Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1960s

This book examines the early performances and feminist sculptures of Niki de Saint Phalle, highlighting their radical engagements and art-historical significance. It includes a poetic response and essays that treat her work as works of radical performance and feminist art. It also provides a chronology with photo-documentation and a timeline of her life in the 1960s.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 03 August 2021
Publisher: Yale University Press

This comprehensive volume delves into the pioneering artistic endeavors of Niki de Saint Phalle, a French-American artist renowned for her experimental practices in the 1960s. It provides a timely reassessment of her early performances and feminist sculptures, affirming their radical engagements and profound art historical significance.

The book explores two significant bodies of work: the Tirs (also known as "shooting paintings") and the Nanas (also referred to as "dames"). These works emerged during Saint Phalle's experimental phase in the 1960s, characterized by her bold and innovative approach.

In conjunction with a poetic response to the artist's work, four essays delve into the realm of radical performance and feminist art, examining Saint Phalle's oeuvre as a testament to her commitment to these themes. The essays shed light on her transatlantic projects and collaborations, highlighting the ways in which she engaged with different communities and cultures.

Furthermore, the book includes a comprehensive chronology with photo-documentation and a list of known participants, providing detailed information about all the Tirs shooting events that took place in Europe and the United States during the 1960s. Another timeline offers a recap of Saint Phalle's life in the 1960s, shedding light on the social and political contexts that influenced her artistic journey.

Tirs, created by firing a .22 caliber rifle at the surfaces of paintings, represented a groundbreaking technique for Saint Phalle. The bullets punctured bags of pigment, aerosol paint cans, or even food embedded in dense assemblages covered in painted plaster. Through this method, she liberated female figures with outstretched arms, curvaceous forms, and powerful poses, which later evolved into her well-known Nanas. These sculptures embodied a contemporaneous response to the rise of a Euro-American feminist movement, emphasizing the representation and empowerment of women.

The distribution of this volume is intended for the Menil Collection and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. The exhibition schedule includes two venues: the Menil Collection in Houston from September 10, 2021, to January 23, 2022, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, from April 9 to July 17, 2022.

In conclusion, this volume offers a deep exploration of Niki de Saint Phalle's artistic legacy, highlighting her pioneering contributions to radical performance and feminist art. Through a combination of poetic analysis, scholarly essays, and comprehensive documentation, it provides a valuable insight into the artist's life and work, contributing to our understanding of her place in art history.

Weight: 1110g
Dimension: 194 x 264 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300260106