The Dinner Party and the Papers of Judy Chicago : a case study on feminist interventions in the recording of women's history

Abstract

This thesis analyses one of Judy Chicago’s archives, the Papers of Judy Chicago in relation to The Dinner Party (1979) as a case study of feminist interventions in the recording of women’s history. Through the examination of the documents that comprise the Papers of Judy Chicago, this study looks at what new information archival materials provide us with about Chicago and The Dinner Party (1979). This research also investigates how feminist art and archival practices challenge but remain constrained by the patriarchal and hierarchal structures inherent in the archive as an institution. In doing so this research highlights three things. First, by re-imagining archival texts as an additional text(ile) layer to The Dinner Party (1979), I look at how this interlacing of textile and text expands our existing knowledge of artist and artwork. Second, I identified the stories that exist within the Papers of Judy Chicago. Third, I investigated how patterns generated from the archive showcase how Chicago functioned as a gatekeeper, highlighting the complexities and contradictions within feminist archival practice.

While earlier studies have been completed on The Dinner Party (1979), in carrying out a close reading of the documents in the archive, gaps in knowledge have been unearthed. While the dialogue on artist and artwork has oscillated since the Seventies, it is through the artist’s own collection and preservation of this ongoing conversation that we can further study her interference in feminist art history today. Thus, while Chicago sought to reclaim women’s histories and challenge patriarchal exclusion in art through The Dinner Party (1979), this study queries how both the artwork and its associated archives remain enmeshed within patriarchal frameworks. Thus, by using the Papers of Judy Chicago as a tool in which to investigate the way in which feminist interventions in archiving operate within, and at times bolster the systems they challenge, this thesis contributes to larger discussions on the power dynamics inherent in feminist historiography and archival methodologies.

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ORCID for Caroline Lo: orcid.org/0009-0009-1563-8959

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