Women Artists and Art Books: A Shame List

Section of my book shelf where only 3 of 18 books are about women artists

I'm kind of, really addicted to art books. I buy them. Read them. Love them. I refer to them. I look to them for inspiration.

But I have a bit of a problem as I move beyond the cannon of Warhol, Cornell, Rauschenberg, Johns, etc. There aren't enough women artists represented in art books. Yes, there are many books on Frida Kahlo, Lee Krasner, and Louise Bourgeois. But many groundbreaking female artists have been passed over by a chauvinistic and risk-adverse publishing industry.

So I'm keeping a list, as I come across them, of important female artists who have no currently in-print catalogs or monographs. Know of a woman artist who needs a book? Let me know if the comments, and I will add her. Or tweet with #sheneedsabook.

Alexis Hunter: A remarkable feminist photographer whose work has only recently come to my attention. She utilizes sequence, deconstruction, narrative, and hand-rendered elements to examine stereotypes and indite patriarchy. Her work is in museums around the world — in fact, the Tate did a wonderful short film about her — but no book.

Sari Dienes: She inspired and championed Rauschenberg and Johns (who have more books between them than I can count). Her work ran the gamut from traditional printmaking, to painting, to photography, to complex sidewalk rubbings.

Joyce Neimanas: Neimanas is a groundbreaking photographer who discovered Polaroid "joiners" two years before Hockney. She delighted in process, and frequently brought feminist concerns into her work. In 1984, a 24-page pamphlet was published by the Center for Creative Photography is Arizona, but it's out-of-print. And it's only 24 pages.

Idelle Weber: Her graphical and dynamic pop art style literally invented the look of Madmen. In 2013, a 48-page book was published by Hollis Taggart Galleries.

Jann Haworth: She "helped" Peter Blake create the cover for Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. But she did so much more. Her complex assemblages and "soft art" are feminist statements that deserve to be seen.

​Dorothy Grebenak: She wove "pop" statements into rugs. Her woven "manhole covers" in particular seem apt critiques of the male-dominated art world.