!Woman Art Revolution is a 2012 film directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson that explores the secret history of the woman’s art movement that was born from the 1960’s and the second wave of feminism which was sweeping a nation grappling with civil rights and equality. Hersman Leeson guides the viewer through their discovery of the woman’s arts movement with the use of interviews she had taken over many years with close personal friends, and comparing them with recent interviews she had taken of the individual. She also includes archival footage such as footage from C-SPAN and photographs to illustrate the narrative of her documentary. The intent of !Woman Art Revolution is to illuminate the forgotten significance of this female lead art movement
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The tone of the documentary is very personal in nature, as the filmmaker not only experienced the art revolution firsthand also the interviews included were a portrayal of personal bias not only of the filmmaker but also the interviewee. At the start of the documentary, Hershman Leeson explains to the viewer how she routinely interviewed fellow artists throughout her career on her own living room couch. This immediately desterilizes the nature of an interview as it becomes a casual discussion between friends rather than strictly informational. There are times where you can hear the filmmaker reacting to the information being presented during the interviews. By breaking down the wall between interviewer and interviewee, this creates an unconscious bias between the information being shared as they are no longer strictly sharing the facts of the woman’s art movement, rather they are sharing their personal experiences. Instead of gently guiding the viewer through exploring the movement and impact it has had on modern day feminist art, the women being interviewed in the film become confrontational about how their impact has “been forgotten” in favor of the white male artist throughout history. Taking this approach of personal interviews creates an unintentional negative bias between the filmmaker and audience that works towards alienating the audience from the filmmaker’s
The tone of the documentary is very personal in nature, as the filmmaker not only experienced the art revolution firsthand also the interviews included were a portrayal of personal bias not only of the filmmaker but also the interviewee. At the start of the documentary, Hershman Leeson explains to the viewer how she routinely interviewed fellow artists throughout her career on her own living room couch. This immediately desterilizes the nature of an interview as it becomes a casual discussion between friends rather than strictly informational. There are times where you can hear the filmmaker reacting to the information being presented during the interviews. By breaking down the wall between interviewer and interviewee, this creates an unconscious bias between the information being shared as they are no longer strictly sharing the facts of the woman’s art movement, rather they are sharing their personal experiences. Instead of gently guiding the viewer through exploring the movement and impact it has had on modern day feminist art, the women being interviewed in the film become confrontational about how their impact has “been forgotten” in favor of the white male artist throughout history. Taking this approach of personal interviews creates an unintentional negative bias between the filmmaker and audience that works towards alienating the audience from the filmmaker’s