Women art revolution online review

It took 42 years for filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson to make !Women Art Revolution. There's a good reason for that: She was a leading participant in the Feminist Art Movement and her informative documentary begins in the 1970s. Acquired by Zeitgeist Films, it's a vigorous mix of interviews, art, film footage and video.

Indicative of its power, the film has also screened at the Toronto and Berlin international film festivals, a rarity. It is truly a must for university arts archives and other artistic institutions.An entertaining and revelatory "secret history" of Feminist Art, !Women Art Revolution deftly illuminates this under-explored movement

!Women Art Revolution smartly mixes the dynamics of the emerging feminist movement of the late '60s with the prevailing male chauvinism of the arts world at the time. Leading museums rarely included female artists; indeed, women's presence in such galleries was usually limited to their appearance as nude subjects of male paintings and sculpture.

In this comprehensive and vibrant historical fabric, we view the evolution of the movement, from its earnest/angry genesis in the 1970s to its embrace of humor as a weapon against the male-dominated arts establishment during the 1980s. It has always been a richly conflicted progression, indeed, a key ingredient of its power and metamorphosis.

Near its finish, contemporary female artists and curators lend perspective and appreciation for the movement, realizing they are the enriched descendants of such courageous artistic talents as Barbara Kreuger, Cindy Sherman and Shirin Neshat.

An entertaining and revelatory "secret history" of Feminist Art, !Women Art Revolution deftly illuminates this under-explored movement through conversations, observations, archival footage and works of visionary artists, historians, curators and critics.

Bay Area artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson ("Conceiving Ada," "Teknolust") was on the front lines of the feminist art revolution that began in the 1960s, and she has been interviewing artists over the past 40 years. She starts by asking random people on the street to name three female artists; most can't get past Frida Kahlo. By the end of the doc, you'll be searching out the work of Judy Chicago,

Sheila de Bretteville, Faith Ringgold, Miranda July and the Guerrilla Girls, among many others. Lots of old footage and the artwork itself bolster the interviews, which benefit from Hershman Leeson's authority and affection. What's nice about the documentary is that it not only serves as an informative and entertaining primer on women's art in the United States over the past 40 years, but it is also part of a larger project to preserve all the interview footage and archival footage for educational purposes.