Excerpts from the 1971 Journal of Rosemary Mayer

An intimate account of everyday life and art in 1970s New York from a pioneering feminist artist Rosemary Mayer (1943–2014) produced a vast body of work that includes sculptures, outdoor installations, drawings, illustrations, artist’s books, lyrical essays and art criticism. In 1971 she began to focus on the use of fabric as a primary medium for sculpture and to participate in a feminist consciousness-raising group which contributed to her involvement in A.I.R., the first cooperative gallery for women in the US. This was a pivotal period in Mayer’s life and career, and she documented it in remarkable detail in her 1971 journal, where her plans, enthusiasms, ambitions and insecurities, as well as her opinions about the art around her, are recorded with self-awareness and honesty, along with her concerns about friendship, money and love. This illustrated edition of Excerpts from the 1971 Journal of Rosemary Mayer—previously published in a limited run of 300 copies—includes a new introduction and is expanded to twice the size of the first edition.