Women Artists Together: Art in the Age of Women’s Liberation

Tobin is a scholar of art history as it intersects with feminism and political activism. She currently serves as associate professor in the department of history of art at the University of Cambridge. Her book grows from PhD research on collaboration between women artists during the social and politically charged years of 1968 into the mid-’80s. Tobin digs deep into archival collections in North America and the UK, as well as drawing on exhibitions, museum collections, and secondary literature related to art and social activism of the period. Much of the art created during the Women’s Liberation movement was exposed and supported through loose networks of communication and collaboration. While well-known artists like Judy Chicago, Carolee Schneemann, and Ana Mendieta, as well as groups like Women’s Workshop of the Artists’ Union get serious attention, the book is more about the infrastructures that empowered women artists than a survey of all. Tobin describes thriving networks, or “constellations” for consciousness-raising and group exhibitions, correspondence across national borders, and venues for expressing views on sexuality and feminism.