Linder's Feminist Photomontages at Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris

The Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris hosted a solo exhibition of British artist Linder (born Linda Mulvey, 1954) from February 1 to April 21, 2013. Linder describes her practice as 'self-montage,' combining photomontage in the Dada tradition with performances and photographs using her own body. Her feminist, essentialist work critiques stereotypical representations of women in both women's magazines (fashion, decoration) and men's magazines (cars, pornography). By juxtaposing ordinarily separate visual universes, she creates absurd effects that expose sexist conditioning. She also explores the representation of male heroes, described as 'surmâles' (a term from Alfred Jarry), in a state of liquefaction. Influenced by punk, her work retains a sense of provocation but also a tendency toward slogans like 'Anatomy is not a Destiny.' Critic Paul Ardenne argues that her approach is anachronistic and caricatural, likening her to an angry teenager of the 1970s. He suggests that feminist art enthusiasts would be better served by historical figures such as Valie Export, Hannah Wilke, Judy Chicago, and Suzanne Lacy.