It is no surprise to see a photograph by Catherine Opie on the front of this handsome and groundbreaking volume on lesbian art. Opie is now represented in most of the best public collections in America, and her inclusion, along with the current rise of Nicole Eisenman, suggests that the market for specifically lesbian imagery (as opposed to erotica, which has always had an audience) has finally widened to include the great art institutions that still set the canon for contemporary art. Although the text of Harmony Hammond's wonderfully rich book is a little too dense for casual consumption, the history she offers--especially of the middle decade represented here, the 1980s, with its porn wars and the emergence of both postmodernism and postfeminism alongside a remarkable boom in the art market--can be found nowhere else, and certainly not in so graceful a form, lavishly illustrated and perceptively annotated. --Regina Marler


From Publishers Weekly
Lesbians have an uneasy relationship with the art world establishment. When painter Jody Pinto wanted her work to appear in the 1978 "Lesbian Show," her art dealer informed her that "if she exhibited as a lesbian, she could say good-bye to the gallery's representation of her work." More than another decade passed before artists openly celebrated their sexual identities in a Houston show entitled "Out! Voices from a Queer Nation." Hammond, an art teacher and cofounder of Heresies Magazine as well as an artist, documents three decades of post-Stonewall efforts to find acceptance and recognition for painting, sculpture, mixed media and photography by lesbian women. The author contends that "lesbian art is not a stylistic movement but rather, in its simplest definition, art that comes out of a feminist consciousness"; she then shapes her inquiry to those who fit her definition. Hammond combines a historical overview of art shows, conferences and publications with written portraits of, and interviews with, representative artists from diverse backgrounds. Internationally recognized artists like Kate Millett, Louise Fishman and Catherine Opie rub elbows with those known primarily within political circles. While the writing offers little in the way of formal analysis, the collection itself is a handsome tribute to lesbian creativity. Illus. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
"Only pioneer lesbian artist and activist Harmony Hammond could have come up with this fascinating book. Long awaited, and well worth waiting for, it is already a classic as it hits the shelves. Lesbian Art in America fills in the gaping holes in feminist art history and is written with passion from a depth of experience and scholarship. As the first and only book of its kind, it is a must for all students of contemporary art."--Lucy R. Lippard, author of The Pink Glass Swan: Selected Feminist Essays on Art

"This much needed comprehensive survey of lesbian art since 1970 should become a classic. The exposure of such a tremendous variety of work, so richly grounded in the many political issues vital to women's liberation, should help to establish the credibility of the lesbian subject in art. It should also move this important body of work closer to inclusion in the mainstream of Western art."--Jill Johnston, author of Lesbian Nation

"This is the book we have been waiting for, the first comprehensive history of lesbian art that firmly roots it in the seismic upheavals of feminist and queer liberation politics. Hammond is the consummate insider to the world she describes, the Vasari of lesbian art. Her impassioned and wonderfully readable tale should convince art lovers and historians of the import of this sadly neglected facet of American history, even as it convinces queer historians and theorists of the centrality of art to our developing social landscape."--Jonathan David Katz, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Studies, City College of San Francisco

"Harmony Hammond's book is a rare combination of copious research, passionate convictions, and sophisticated knowledge of current theoretical debates--the result is a treasure trove of information, politics, and ideas about contemporary lesbian art in America."--Moira Roth, Trefethen Professor of Art History, Mills College, coauthor with Jonathan Katz of Difference/Indifference: Musings on Post Modernism, Marcel Duchamp and John Cage

"This is pioneer work. That rare and precious thing: other books will follow now. But this is the first."--Kate Millett, artist and author of Sexual Politics



Review
"Only pioneer lesbian artist and activist Harmony Hammond could have come up with this fascinating book. Long awaited, and well worth waiting for, it is already a classic as it hits the shelves. Lesbian Art in America fills in the gaping holes in feminist art history and is written with passion from a depth of experience and scholarship. As the first and only book of its kind, it is a must for all students of contemporary art."--Lucy R. Lippard, author of The Pink Glass Swan: Selected Feminist Essays on Art

"This much needed comprehensive survey of lesbian art since 1970 should become a classic. The exposure of such a tremendous variety of work, so richly grounded in the many political issues vital to women's liberation, should help to establish the credibility of the lesbian subject in art. It should also move this important body of work closer to inclusion in the mainstream of Western art."--Jill Johnston, author of Lesbian Nation

"This is the book we have been waiting for, the first comprehensive history of lesbian art that firmly roots it in the seismic upheavals of feminist and queer liberation politics. Hammond is the consummate insider to the world she describes, the Vasari of lesbian art. Her impassioned and wonderfully readable tale should convince art lovers and historians of the import of this sadly neglected facet of American history, even as it convinces queer historians and theorists of the centrality of art to our developing social landscape."--Jonathan David Katz, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Studies, City College of San Francisco

"Harmony Hammond's book is a rare combination of copious research, passionate convictions, and sophisticated knowledge of current theoretical debates--the result is a treasure trove of information, politics, and ideas about contemporary lesbian art in America."--Moira Roth, Trefethen Professor of Art History, Mills College, coauthor with Jonathan Katz of Difference/Indifference: Musings on Post Modernism, Marcel Duchamp and John Cage

"This is pioneer work. That rare and precious thing: other books will follow now. But this is the first."--Kate Millett, artist and author of Sexual Politics



Book Description
The first history of lesbian art in the United States, this volume documents works since 1970 within the context of gay culture and political activism. Authoritative and engaging, this is a "from the trenches" story of which women made what, when, and where. Hammond moves from the mainstream art world to alternative venues, weaving a compelling narrative complete with critical and theoretical discourse. Profiles of 18 prominent lesbian artists, from Kate Millett and Joan Snyder to Deborah Kass and Catherine Opie, complete this groundbreaking contribution to contemporary art history.



About the Author
A member of the first generation of post-Stonewall, gay and lesbian artists, Harmony Hammond was a founder of the pioneering feminist gallery A.I.R. in 1972 and a cofounder of Heresies magazine in 1976. She is now on the faculty of the art department of the University of Arizona, Tucson.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The first history of lesbian art in the United States, this volume documents works since 1970 within the context of gay culture and political activism. Authoritative and engaging, this is a "from the trenches" story of which women made what, when, and where . Hammond moves from the mainstream art world to alternative venues, weaving a compelling narrative complete with critical and theoretical discourse. Profiles of 18 prominent lesbian artists, from Kate Millett and Joan Snyder to Deborah Kass and Catherine Opie, complete this groundbreaking contribution to contemporary art history.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Lesbians have an uneasy relationship with the art world establishment. When painter Jody Pinto wanted her work to appear in the 1978 "Lesbian Show," her art dealer informed her that "if she exhibited as a lesbian, she could say good-bye to the gallery's representation of her work." More than another decade passed before artists openly celebrated their sexual identities in a Houston show entitled "Out! Voices from a Queer Nation." Hammond, an art teacher and cofounder of Heresies Magazine as well as an artist, documents three decades of post-Stonewall efforts to find acceptance and recognition for painting, sculpture, mixed media and photography by lesbian women. The author contends that "lesbian art is not a stylistic movement but rather, in its simplest definition, art that comes out of a feminist consciousness"; she then shapes her inquiry to those who fit her definition. Hammond combines a historical overview of art shows, conferences and publications with written portraits of, and interviews with, representative artists from diverse backgrounds. Internationally recognized artists like Kate Millett, Louise Fishman and Catherine Opie rub elbows with those known primarily within political circles. While the writing offers little in the way of formal analysis, the collection itself is a handsome tribute to lesbian creativity. Illus. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Gaines - The Advocate