Carla Lonzi and Valerie Solanas: Feminist Critiques of Art and Space

Christian Caliandro examines the radical feminist critiques of art and space by Valerie Solanas and Carla Lonzi, arguing that their 1960s writings remain relevant today for understanding the shift toward the feminine. Solanas's S.C.U.M. Manifesto (1967) attacks male-dominated art as a compensatory construction that excludes women, while Lonzi's Autoritratto (1969) and Sputiamo su Hegel (1970) associate women with the passive spectator role and call for an integrated, feminine critical practice. Caliandro highlights Solanas's claim that 'Art' with a capital A is a male construct, and Lonzi's insistence that women must move on a different plane from dialectical opposition. The article, published on Artribune, suggests these ideas are essential starting points fifty years later.