Shrine II

Born in Toronto, multidisciplinary artist Miriam Schapiro was a champion of creative practices often dismissed as women’s work. In a type of art she called femmage, she collaged materials such as cloth, ribbon, and lace into colorful, geometric images. Together with artist Judy Chicago, in 1972 she codirected the interdisciplinary installation Womanhouse, which became a landmark event of feminist art. Schapiro was among the first artists to use a computer in her creative process; in 1967, in collaboration with a physicist, she used one to create an abstract painting.