Lucy Lippard, a giant of 20th-century art criticism and feminism, shocked many when she left New York City for the rural village of Galisteo, New Mexico. Known for her activism and groundbreaking work in art criticism, Lippard co-founded Printed Matter and the Heresies Collective, paving the way for a new generation of artists and writers.
In Galisteo, Lippard found a community of like-minded feminists, including Harmony Hammond and Agnes Martin, who had also made the village their home. She was drawn to the rich history of the area, from its historic community to the Indigenous genius of Chaco Canyon, sacred to the Hopi and Pueblo peoples.
In a rare recorded interview with Hyperallergic Editor-in-Chief Hrag Vartanian, Lippard opened up about her life in art. Catherine Morris, the Sackler Senior Curator of Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum, also shed light on Lippard’s work in a show titled “Materializing ‘Six Years’: Lucy R. Lippard and the Emergence of Conceptual Art.”
Susan Bee, editor, book artist, and painter, shared insights into Lippard’s influence on the feminist art scene of the 1960s and ’70s. Bee highlighted Lippard’s fiction writing, a lesser-known aspect of her legacy, which will be published in a new volume titled “Headwaters (and Other Short Fictions).”
As we reflect on women’s representation in museums today, Bee reminds us that progress was hard-won and continues to be a fight. Lippard’s pioneering work serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for equality and representation in the arts.
Special thanks to the Loghaven Artist Residency for supporting the research for this podcast. Subscribe to Hyperallergic on Apple Podcasts and other platforms to listen to the full conversation and view reference images on YouTube.
