怪女孩‧蛻變中

The Dinner Party, created by feminist artist Judy Chicago, is an important art work of 1970s. It comprised of a triangular table—a symbol of equality—divided by three wings. 39 women are represented by place settings on the table and another 999 names are inscribed on the white tile Heritage Floor on which the table rests. The first wing begins in prehistory with the Primordial Goddess and continues through development of Judaism, early Greek societies then into the Roman Empire, marking the decline in women's power, signified by Hypatia's place setting. The second wing represents early Christianity through the Reformation, depicting women who signify early expressions of the fight for equal rights, from Marcella to Anna van Schurman. The third wing begins with Anne Hutchinson and addresses the American Revolution, Suffragism, and the movement toward women's increased individual creative expression, symbolized at last by Georgia O'Keeffe. Notice how the color saturation changes as we move from one wing to another, higher color saturation reflects the stronger standing of women in the history.

The place settings consist of embroidered runners, gold chalices and utensils, and china-painted porcelain plates with raised central motifs that are based on vulva-like and butterfly forms and rendered in styles appropriate to the individual women being honored. Different than the more culturally valued art works, the Dinner Party celebrates traditional female accomplishments such as embroidery and china painting, which have been framed as craft or domestic art. This makes The Dinner Party not only an important work in twentieth-century art, but also a milestone of the 70s feminist art.