Wet

Taking aim at the mostly male bastion of art theory and criticism, Mira Schor brings a maverick perspective and provocative voice to the issues of contemporary painting, gender representation, and feminist art. Writing from her dual perspective of a practicing painter and art critic, Schorrs"s writing has been widely read over the past fifteen years inArtforum,Art Journal,Heresies, andM/E/A/N/I/N/G, a journal she coedited. Collected here, these essayschallenge established hierarchies of the art world of the 1980s and 1990s and document the intellectual and artistic development that have marked Schorrs"s own progress as a critic. Bridging the gap between art practice, artwork, and critical theory,Wetincludes some of Schorrs"s most influential essays that have made a significant contribution to debates over essentialism.Articles range from discussions of contemporary women artists Ida Applebroog, Mary Kelly, and the Guerrilla Girls, to "Figure/Ground," an examination of utopian modernismrs"s fear of the "goo" of painting and femininity. From the provocative "Representations of the Penis," which suggests novel readings of familiar images of masculinity and introduces new ones, to "Appropriated Sexuality," a trenchant analysis of David Sallers"s depiction of women,Wetis a fascinating and informative collection. Complemented by over twenty illustrations, the essays inWetreveal Schorrs"s remarkable ability to see and to make others see art in a radically new light.