From Library Journal
The three experimental artists examined here all use self-transformation, role playing, and societal commentary as devices to explore identity. Part critical essay and part exhibit catalog (Rice cocurated the show at New York University), this book spans the century through the three women's work, beginning with writer/photographer Cahun, moving ahead with midcentury filmmaker Deren, and closing with contemporary photographer Sherman. The enlightening contributions by well-known art critics and writers range from an academic discussion of lesbianism as a cultural determinate of Cahun's approach, to a diaristic examination of Deren, to a narrative role play exploring intent in Sherman's work. Also included is the full text of Cahun's farcical "Heroines," published here in its entirety for the first time. Reproductions are presented throughout and linked to the essays. The result is both an illustrative introduction to these innovators and a complex overview; as such, the book will serve both new audiences and art students. Highly recommended for inclusion in academic libraries and large public collections.-Debora Miller, Minneapolis Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Claude Cahun, Maya Deren, and Cindy Sherman were born in different countries, in different generations--Cahun in France in 1894, Deren in Russia in 1917, and Sherman in the United States in 1954. Yet they share a deeply theatrical obsession that shatters any notion of a unified self. All three try out identities from different social classes and geographic environments, extend their temporal range into the past and future, and transform themselves into heroes and villains, mythological creatures, and sex goddesses. The premise of Inverted Odysseys is that this expanded concept of the self--this playful urge to "try on" other roles-is more than a feminist or psychological issue. It is central to our global culture, to our definition of human identity in a world where the individual exists in a multicultural and multitemporal environment. This book is an "odyssey" through historical, theoretical, critical, and literary perspectives on the three artists viewed in the context of these issues. Contributors include Lynn Gumpert, Lucy Lippard, Jonas Mekas, Ted Mooney, Shelley Rice, and Abigail Solomon-Godeau.

Central to the book is Claude Cahun's "Heroines" manuscript, a series of fifteen stream-of-consciousness monologues written in the voices of major women of literature and history, such as the Virgin Mary, Sappho, Cinderella, Penelope, Delilah, and Helen of Troy. Translated by Norman MacAfee, these perverse and hilarious vignettes make their English-language debut here. This is also the first time that Cahun's text has appeared in its entirety.

The book accompanies an exhibit cocurated by Lynn Gumpert and Shelley Rice at the Grey Art Gallery, New York University.

Published in cooperation with the Grey Art Gallery, New York University.

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE:

Grey Art Gallery
New York, New York
November 16, 1999 - January 29, 2000

Museum of Contemporary Art
North Miami, Florida
March - May 2000


About the Author
Art historian and critic Shelley Rice is on the faculties of New York University and the School of Visual Arts. She is the author of Parisian Views (MIT Press, 1997).

FROM THE PUBLISHER