The Dinner Party

Have you ever played the dinner party game? You know, where you’re allowed to invite anyone — from history or the present — to an imaginary dinner you’re hosting? It’s a favorite of ours to play during long car trips, along with a game we made up called “Casting Couch.”

(It’s not as salacious as it sounds. Basically “Casting Couch” consists of casting the movie of your life, as if you were a casting director. Usually my sister would be played by a Disney princess, I would be played by Mira Sorvino or Uma Thurman on a very, very, very bad day, and Tom would be a young Dustin Hoffman, for lack of imagination.)

My dinner party list varied depending on my mood. I usually included Colette, Oscar Wilde, Katherine Hepburn, George Bernard Shaw for conversation and a soupçon of wit. I’d also want to invite those I’d admired, such as William Morris, Ghandi or Joan of Arc — though if Joan attended, I worried she’d take offense if I served anything too luxurious. Or if I burnt the meal. (Bad joke, I know, but couldn’t resist.)

Anyway, this is a long preamble to my writing that a much better dinner party is going down at the Brooklyn Museum — one that puts all of my imaginary dinner parties to shame.

Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is now on permanent display at the Brooklyn Museum’s new Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. If you’ve never viewed this massive installation, The Dinner Party is just transcendental. It must be seen to be experienced — I saw it several years ago when it last visited Brooklyn, and was overwhelmed by it.

The Brooklyn Museum website describes The Dinner Party as comprising “a massive banquet, arranged on a triangular table with a total of thirty-nine place settings, each commemorating an important woman from history. . . The names of another 999 women are inscribed in gold on the white tile floor below the triangular table.” But it’s much more than that. Each of the place settings are designed in a style that reflects the life and times of the woman being honored — from the Primordial Goddess to Georgia O’Keefe. Hundreds of women participated in bringing Judy Chicago’s vision to fruition, from the embroidery on the table runners, to the sculptures that adorn each plate and gold chalice. The cumulative effect is incredibly moving and empowering. It feels holy.

The Dinner Party is truly a must see. And I’m proud that my home town is hosting it.

Oh, and I’m hoping my next post will be an ‘art and words’ post, with an update on what’s going on. For real. This past week, I’ve suffered yet another late winter/early spring malaise cold. All my energy has gone to keeping on top of deadlines and blowing my nose. Right now, it feels easier to write about other artists’ work than to write about my own.

 

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