Feminist artist Nancy Spero has passed away at the age of 83 from lung problems and heart failure.  Spero’s path is one I can relate to--she was born in Cleveland, went to school in Chicago and eventually settled in New York City in 1964. While there she became deeply influenced by the Vietnam War:

“To come to grips with these realities, Ms. Spero, who always viewed art as inseparable from life, developed a distinctive kind of political work. Polemical but symbolic, it combined drawing and painting as well as craft-based techniques like collage and printmaking seldom associated with traditional Western notions of high art and mastery.”

She went on to make many impressive pieces including her first truly feminist work entitled “Torture of Women” (see above) which features text from Amnesty International reports on torture to illustrate institutional violence against women as a universal condition and ancient art figures.

Her art was not only visually interesting but came with a message--something Spero took very seriously.  She wanted people to react, to think, to feel and to be inspired by what they saw. Read her entire obituary HERE and go below to see a series of videos from the PBS show Art: 21 about Spero and her art.