What do you think?
Rate this book
Excerpts from the 1971 Journal of Rosemary Mayer
An intimate account of everyday life and art in 1970s New York from a pioneering feminist artist Rosemary Mayer (1943–2014) produced a vast body of work that includes sculptures, outdoor installations, drawings, illustrations, artist’s books, lyrical essays and art criticism. In 1971 she began to focus on the use of fabric as a primary medium for sculpture and to participate in a feminist consciousness-raising group which contributed to her involvement in A.I.R., the first cooperative gallery for women in the US. This was a pivotal period in Mayer’s life and career, and she documented it in remarkable detail in her 1971 journal, where her plans, enthusiasms, ambitions and insecurities, as well as her opinions about the art around her, are recorded with self-awareness and honesty, along with her concerns about friendship, money and love. This illustrated edition of Excerpts from the 1971 Journal of Rosemary Mayer ―previously published in a limited run of 300 copies―includes a new introduction and is expanded to twice the size of the first edition.
164 pages, Paperback
Published May 12, 2020
23 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 31, 2024
I've been wanting to read this since I saw excerpts from this book in an exhibition about Rosemary Mayer in Aachen, Germany.
While her art (the fabric sculptures) doesn't speak to me so much, her writing really does. Her thoughts about art and life, mixed with everyday concerns is what makes this feel so real and relatable: Food, money, cats, wanting to lose weight, cats, love, sex. Especially her descriptions of her moods resonated with me, sometimes insecure and depressed, at other times optimistic and energetic.
Sometimes it's a bit difficult to understand everything that's going on, because of all the abbreviations and people she mentions, but that doesn't harm the beauty of the book at all. It is only excerpt from her diary and I think it's very okay not to understand everything when reading somebody else's diary.
From what I read at the art exhibition, I thought there would be more in the book about feminism and the feminist consciousness-raising group. This group is mentions regularly and sometimes sparks reflections, but is not a central focus point of the book.
Overall, this book made me understand and appreciate her art more. I'm still trying to convince the art-interested people around me to read this.
While her art (the fabric sculptures) doesn't speak to me so much, her writing really does. Her thoughts about art and life, mixed with everyday concerns is what makes this feel so real and relatable: Food, money, cats, wanting to lose weight, cats, love, sex. Especially her descriptions of her moods resonated with me, sometimes insecure and depressed, at other times optimistic and energetic.
Sometimes it's a bit difficult to understand everything that's going on, because of all the abbreviations and people she mentions, but that doesn't harm the beauty of the book at all. It is only excerpt from her diary and I think it's very okay not to understand everything when reading somebody else's diary.
From what I read at the art exhibition, I thought there would be more in the book about feminism and the feminist consciousness-raising group. This group is mentions regularly and sometimes sparks reflections, but is not a central focus point of the book.
Overall, this book made me understand and appreciate her art more. I'm still trying to convince the art-interested people around me to read this.
Displaying 1 of 1 review