by Dana Leslie (Author)
Investigating a wide range of sources, from Simone de Beauvoir to ancient clerics, this book analyses maintenance and self-maintenance art through the lens of feminism and post-feminism. Looking at the subject in contemporary art practice, and reflected in contemporary society today, Dana Leslie succinctly describes how it is to be a woman from a millenial perspective. From the feminist art movement of the 1970s, many female artists turned to performance art to explore and critique the gender role prescribed to women as 'housewife'. Today, the beauty myth of self-maintenance is particularly pertinent in the era of Instagram and plastic surgery. The book offers a fascinating view of the past 50 years, examining what progress - if any - has been made.