House Tour #11, Januar 2025
Art viewing
Womanhouse – Feminist Art in Focus: A Documentary by Johanna Demetrakas
For the eleventh edition of our HOUSE TOURS series, we shine a spotlight on the groundbreaking documentary Womanhouse by director Johanna Demetrakas. Presented by Haus Kunst Mitte in early 2025, this film is a pivotal contribution to feminist art history, capturing the collaborative art project initiated by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro. First released in 1972, Womanhouse documents one of the most influential feminist art installations of the 1970s.
Johanna Demetrakas, Womanhouse, 1972, Dokumentarvideo, Installationsansicht Haus Kunst Mitte © nrup.de
The documentary follows the conception and realization of a collective feminist art installation, created by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro together with their students from the Feminist Art Program at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Los Angeles. Their mission: to transform an abandoned mansion into a walk-through environment of feminist art. Each room in the house vividly explored the lived experiences, social expectations, and stereotypical roles imposed on women.
Key elements of the project, featured in the exhibition, include the makeup-covered kitchen walls, critiquing beauty standards and the societal pressure placed on women. Another room, overflowing with endlessly folded laundry, symbolized the invisible and often undervalued burden of domestic labor. One of the most iconic installations—the “Menstruation Bathroom”—addressed the taboo of menstruation in a provocative and artistically powerful way. By centering a culturally silenced subject, the work encouraged reflection on bodily experience and the boundaries of shame.
Womanhouse was not only a physical installation but also a stage for feminist performance art. Works like The Cock and the Cunt addressed gender roles through satire, while Waiting highlighted the societal expectation for women to remain passive, always waiting—for someone or something. These performances blended personal narratives with collective concerns, transforming the space into an interactive forum for dialogue and critique.
Demetrakas’ film captures not only the installations and performances but also the public's reactions and the intense media attention Womanhouse received in the 1970s. At a time when feminist art was still seen as provocative and polarizing, the project was both celebrated and criticized. This tension is powerfully portrayed in the documentary, which remains a vital resource for understanding the origins of the feminist art movement. It also highlights how art can serve as a tool for social change.
The exhibition’s curator, Alba D’Urbano, brought this pioneering film into the present-day context and invited visitors to critically engage with its enduring relevance. The film screening, along with curated materials, prompted central questions: How has feminist art evolved since Womanhouse? Which themes are still pressing in 2025? And what new challenges and perspectives shape feminist art today?