Counterpractice

Rakhee Balaram is Assistant Professor of Global Art and Art History at State University of New York-Albany

'In this illuminating scholarship, we re-encounter the familiar names of (1970s) French feminisms, but Balaram’s innovation is to reveal a swathe of obscured, forgotten, or lesser-known (French) artists and feminist actors. Balaram allows these artists and artworks to shine as she seamlessly weaves history, politics, artwork, and theory, nuancing the often monolithic presentation of 1970s French feminism.'Jasmine D. Cooper, French Studies'Counterpractice provides an ambitious survey of the events leading up to May ’68 and an invaluable document of the women artists who were working in Paris around that time. Taken together with her careful account of the ground-breaking feminist theory that informed their activism, Rakhee Balaram has made an essential and lasting contribution to the field.'Mary Kelly, Judge Widney Professor, Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California‘This pioneering book is a major contribution to the history of feminist art, writing, theory, and activism. Rakhee Balaram has done meticulous research, placing the movement in its historical and political contexts and interpreting the issues debated and contested among these women. No stone is left unturned. Enjoy your journey with these original, stimulating artists, and with this wonderful author as your guide.’Gloria Orenstein, Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature and Gender Studies, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

• Foreword by Griselda PollockIntroduction1 On the streets: from May ’68 to the MLF2 The MLF 1970s3 Libération-création: MLF, women artists and the militant body4 Instase: Psychanalyse et Politique and the spaces of women’s art5 Women’s groups and collective art practices6 Hard politics, soft art: subversive practices from écriture féminine to soft artConclusion: La révolution accomplie? Some legacies of women's art in 1970s FranceIndex