The Birth Project

Book excerpt: Fifty full-color and 350 black-and-white photographs illustrate the Birth Project exhibit, conceived by Judy Chicago, based on nearly one hundred of her works, and needleworked by women across the country. Between 1980 - 1985, Judy Chicago designed dozens of images on the subject of birth and creation to be embellished by needleworkers around the United States, Canada and as far away as New Zealand. Formatted into provocative exhibition units which included both needleworks and documentary materials, these works toured the country and Canada, eventually placed by 'Through the Flower' in numerous institutions where they are on public view or used as part of university curricula. Prior to the Birth Project, few images of birth existed in Western art, a puzzling omission as birth is a central focus of many women's lives and a universal experience of all humanity - as everyone is born. Seeking to fill this void, Judy Chicago created multiple images of birth to be realized through needlework, a visually rich medium which has been ignored or trivialized by the mainstream art community.