Written By Rebecca McInerney
Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party is a spectacular work of modern art that features important women that have stood out in history. This Dinner Party invites thirty-nine important women to have their seats at the table. This work helps to start a dialogue about the women that we may not often talk about when it comes to history. Who do you think got a seat at the table?
What’s the story
Today we are talking about The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago [figure 1]. It was first exhibited in 1979 in the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco but is now residing in the Brooklyn Museum. This work is a large installation that consists of a three, forty-eight foot, sided table with thirty-nine place settings, table runners for each place setting, entry banners, and a "heritage" floor that has the names of nine hundred and ninety-nine female figures of history. The entirety of the work is meant to honor and bring attention to important female figures in history, art history, and mythology. Overall it serves as a tribute to all women, especially those who choose to stand out in history and give them a literal seat at the table.
To fully discuss this work we have to talk about the individual components. The first thing that the viewer sees when encountering the work is six black, red, and gold entrance banners. These banners were woven on a warped loom. The warped loom originated in the Renaissance in order to make vertical tapestries and normally women were not allowed to use these special types of looms. So Judy Chicago decided that these were the exact looms that they would use for this work. Each banners has a phrase on it and together they create a poem:
And She Gathered All before Her
And She made for them A Sign to See
And lo They saw a Vision
From this day forth Like to like in All things
And then all that divided them merged
And then Everywhere was Eden Once again
This poem is about Judy Chicago's wish for equality between women and men, and serves allows these banners to serve as a teaser of what the larger work is about [figure 2 & 3].
The first thing that may stand out when looking at this work up close is the place settings. Each of the thirty-nine place settings is given to an influential woman from important historical moments in time. These women have been "invited" to this dinner party because of their accomplishments, so their place settings are echos of an important part of that guest's life. Their place setting consists of a table runner on which their name is embroidered, a gold chalice, utensils, and a ceramic plate that depicts a flower-like design, but if you take a closer look they may begin to resemble female anatomy as well [figures 4-6]. Each design is meant to be representative of the historical figure that it represents. For example, Sojourner Truth's plate depicts the faces of three women as a reference to her commitment to both the abolitionist and suffragist movements [figure 4]. These faces are also very similar to African masks, allowing Truth's heritage to intermix with her passions in life. The table runner for this piece also emphasizes Truth's heritage because the lining is done with a strip-weave technique that originates from enslaved communities in the United States. Another example is Queen Elizabeth I. Her plate is much more flower-like than Sojourner Truth's, but the colors of this plate are what characterizes it as the Queen's. The deep purples, reds, and blues were colors that often used when depicting royalty in art. Queen Elizabeth was a fan of the arts and has many portraits depicting her in the exact way that she wanted to be shown. So, for her plate and place setting extravagant and creative as she seemed to like. The third example comes from the first side of the table which primarily features female figures from prehistory. It mostly includes different goddesses and Sophia is not an exception. Sophia, like many of the other goddesses or divine powers represented, was originally the concept of the female aspect of the main deity, especially during Ancient Greece. However, over time, the idea of Sophia as the primordial force of wisdom has disappeared and is not seen as a characteristic female trait anymore. Sophia's plate uses a singular, simple flower with light, soft colors to depict how steadfast and strong wisdom can be without being loud or overbearing [figure 6].
Another part of this work that is fantastically impressive, but you may not notice at all, is the tile heritage floor. This floor, with its two thousand and three hundred hand-cast ceramic tiles, is the literal and metaphorical foundation for the table. The floor was constructed to be a part of the piece just as much as the place settings were and that is evident by the nine hundred and ninety-nine names written on the floor in gold. These names belong to the women who contextualize and support the names of the women with seats at the table. They include female figures in history as well as goddesses and deities, the same way the table does. For example, underneath Emily Dickinson's place setting, we can see the names of other women authors who made their mark on history, like Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and George Eliot, which was Mary Ann Evans' pen name [figure 7]. The heritage floor is also supported by the heritage panel, which provides a more in-depth narrative about the women whose names are on the floor.
Then, apart from the actual work of art, the lighting in the room in which it is installed is also very important to consider. The table is meant to be set up in a darkened room on a raised surface with spotlights specifically directed at the individual place settings. This effect draws the viewer's eyes directly to the place setting, but it also gives the space a sense of reverence, almost as if each place setting could be an altar. With this added effect of reverence, this work is elevated from an installation to a memorial of the women who were able to become a part of history.
Who are the players
Judy Chicago is an artist, author, educator, and feminist who has contributed greatly to art history as well as the feminist art history movement. She was born in 1939 in Chicago, IL, which is why she later chose the last name Chicago. The Dinner Party was one of the first works of Chicago's that gained the attention of the art world and brought her career to light. Since The Dinner Party, Chicago has continued to make art and support women artists.
When it came to The Dinner Party, Judy Chicago gave us proof that she was passionate about women artists by gathering a group of over 400 women to help create this work. These women helped with creating the tiles, the tapestries, the table runners, and the plates. They volunteered countless hours to help this entire piece come together, and they are also credited for this work with the acknowledgment panels. One of the panels includes the o group of women who were directly a part of the studio team creating the works, while the other panel lists every woman who helped with any other aspect of the project.
The controversy
Although this work is a great moment in feminist art history, that does not necessarily mean that everyone thought it was a great moment for art history in general. Oftentimes, when it comes to more contemporary works of art, there is a controversy that surrounds its creation. You may be thinking that this controversy was simply that people were averse to the need for feminist art, but it actually came from a feminist writer. This critic, Lolette Kuby, made the point that although this work brings attention to great women in history, it brings attention to the wrong area. Is it really honorable to be creating ceramic plates that resemble female genitalia, to signify the greatness of these women in history?
This question is valid and brings up even deeper debates within the genre of feminist art history. Something that we will cover later this month is the issue of the male gaze, which is, essentially, the idea that all art is created for men to look at and enjoy. For this reason, many feminist critics, historians, and artists fight against the idea of portraying women in any way that makes them seem open and desirable to the gaze of men. With this in mind, we can understand that using female anatomy to express how great any woman is, may not be the best way to see her for her accomplishments instead of just her body.
Why is it important to art history?
Last week we talked about why feminist art history exists, and this work is a great example of how we can highlight important women in history that did make their mark, whether that was in the arts or not. Then, this work goes above and beyond because it highlights important historical female figures, but it also showcases the talents of over 400 female artists. This work is an excellent example of how we can honor women in art and history, while also making a place for female artists in the modern world of art.
How can you form your own perspective?
First, go back to just looking at the pictures of the work that are shown here, and just think about this masterpiece without thinking about any of the extra information you just took in. Ask yourself, why a "dinner party"? What was Judy Chicago trying to saying by creating a work that is based around something as ordinary as dinner? Then, ask why did Judy Chicago invite these women specifically to dinner and give them place settings? Try to put yourself in the shoes of the artist and the many volunteers that helped to make this work possible. Why would they choose to create a work like this?
To see all of the pieces of The Dinner Party check out the Brooklyn Museum's website.
Chicago, Judy. “Judy Chicago Biography .” Judy Chicago. Chicago/Woodman LLC, n.d. https://www.judychicago.com/about/biography/.
Klein, Jennie. “Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party (Article).” Khan Academy. Khan Academy, n.d. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/post-minimalism/post-minimalism-sculpture/a/judy-chicago-the-dinner-party.
“The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago.” Brooklyn Museum, n.d. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party.
Rebecca McInerney
