INTO THE WORLD OF JUDY CHICAGO

What makes the feminist trailblazer an icon?

- TEESTA BHANDARE

I was lucky to catch the Judy Chicago exhibition, titled Revelations, at the Serpentine Gallery in London's Hyde Park before it closed on September 1. Adjectives often used to describe Chicago range from influential to groundbreaking to inspirational; and of course, iconic. But it begs the question what does it mean to be iconic, especially as a woman in the arts? The Oxford Dictionary of English defined the term icon as a noun meaning, "A person or thing that is considered to be a symbol of something".

The term iconic, is derived from this definition, it refers to someone possessing the qualities of an icon or someone who is "widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence". The etymology of the term made me question the social factors that go into making an icon.

To be iconic do you just have to be very good at what you do? Or is there more to it?

To me, an icon cannot be someone who is just excellent at doing something, but it is someone who creates change, someone who "sends the elevator back down", while also being excellent in a certain area.