Mierle Laderman Ukeles

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Mierle Laderman Ukeles (born 1939, Denver, CO) is a New York based artist known for her feminist and service oriented artwork. In 1969 she wrote a manifesto entitled Maintenance Art—Proposal for an Exhibition, challenging the domestic role of women and proclaiming herself a "maintenance artist".[1] Maintenance, for Ukeles, is the realm of human activities that keep things going, such as cooking, cleaning and child-rearing and her performances in the 1970s included the cleaning of art galleries.[2]

One of her most well-known projects Touch Sanitation(1970-1980), involved shaking hands with more than 8,500 workers in the New York City Department of Sanitation while saying "Thank you for keeping New York City alive."

[edit] References

  1. ^ Touch Sanitation: Mierle Laderman Ukeles
  2. ^ Jon Bird, Michael Newman, Rewriting Conceptual Art, Reaktion Books, 1999, p114-5. ISBN 1861890524

[edit] External Links

  • Feldman Gallery [1]
  • Touch Sanitation: Mierle Laderman Ukeles [2]
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