Nancy Spero was a visual artist. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Later on she moved to Chicago but lived most it was in New York City where she lived most of her life. She was married to a fellow artist named Leon Golub, who was an american painter. Nancy Spero collaborated frequently with her husband on numerous works such as They Will Torture You, My Friend, From Conspiracy, The Artist As Witness in 1971. She has been known to say that her husband was her partner and was very much in love with his artwork and has credited him to her influence on politics. Her husband Leon Golub was said to thrown in many pieces of politics in his pieces. She has said that his works are huge and as much as she tried to compete with him she realized she could only do her best and her best was small images sometimes up to an inch tall.
They Will Torture You, My Friend, From Conspiracy, The Artist As Witness in 1971
Nancy Spero is known as both an artist and an activist as well as feminist. With a career spanning over 50 years and continues to work and channel her views on politics, social and cultural concerns. Many of her artworks have been inspired by the affects of war and impact it has on people. As well as replacing societies opinion of a male chauvinist world by replacing important figure representatives such as Egyptian hieroglyphs to Greek statues with females.
Nancy Spero quote, ‘’ I like to think that my work is easily read but on the other hand, I do hope it is more complicated and that it is not just one easy read and thats it.’’
She was very active in her work around the same time the civil rights movement started and The Vietnam War was underway. Nancy Spero painted blotches of touches and ink, executed with rapid movements to symbolize the destruction of war. To me I think it depicts how war can be so messy and happen so fast leaving nothing but destruction. Most of her work depicted violence and gore sometimes. They are a apart of her war series which lasted from 1967 to 10970 and condemns war and sheds light on its negative and lasting consequences.
Nancy Spero signature became known as stamped typography and collage, using a technique of painting or drawing isolated images on blank sheets of paper. Capturing a raw intensity. Spero was very big on women rights and became active in Women Artists in Revolution and in 1972 co-founded Artists in Residence (A.I.R) Gallery which is a cooperative exhibition space in New York Ciy for women artists.
Being renown for her work she has received numerous awards. Such awards include The Lifetime Achievement Award from the College of Art Association, the Honor Award from the Women’s Caucus for Art, the Hiroshima Art Prize and the Skowhegan Medal just to name a few. Some of her most famous works are known as the Torture of Women, Notes in Time on Women and The First Language.
The Torture of Women
Notes in Time on Women
The First Language.
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