Alina Szapocznikow Documents. Works. Interpretations
Sarah Wilson

After the barricades of May 1968, the “Red Fromanger” and the virile militancy of the French Maoists, came what Guy Hocquenghem called l’apres-mai des faunes¬—a feminising of the French male in the softer and more melancholic 1970s.

French feminism was born both in the the worlds of writing with écriture feminine and in the worlds of art and performance with artists such as Alina Szapocznikow or Gina Pane. For a significant period, when the young Suzanne Page took over the direction of the Musée de la Ville de Paris from the hard-line Communinst turned Althusserian Pierre Gaudibert, a series of splendid retrospectives of women artists were held – including the German photomontage artist Hannah Hoch. Alina Szapocznikow’s show took place alongside those of contemporary artists, such as Ruth Francken and Jacqueline Dauriac. These women were subsequently shamefully neglected by French art institutions: Alina’s rediscovery has taken place completely outside her adopted country. Will elles@centrepompidou,com opening May 25th make a difference?