She became my teacher and mentor: uncovering the legacy of women video pioneers in art schools and academies in Europe. [Book chapter]

Leuzzi, Laura

Abstract

The introduction of the portable video recorder enabled women artists of the 1970s to experiment with a medium that was considered easier and cheaper to operate than film, as well as free from the heavily male-dominated imprint of traditional artistic practices. Video allowed for immediacy and intimacy, facilitating performances that featured nudity and the body. This benefited the work of many women artists, whether those involved in feminist movements and collectives, or those who were independently exploring themes and issues that had arisen from second-wave feminism. Over the years, the contribution of women artists to the development of video as an art form has been deeply marginalized and under-researched. Particularly little, if any, investigation has been conducted on those women artists who started teaching video in the 1970s and 1980s, their impact on students, and their legacy as it survives today. Other overlooked aspects of the history of the period include the challenges and obstacles that young and early career women artists encountered when they approached the medium within the remit of the art school, with very limited support and models. This chapter focuses on these issues through an analysis of case studies from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands – two countries in which video was particularly advanced as an art form – providing an initial survey on the topic in the service of larger studies in the future.

Citation

LEUZZI, L. 2023. She became my teacher and mentor: uncovering the legacy of women video pioneers in art schools and academies in Europe. In Laks, D. and Sassu Suarez Ferri, N. (eds.) Transmission and gender: women artists as teachers in the XXth century. Passages online, 26. Heidelberg: Heidelberg University; arthistoricum.net [online], pages 39-48. Available from: https://doi.org/10.11588/arthistoricum.1148.c16188

• Online Publication Date: May 31, 2023
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2023
• Deposit Date: Aug 17, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 20, 2023
• Publisher: Heidelberg University Publishing
• Pages: 39-48
• Series Title: Passages online
• Series Number: 26
• Series ISSN: 2569-0949; 2568-9649
• Book Title: Transmission and gender: women artists as teachers in the XXth century
• ISBN: 9783985011568
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.11588/arthistoricum.1148.c16188
• Keywords: Women artists; Women video artists; Video art; Art teaching; Art education; Europe
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2043756