The Only Person, Besides Judy Chicago: A Conversation with Nancy Youdelman

Authors

  • Viki D. Thompson Wylder Author

Keywords:

Womanhouse 1972, Wo/Manhouse 2022, Judy Chicago, Nancy Youdelman, Participatory Art Education Informed by Feminist Principles, content search, intersectionality, gender spectrum

Abstract

Through a conversational interview with Nancy Youdelman, the only person besides Judy Chicago to officially participate in two of Judy Chicago’s “womanhouse” projects, Youdelman responds to the author’s questions about her roles, first as a student and then as a facilitator, as well as the pedagogical process that led to feminist content meaningful to the participants of the first and last womenhouse projects. The essay, formatted as a conversation, offers a close and personalized view of the feminist pedagogical process and thematic content that emerged in the original Womanhouse 1972 and Wo/Manhouse 2022. Analysis, within the conversation, contrasts and compares the original project and the 50-year anniversary of the first project to reveal the evolution and continuities in process and content. Lastly, although meanings and messages are inferred or directly stated at scattered points within the aggregate of the conversation sections, the conversation concludes with Nancy Youdelman’s summary of her insights on the overarching message/meaning conveyed by the two projects. The author concludes the essay with her analysis gained from the interview with Youdelman to further insights into Judy Chicago’s Participatory Art Pedagogy Informed by Feminist Principles.

Author Biography

  • Viki D. Thompson Wylder

    Viki D. Thompson Wylder, MFA, PhD, served for 28 years as the Curator of Education, among other positions, at the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts (FSU MoFA). During her tenure she and colleagues developed the museum/school “Constructivist Co-Curation” method about which she and a co-writer currently have a book under contract. Thompson Wylder, also a Judy Chicago scholar, curated the traveling Judy Chicago retrospective titled Trials and Tributes as wells as a traveling exhibition of a selection of Chicago’s Birth Project works organized by Through the Flower titled Born Again. She negotiated the acquisition of Birth Project textiles, studies, and prints for FSU MoFA’s collection and published a number of articles on several of Judy Chicago’s series including one on At Home: A Kentucky Project, the second womanhouse endeavor. At FSU Thompson Wylder taught occasional courses in the Art Education Department as well as Women’s Studies. Thompson Wylder now holds the title Curator of Education Emerita.  

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Published

2024-09-15

Issue

Vol. 19 (2024)

Section

Article