[Feminist Art] Judy Chicago on how working with Dior brought a long-planned feminist art project to fruition

<p>Welcome to this episode of Dior Talks. This podcast series will explore the connections between Creative Director of Women’s collections Maria Grazia Chiuri and contemporary women artists and curators. </p> <p>In this episode, Katy Hessel, a writer, curator and art historian, speaks with Judy Chicago, the American first-generation feminist artist, educator and writer. Her collaboration with Maria Grazia Chiuri on the Dior Spring-Summer 2020 haute couture show resulted in both the realization of a large-scale work planned since the 1970s and the creation of new work in the process.</p> <p>Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1939, to a mother who fostered a love of art in her children, a young Judy (she would choose the surname Chicago in 1970) took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago before attending UCLA. </p> <p>One of only a small number of women to gain a level of recognition in the 1960s L.A. art scene, her work would evolve from resembling that of her contemporaries to acting as a uniquely powerful mirror of her feminist beliefs. To further this, she founded the first feminist art program in the US, encouraging her students to find their identity as women artists. </p> <p>Her work embraces techniques ranging from fiberglass sculpture and pyrotechnics to embroidery and the use of auto spray painting, from wall pieces to huge installations.</p> <p>Having overcome what amounted to a decades-long stream of institutional misogyny from the male-dominated art world – most noticeably following the creation of her landmark and rightfully iconic feminist artwork ‘The Dinner Party’, now on permanent display at the Brooklyn Museum – she has seen her extensive catalogue of work rediscovered and reappraised in recent years, as the world has finally caught up with its pioneering importance. </p> <p>Discover a selection of works:</p> <p><em>The Dinner Party, 1974-1979</em></p> <p><a href="https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party"><em>https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party</em></a></p> <p><em