By P.L. Henderson
I’ll just dive right in and say that I think that this is an essential read if (like me) you are a women and a printmaker, or even an artist of another kind, or just has an interest in print, but also that it should be included on reading lists for art courses. The author has done a great job of covering women printmakers across history considering how sidelined they’ve been throughout and therefore how sparse records can be. Learning just how oppressed women were made me simultaneously angry and depressed, but on a happier note I learnt about so many amazing women, not just white European women (again, this book reminded me how depressingly male and Eurocentric my art ‘education’ was), but women from all around the world including First Nations’ artists.
The book is split into nine chapters on a particular theme which is then complimented with interviews from prominent women printmakers for each chapter – I think this is what really drew me to the book and made it more compelling than the average art book. I also enjoyed how the history of print, not just fine art printmaking but the advent of the printing press, more commonly associated with pamphlets and books, was interwoven with the advances of women in printmaking and its importance in feminism, activism and women’s rights.
The whole book was informative and inspiring from start to finish, my only complaint? Not enough of the amazing art work was included, which I fully understand you can’t just fill the book with hundreds of images so I have a lot of notes of artists (and techniques) to research, so in case you hadn’t guessed, 5/5 for me.
I received a digital review copy of this book from NetGalley but I think I’m gonna have to treat myself to a proper paperback copy in the not too distant future.
Culturenator 