On This Spot Newsletter — November 2024

On This Spot tells the stories of a diverse group of women artists through short-form documentaries. Join us as we put women artists on the map.

Video Spotlight – Hannah Wilke

Hannah Wilke, a 1970s performance artist, created sculptures and photographic self-portraits confronting the objectification of women’s beauty. Among her materials was masticated chewing gum, which she said was an apt metaphor for the American woman: “Chew her up, get what you want out of her, throw her out and pop in a new piece.”

Her career was shortened by an early lymphoma diagnosis and subsequent death at age 52. She continued to have her own body photographed as it went through stages of harsh medical treatment. Her body was reclaimed from false ideas of beauty.

Spot Reads

Further reading on Spot artists

Hannah Wilke

— Nancy Princenthal

Hannah Wilke's artwork, like her life, frames a heroic story about formal invention and social activism, personal loyalties and individual freedom, and, above all, breathtaking risk.

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Mothers of Invention: The Feminist Roots of Contemporary Art — Eleanor Heartney, Helaine Posner, Nancy Princenthal, and Sue Scott

Mothers of Invention digs deep into the lineages of performance, abstraction, craft, and ecofeminism. Featuring Hannah Wilke, Helène Aylon, Lynda Benglis, Louise Bourgeois, Pat Steir, Helen Frankenthaler, Faith Ringgold, Carolee Schneemann, Yoko Ono, Cindy Sherman, and more, the authors explore the impact of feminist ideas on art.

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What's Happening

Events and exhibitions related to On This Spot NYC artists

Where We At, Black Women Artists. Now! Paper Works

EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop

This exhibition highlighted new works by living members of Where We At, a group of African American women artists breaking barriers and creating a space for their voices.

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Helen Frankenthaler

Painting Without Rules

Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze

Through January 26, 2025

Palazzo Strozzi presents an extensive retrospective of Helen Frankenthaler’s career, placing her work in dialogue with contemporaries such as Jackson Pollock and Anne Truitt.

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Grow With Us

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