Party in 1979. Chicago created this piece of work to reclaim the history of women, celebrate the accomplishments of women that have been unappreciated for years, and empower women in a male dominated society. Even though society did not adapt and change much after the first wave of feminism during the 1850’s, artist Judy Chicago was influenced by the second wave of feminism and used feminist beliefs and vulvar iconography in her pieces to celebrate women and ultimately empower women to take pride in their own bodies. 
  
  Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party installation piece has sparked a lot of conversation about the design decisions she made. The piece showcases three large tables arranged in a triangle with thirty-nine places set as a dinner party setting. Each place setting is dedicated to a significant historical woman who contributed to society and is set in chronological order to show notable women from Prehistory to Rome, from Christianity to the Reformation, and from the American Revolution to the Women’s Revolution. Chicago was only able to choose thirty-nine important women to feature at the dinner table due to financial reasons. Each setting has a unique elegant China plate that is carved in either the shape of a vulva or a butterfly. This design choice was influenced by Chicago’s feminist beliefs to change the way society views women in art. This large installment also has a floor attached to it that has carvings of three hundred and ninety-nine names of outstanding women in history. Even though only thirty-nine women were chosen to be displayed at the dinner setting, Chicago still gave recognition to hundreds of women who had a historical impact on society. These detailed elements in the installment emphasize the thoroughness and dedication Chicago had to recognize significant women, but the vulvar iconography of the art has been a controversial topic.
  
  The repeated use of vulvar iconography in The Dinner Party suggests Chicago’s emphasis on celebrating women and their bodies but has also caused a lot of controversy. During the 1970’s the conversation and imagery of female genitalia was taboo, and people were not comfortable seeing it or talking about it. These issues arose because the vulvar imagery on each of the thirty-nine plates was so detailed that it made people uncomfortable. The arrangement of the three long tables in a triangle itself reflects a vulvar shape and Chicago used that arrangement to depict equality for women. Having the floor support the triangle tables also points out that Chicago wanted to emphasize the idea that women should support other women and lift them up rather than tear them down. In addition to the shape of the tables, the intricate design of the female genitalia and the butterflies on the thirty-nine plates reflect the individuality of each woman and how they should all be celebrated. Historical author Carol Snyder claims that we should “find expression in the attempt to translate two traditionally female terms, cunt and butterfly, into terms of praise” because that was Chicago’s whole point in celebrating the female form.  Snyder argues that Chicago intended for viewers to see the installation piece as empowering and to be comfortable with these taboo topics in 1979. The different vulvar imagery on each plate for each woman was intentional because Chicago believed that this was a way for women to feel liberated and proud. Snyder also talks about how the “vaginal references force a confrontation with Chicago’s female form language” because it challenges viewers to change their perspective on women.  Chicago’s feminist views are reflected in this art piece because she wanted society to enact change in the patriarchy. She highlights taboo topics about women to make viewers recognize the lack of appreciation for women, historically, and currently. Judy Chicago uses this imagery to change the conversation on what it means to be a woman and challenge societal views on how women are portrayed in art.
  
  Judy Chicago’s love for women’s history is what helped her create the successful The Dinner Party piece. Chicago was a professor at a few different colleges and took her passion for women’s history and combined it into discussions with her students about the female body. She compared art created by men to art created by women to make the argument that people sexualize women and their bodies in art. Here she explored the assumptions about women and their bodies and used that knowledge to start creating feminist art that could help women feel empowered about their own bodies. Art historian Jane Gerhard claims that Chicago wanted “to invent groups of liberated women who could bring about a more fair and equitable society” by creating feminist art.  By creating this installation, Chicago is reaching thousands of women across the country in the hopes that it will help women feel liberated because of her art that she made for them about them. The Dinner Party is a successful feminist piece because it did exactly that. It created a group of liberated women during this second wave of feminism where women realized the power they had and how it could not be taken away from them. It started conversations about taboo topics where women were able to realize how they were still not being treated equally after the first wave of feminism. The Dinner Party installation inspired women because it showed them the value of individuality and women empowerment. By seeing the vulvar imagery and the carved names of the women and the discussion it created in society, it allowed more women to see a different perspective of women and their bodies. There is controversy over the piece being anti-feminist, which brings a valid point, but the piece is also looking at female genitalia in a different perspective than what we the people are used to seeing in a patriarchal society. Just because the art is different, it does not mean that the intention was anti-feminist. The installation is different and unique because it does not sexualize women’s bodies in the way that male artists sexualize them.
  
  Being a professor and being in a classroom environment with discussions has helped Judy Chicago develop her beliefs and create her art. It’s important to keep in mind Chicago’s background when viewing her art because she is an educator and writer, so when creating art, she is combining her knowledge to design a piece that can be discussed and will be influential. For example, the carved names of the historical women are her way of educating people on important women that have contributed to our society. The use vulvar iconography is her way of depicting the individuality of each woman and how we should praise that instead of sexualizing. Without knowing Judy Chicago’s background, the message she intended can be lost and debated. Though there has been so much controversy, her piece has become so successful that it is carrying out her intention of educating and spreading awareness of the equality issues in our society.
  
  Judy Chicago has become an iconic feminist artist because of the conversations her piece, The Dinner Party, started in society in 1979. From having discussions about women’s bodies and feminism in the classroom, to creating an installation piece that took six years and $250,000 to make, Judy Chicago wanted to share her feminist beliefs with society during the second wave of feminism. The feminist movement helped her gain attraction and start conversations, positive or negative, about the harsh reality of women portrayed in art. The Dinner Party was Chicago’s way of reclaiming the history of women, starting a discussion on women’s equality, and creating a space where women could acknowledge and see their own power through the vulvar imagery. Though the piece brought on a lot of controversy, it became successful because it was a topic of conversation and debate. The piece has its flaws, but ultimately Judy Chicago’s passion for feminism helped alter the feminist movement in our patriarchal society.