Performance artist Karen Finley on tearing down female tropes
You may know Karen Finley as one of the artists who was denied federal arts funding after the Supreme Court ruled against her in 1998. That decision said the government could strip funding from artists because their work was considered indecent.
Finley is known for her shows that use a variety of unusual props, like glitter, Jello, chocolate syrup, and stuffed animals. She's currently a professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and her new book is, "Grabbing Pussy."
Karen Finley, Grabbing Pussy
Ruled indecent in the 1990s and stripped of federal arts funding, Karen Finley’s work is having a moment. Her work about sexism and abuse of women at the hands of men has new resonance in the age of Donald Trump, #metoo, and the policing of Hillary Clinton’s clothing (that hasn’t changed since the 1990s). In a nod to our current political moment, her new book is called Grabbing Pussy.
She reads excerpts form her book, including a piece about Hillary Clinton and the way we look at female political candidates.
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Bill Radke
Host
Bill hosts Week In Review and Words in Review. After starting with KUOW as a University of Washington student in 1985, Bill was KUOW's morning host in the '90s and the creator of past show, Rewind, a news-satire show heard on KUOW and nationwide on NPR. Bill moved away to Southern California to host American Public Media's Weekend America and Marketplace Morning Report and returned to KUOW in 2012.
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