Suzanne Santoro, Per una espressione nuova/Towards New Expression

Tues 6 Oct, 7 – 9pm
SPACE Mare St
Free & open to all

This monthly reading group on feminisms, consciousness-raising and leave taking considers the resonance of earlier moments of feminist thinking, art and activism in contemporary life. Juxtaposing texts from the 1970s and 1980s with current positions, the group highlights feminist concepts of intimacy, communication and collectivity. The relevance of the practice of consciousness-raising (autocoscienza) is explored. Might a return to such tactics help us to combat the exhaustion, fragmentation and anxiety that we experience under networked capitalism today? What are the potentials, and pitfalls, of such collective processes of talking, listening, and analysing? 

The meeting continues the exploration of generative texts from the 1970s, this time focusing on aesthetic theory. We look at Suzanne Santoro’s 1974 artist book, Per una espressione nuova/Towards New Expression, and an article by Rozsika Parker in Spare Rib about its removal by the Arts Council from a show they themselves had organised.


The third reading comes from Speculum of the Other Woman by Luce Irigaray. Irigaray’s ideas were taken up with great intensity by Italian feminists, including Rivolta Femminile, of which she Santoro was a member.

A group reading of Speculum takes part, starting at the beginning of the first section.

For background, see the first three parts of 'The Blind Spot of An Old Dream of Symmetry' (pp.11-46).

The following night, Wednesday 7th October, Suzanne gives a talk at the Women’s Art Library at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Reading

Suzanne Santoro, Per una espressione nuova/Towards New Expression

Rozsika Parker, ‘Censored,; Spare Rib, 1977

Luce Irigaray, Speculum of the Other Woman, 1974, English translation by Gillian C Gill, 1985, group reading of first section The Blind Spot of An Old Dream of Symmetry