Art History of the Exploited Feminist Se

This course will teach a history of feminist artists from the 1960s forward who have used their own trauma in their art, and explore how that has led to their personal and professional growth. Does making art out of trauma lead to exploitation of the self? Does exploitation of the self lead to empowerment? How have feminist artists navigated systems meant to oppress them, and can they operate within these systems successfully? We will explore how the trauma informed personal story can be utilized for art making, fame building, accumulation of resources and healing, and how this can be both beneficial and compromised.

We will visit galleries, museums and internationally recognized artists’ studios—a triple threat of experience normally not available to the public. Class will be a mix of traditional art history lecture and discussions of our visits, assigned texts, and works viewed.