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Marianne Wex's 'Let's Take Back Our Space' Examined in ARTMargins Essay

publication · 2026-04-24

An essay by J. Rodenbeck published in ARTMargins (Volume 11, Issue 1-2, pp. 50-80) performs an archaeology of Marianne Wex's photographic research project 'Let's Take Back Our Space.' From 1972 to 1977, the West German artist (1937-2020) documented body language as a result of patriarchal structures, resulting in a 1979 book that blends feminist sociology and photo-conceptualism. The essay reads the work within contemporaneous aestheticopolitical discourses, including feminist autodidacticism. The article is available at MIT Press with subscription access.

Key facts

  • Marianne Wex (1937-2020) was a West German artist.
  • Her photographic research project ran from 1972 to 1977.
  • The book 'Let's Take Back Our Space' was published in 1979.
  • The project analyzes 'female' and 'male' body language under patriarchal structures.
  • The work is described as both renegade feminist sociology and photo-conceptualism.
  • J. Rodenbeck authored the essay in ARTMargins.
  • The essay appears in Volume 11, Issue 1-2, pages 50-80.
  • The article is available at MIT Press with subscription access.

Entities

Artists

  • Marianne Wex

Institutions

  • ARTMargins
  • MIT Press

Locations

  • West Germany

Sources