This thesis examines the work of Giosetta Fioroni, Marisa Merz, and Carla Accardi in the context of the year 1968 in Italy. Within Italy, 1968 marked the beginning of a tumultuous period of student and labor protests. As inequality worsened, citizens began to expect more from their government and previously private-sphere issues transitioned into public causes. Despite the light shed upon these issues, the social and political movements of sixty-eight neglected to account for issues faced by the women relegated to private and domestic realms. Though feminist movements in Italy are associated with the early-to-mid seventies, a formal analysis of the works of these three artists demonstrates a feminist consciousness, expressed through visual art, that predated the formation of Italian feminist movements. Chapter 1 considers Fioroni's La spia ottica (The Peephole) and the gendered politics of spaces and structures of viewing. By constructing a private bedroom in a public gallery and placing a peephole between them, Fioroni disrupts the gendered constructs that keep private and public separate from one another. Chapter 2 discusses Merz's Altalena per Bea (Swing for Bea) and Merz's refusal to separate her domestic labor from her artistic labor, asserting them as equally valuable. Finally, Chapter 3 begins with a discussion of Accardi's Formalist roots and the relocation of her calligraphic patterns onto clear plastic tents. The second half of the chapter examines Accardi's involvement in the Italian feminist movements of the 1970s.
"},{"label":"Degree","value":["Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors"]},{"label":"Author-supplied Keywords","value":["Feminism","1968","Italy"]},{"label":"Administrative Note","value":"Drupal Node ID: 23647