The Easel

The Female Power of Carolee Schneemann

Lady Gaga’s meat dress is but one indicator of Schneemann’s broad influence. Her pioneering body and performance art was criticized for its eroticism, a charge she rebutted by saying “sensuality [is] always confused with pornography”. Only in the last decade has recognition come from major galleries. Schneemann thought herself “a painter … using her naked body in lieu of the “phallic” brush”. A video (2 min) is here.