last Friday I went to a lecture about the 1960's-80's visionary artist, feminist, activist, etc. Niki de Saint Phallle. I'd forgotten how much her work touched me 10 years ago when I first saw a number of drawings she'd done when her long-time lover & collaborator died. Friday's addition of her story, and slides of more work have shifted something for me...

while Niki was most famously a sculptor, she was first a painter. in 1961 she started experimenting with constructions that would include bags of paint, which she would then shoot at with a rifle or pistol. I love that all those yahoos enjoying their firearms in the name of art can also thank Niki for blazing a trail.

she said: "In 1961 I shot at: Daddy, all the men, small menr, tall men, important men, fat men, men, my brother, society, church, school, my family, my mother, all the men, Daddy, myself, men again." Niki had a difficult early life, and there's no evidence that she stopped suffering along the way to her death in 2002. still, she very consciously made art to delight and to spread love. last week I found a new inspiration in her life-long commitment to art for justice, peace, and joy. check this wiki link for a good start, then try a google image search en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niki...int_Phalle