
Bobby Baker
Redeeming Features of Daily Life
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 6. November 2007
Book
Hardback
276 pages
978-0-415-44410-1 (ISBN)
Description
Bobby Baker is one of most widely acclaimed and popular performance artists working today. Over the course of a thirty-five-year career she has toured the globe with her wildly stimulating explorations of 'Daily Life' and has been extensively written about and studied.
This fully-illustrated book brings together for the first time an account of Baker's career as an artist - from her first sculptures at Central St Martins in the early 1970s to her most recent work, 'How to Live' and 'Diary Drawings' - with critical commentary by reviewers and academic practitioners.
It includes:
Bobby Baker's own 'Chronicle' of her work as artist and performer
illuminating critical writing about Baker's shows
transcripts of Baker's performances and other original materials reproduced here for the first time
significant new essays by Michele Barrett and Griselda Pollock
a new interview with Bobby Baker by Adrian Heathfield.
Under the guiding editorial hand of distinguished cultural theorist Michele Barrett, this volume is an essential text for students interested in performance, gender, and visual culture, and a hugely absorbing and accessible account of Baker's work.
This fully-illustrated book brings together for the first time an account of Baker's career as an artist - from her first sculptures at Central St Martins in the early 1970s to her most recent work, 'How to Live' and 'Diary Drawings' - with critical commentary by reviewers and academic practitioners.
It includes:
Bobby Baker's own 'Chronicle' of her work as artist and performer
illuminating critical writing about Baker's shows
transcripts of Baker's performances and other original materials reproduced here for the first time
significant new essays by Michele Barrett and Griselda Pollock
a new interview with Bobby Baker by Adrian Heathfield.
Under the guiding editorial hand of distinguished cultural theorist Michele Barrett, this volume is an essential text for students interested in performance, gender, and visual culture, and a hugely absorbing and accessible account of Baker's work.
Reviews / Votes
'A truly beautiful book ... If only all books about contemporary performance were this good! Whether you are a life-long fan of Bobby Baker, or new to her work, this is an essential purchase' - Total Theatre'The Book is beautifully illustrated throughout with colour reproductions of Baker's drawings and paintings as well as copious photographs of the performances' - Contemporary Theatre Review
'In its comprehensive and multifaceted presentation of Baker's extensive career, Bobby Baker: Redeeming Features of Daily Life serves as an important addition to the existing scholarship on feminist performance art. It also permits the reader to gain an understanding of Baker's career that would be impossible to comprehend on the basis of isolated performances or essays. Like Baker herself, this book will have appeal on many levels to many different audiences.' - Contemporary Theatre Review 'A truly beautiful book ... If only all books about contemporary performance were this good! Whether you are a life-long fan of Bobby Baker, or new to her work, this is an essential purchase.' - Total Theatre
'She was bold, she was brave, she was beautiful. And with what acuteness, then and always, has she unpeeled the wrappings from packaged modern femininity.' - Lisa Jardine, Queen Mary, University of London, UK
'I had been entertained, tantalised, unnerved and comforted. I would go without food for a week just to get a ticket for her next show.' - Nigel Slater, Food Critic, Observer
'The Book is beautifully illustrated throughout with colour reproductions of Baker's drawings and paintings as well as copious photographs of the performances' - Contemporary Theatre Review
'In its comprehensive and multifaceted presentation of Baker's extensive career, Bobby Baker: Redeeming Features of Daily Life serves as an important addition to the existing scholarship on feminist performance art. It also permits the reader to gain an understanding of Baker's career that would be impossible to comprehend on the basis of isolated performances or essays. Like Baker herself, this book will have appeal on many levels to many different audiences.' - Contemporary Theatre Review
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Professional Practice & Development
Illustrations
150 farbige Abbildungen
150 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 174 mm
Weight
884 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-415-44410-1 (9780415444101)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
10/2007
1st Edition
Routledge
€75.70
Shipment within 15-20 days

E-Book
10/2007
Routledge
€51.49
Available for download

E-Book
10/2007
Routledge
€51.49
Available for download
Persons
Bobby Baker has been commissioned and/or invited to perform at festivals all over the world, including Adelaide, Chicago, Munich, New Zealand, Slovenia, Brazil, London (the LIFT festival), Brighton, Glasgow, Cairo, and Covent Garden. Venues for her shows include the V&A Museum, the Serpentine Gallery and the Royal Festival Hall. Her work within the university sector includes workshops and residencies at Giessen University in Germany, the University of Essex, and universities in Beijing and Taiwan. She has also performed in New York, Pittsburgh, Helsinki, Dublin, and Edinburgh. She currently has a Creative Arts Fellowship at Queen Mary, University of London.
Michele Barratt is Professor of Modern Literary and Cultural Theory at Queen Mary College, University of London. She has published with Verso, Polity, Penguin, Columbia University Press and The Women's Press.
Michele Barratt is Professor of Modern Literary and Cultural Theory at Queen Mary College, University of London. She has published with Verso, Polity, Penguin, Columbia University Press and The Women's Press.
Content
Part 1: The Artist Introduction. A Historical Artist Bobby Baker. The Tale of the Early Years. Chronicle of Selected Artworks Part 2: The Work Editorial. An Introduction to Baker's Performance Work. Feminist Autobiography and Performance Art. Risk in Intimacy: An Interview with Bobby Baker. The Rebel at the Heart of the Joker. Upstaged by the Foodie Gaze. Feminist Performance as Archive. Saying the Unsayable: A Second Interview Part 3: The Shows Editorial. Drawing on a Mother's Experience. Transcript. Interview with David Tushingham. Review of My Cooking Competes. Daily Life I: Kitchen Show. Booklet Text. Action No. 3 [TV transcript]. Daily Life II: How to Shop. Daily Life III: Take a Peek! Daily Life IV: Grown-Up School. Daily Life V: Box Story. Transcript. 'Dear Bobby'. How to Live. Script Extract. Diary Drawings. Bibliography and Sources