Proof

A debut monograph that showcases Smith's bold experimentation, from her cutting-edge performance art to her earliest paintings, Xerox prints, drawings and sculpture.

A pioneer of the performance art movement of the late 1960s, Southern California–based Barbara T. Smith (born 1931) has long produced work that explores the self, sexuality, gender roles and spiritual sustenance. While her performances have received critical attention, the objects Smith has made over nearly 60 years―many for, or as a result of, performances―are less known. These include her radical Xerox works, assemblages, sculptures, artist’s books, drawings, paintings, photographs and videos. Smith’s first ever comprehensive catalog is designed by Content Object (C/O).

Featuring an illustrated chronology of Smith’s life and artwork compiled by curator Jenelle Porter, the catalog also includes essays by scholars Gloria Sutton, Catherine Taft and Pietro Rigolo, who elaborate upon Smith’s work as it relates to new technologies, ecofeminism and the archive, respectively.