Feminist Artist Carolee Schneemann Dies at 79

Carolee Schneemann, the pioneering feminist artist, has died at age 79. Her multidisciplinary practice spanned painting, installation, video, and photography, but she became best known for socially provocative performances that challenged discourses around the body and gender. Schneemann's career began in the 1950s with painting influenced by Neo-Dada and Post-Impressionism before she shifted toward performance. Her work was shaped by the writings of Simone de Beauvoir, Antonin Artaud, and Wilhelm Reich, positioning her within the 1970s feminist art movement in the US and Europe. Throughout her career, she consistently produced works critical of gender politics and social taboos. In 2017, she received the Venice Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. Schneemann also taught at institutions including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, New York University, and California Institute of the Arts, inspiring a generation of artists. Her most recent exhibition, Kinetic Painting (2017–2018), traveled from the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt to MoMA PS1 in New York.