Penny Slinger, sometimes Penelope Slinger, is a British-born American artist and author based in California. As an artist, she has worked in different mediums,
[ including photography, film and sculpture. Her work has been described as being in the genres of ]surrealism
Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
and feminist surrealism. Her work explores the nature
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
of the self
In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes.
The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...
, the feminine
Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...
and the erotic.[CHRIS DARKE, 30 August 1998, The Independent]
Decline and falconry
Retrieved September 7, 2014, "... Liaisons and working partnerships with sculptors Penny Slinger ..."[HOLLAND COTTER, September 13, 2012, The New York Times]
Retrieved September 7, 2014, "...Born in England, Penny Slinger emerged from art school in 1969, ... Slinger has always pointed to European Surrealism as an influence,... worked in many mediums over the years, including sculpture and stage design..."[October 4, 2012, Museum and Gallery Listings for Oct. 5-11, The New York Times]
Retrieved September 7, 2014, "...The main piece is her still unpublished book of photo-collages and texts called “An Exorcism.”..."
Work
Early Surrealist period 1969–1977
Slinger attended Farnham (now West Surrey) College of Art from 1964 to 1966. She studied at the Chelsea College of Arts
Chelsea College of Arts is a Colleges of the University of the Arts London, constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England.
It offers further education, further and higher educ ...
in London where she made a series of short films that were later shown at Anthology Film Archives
Anthology Film Archives is an international center for the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and film distribution, exhibition of film and video, with a particular focus on independent film, independent, experimental film, ex ...
in 2019.[ She completed her degree with a First Class Honours Diploma in Art and Design in 1969.][Niamh Coghlan, 1 August 2012, Aesthetica magazine]
Surrealist Explorations: A rediscovery of the feminist artist penelope slinger presents a timely reappraisal of her work for the first time in nearly 40 years
Retrieved September 9, 2014, "...Slinger studied in London....." She was accepted into the Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...
Film post graduate course, but did not take it up.
While writing her thesis
A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...
on the collage
Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...
books of Max Ernst
Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...
, she met Sir Roland Penrose who became her patron for many years and introduced her to Max Ernst. Penrose brought Slinger's art to the attention of Mario Amaya
Mario Amaya (October 6, 1933 – June 29, 1986) was an American art critic, museum director and magazine editor, and (1972–1976) director of the New York Cultural Center and (1976–1979) the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. He ...
, who included her sculpture in the exhibition ''Young and Fantastic'' at the Institute of Contemporary Art in 1969.
Slinger worked in photographic collage, producing her first book ''50% The Visible Woman.'' Published in 1969, the book continued her practice, started in her student days, of using herself as a muse and consists of a photo collage overlaid with her poetry. When published in 1971, Rolling Stone said, '''"This book will become as important on your bookshelf as Sgt. Pepper is on your record rack."''
In 1970 Slinger and filmmaker Peter Whitehead filmed and photographed at Lilford Hall
Lilford Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean stately home in Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom. The 100-room house is located in the eastern part of the county, south of Oundle and north of Thrapston.
History
It was started in 1495 as a Tudor ...
, a decaying mansion in Northamptonshire, England. Although their film project remained unrealised, the photos formed the basis of Slinger's surreal journey of self
In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes.
The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...
-discovery told in the style of a photo romance. The result, ''An Exorcism'', was published in 1977 with a grant from Roland Penrose and Lee Miller
Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. Miller was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, becoming a fashion and fine-art pho ...
's Elephant Trust. The ''Lilford Hall'' footage also resurfaced and was shown at Blum and Poe Gallery, Los Angeles 2014, as part of ''History Is Now'' at the Haywood Gallery, 2015, and at Anthology Film Archives, and Fortnight Institute, New York, 2019.
In 1971 Slinger had her first solo exhibition at Angela Flowers Gallery, London, featuring assemblages of lifecasts of her head and transformed dolls. Art critic Peter Fuller, '"Penny Slinger's work is a documentation of the role of one woman in a world still dominated by concepts of male superiority....she emerges as one of the most active and socially relevant artists around."
Slinger focused on surrealism in the 1960s and the 1970s to "plumb the depths of the feminine psyche and subconscious
In psychology, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is not currently of focal awareness. The term was already popularized in the early 20th century in areas ranging from psychology, religion and spirituality. The concept was heavily popu ...
," according to a review in ''ArtDaily'' magazine.[Liz Gangemi, April 19, 2014, Art Daily]
British-born artist Penny Slinger's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles opens at Blum & Poe
Retrieved September 9, 2014, "...Penny Slinger, The Surprised Tin Opener, 1969/2014. C-print...." She wrote and illustrated numerous publications.Arawak
The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), w ...
peoples of South America and the Caribbean.[1994, The New York Times]
Visions of the Arawaks (1994)
Retrieved September 7, 2014, "...Artist Penny Slinger depicts Arawak culture in daily life, ceremonial rituals, body art, and dream landscapes. ..."
Reviewer Kate Kellaway in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' described her work as a "grotesque and militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...
contribution" with a "loud message about silence."[Kate Kellaway of The Observer, 26 September 2009, The Guardian]
Angels of Anarchy: Women Artists and Surrealism
Retrieved September 7, 2014, "...In Penny Slinger's grotesque and militant contribution...." As an author, with Nik Douglas, her book ''Sexual Secrets'' sold 100,000 copies,[D.J.R. Bruckner, July 31, 1983, The New York Times]
Retrieved September 7, 2014, "...A few years ago he issued ''Sexual Secrets: the Alchemy
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
of Ecstasy'' by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger which is in its 13th printing and has sold 100,000 copies. ..." and sold over a million copies in 19 translations. In 1977 she published "The Secret Dakini Oracle", a deck of cards for divination. With Douglas and Bhaskar Bhattacharya, she wrote ''The Path of the Mystic Lover - Baul Songs of Passion and Ecstasy'' in 1993, and provided 84 drawings for it. Slinger's work was part of the ''Angels of Anarchy'' exhibit at the Manchester Art Gallery in 2009.
Theater, film and feminism 1971 -1973
In 1971 Slinger joined the first British all women theatre troupe, ''Holocaust'', directed by Jane Arden because she said she wanted to contribute her talents to something bigger than herself, and the intentions of the group felt in alignment with her own resolve to delve deeply into and express the unearthed realms of the feminine psyche. They performed ''A New Communion for Freaks, Prophets and Witches'' at the Open Space Theater London and at the Edinburgh Festival in 1971.
Slinger created masks for the surrealist play ''Lying Figures'' by Francis Warner, premiered at Edinburgh Festival 1971. She was design collaborator with Carolee Schneemann on '' The Four Little Girls'' by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
, at the Open Space Theater London, 1971.
In 1972 Slinger participated in the controversial cult classic, '' The Other Side of the Underneath'', directed by Jane Arden and shot on location in Wales. It was the only British feature film to be directed by a woman in the 1970s. Slinger had a major performing role and co art directed the movie. The British Film Institute DVD booklet for the film said, "The Other Side of the Underneath isn’t a work to love. It is a work to admire, to puzzle through and to wrestle with."
In the same year Slinger opened her second solo exhibition at Angela Flowers gallery, ''Opening''. The invitation depicted her as a wedding cake, the exhibits consisted of a series of table tops and mouthpieces, as well as the Bride’s Cake photo series. The exhibition's themes of food and female eroticism can be seen in subsequent Feminist art. Laura Mulvey stated in ''Spare Rib'', '''"Is there feminine phantasy?...Penny Slinger's recent exhibition provided graphic images of phantasy that only a woman could have produced', 'Opening showed us how powerfully a woman is able to transform Surrealism."''
Tantra
Tantra Publications
In 1975 Jane Arden introduced Penny Slinger to Nik Douglas. They subsequently published a number of books together, including:
=Mountain Ecstasy
=
Mountain Ecstasy, published in 1978, contains 64 full-color collages and poetry which combines Penny's Surrealist roots with Tantric symbolism.
=Secret Dakini Oracle
=
Published in 1977 as a divination card deck and in 1978 as a book.
=Sexual Secrets, The Alchemy of Ecstasy
=
Sexual Secrets, The Alchemy of Ecstasy was co written with Nik Douglas and published in 1979. It contains over 600 drawings by Penny Slinger. It has 19 language translations and an anniversary edition in 2000.
Tantric themes
Slinger had been working on using the Xerox copying machine to make mono prints of her face and body since she was teaching at Portsmouth College of Art in 1973. By 1976 she had manifested a group of images using this technique called Scrolls which were her response to the ‘Chakra Man’ motif in classical Tantric Art.
During the mid seventies Slinger's three-dimensional work included a series of doll house like sculptures which blended Surreal and Tantric themes. In 1977 she exhibited the work at Patrick Seale Gallery, London, and at the Mirandy Gallery, London.
In 1982 she had a retrospective exhibition of her Tantric work called, ''Visions of Ecstasy'' at Visionary Gallery, New York.
Caribbean and Arawak Art 1980–1994
In 1980 Slinger and Douglas moved to the Caribbean, first to Tortola, British Virgin Islands, then to Anguilla, where she lived until 1994. She decided to use her talents to contribute to the local culture. Her work with archaeology led her to create a series of over 100 paintings, pastels and block prints depicting Arawak people, the indigenous, original inhabitants of the islands, and their lifestyle. She also made a series of detailed drawings of Arawak artifacts.
Northern California and the Divine Feminine (1994–2017)
Slinger lived with Dr. Christopher Hills in Boulder Creek, California, until Hills’ death in 1997. Slinger continued to live on the northern California property until 2017, dedicating the property to the arts, inviting the creative people of the region to participate in many events she hosted over the years. In this period Penny worked in photography, video and audio. In 2010 she published the ''64 Dakini Oracle'' which depicted archetypal forms of the Divine Feminine in digital collage. During this time she also made a series of large assemblages utilizing life casts of her own body in relationship to many items she had collected and interacted with entitled ''The Alchemy of Stuff''.
Dior (2019-2022)
In 2019, Slinger was invited by Maria Grazia Chiuri
Maria Grazia Chiuri (; born 2 February 1964) is an Italian fashion designer. After stints working at Fendi and Valentino, Chiuri was named creative director at Dior in 2016.
Biography
Chiuri's father was in the military and her mother, a dres ...
, creative director at Dior, to transform the historical building at 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris for the last fashion show before the building underwent renovation as part of the Dior Megastore. With the help of her creative partner Dhiren Dasu and Dior's creative team, she covered the walls, floors and ceilings of the interior with digital collages representing the elements, made four life size 3D modeled sculptures and hung a large lenticular composed of women's faces on the facade of the building. The project represented an artistic alchemy of the edifice. Slinger also designed the last look of the haute couture show, a gold leafed wearable doll house based on 30 Avenue Montaigne. In 2021/2022, Slinger collaborated with Dior again to produce a gold handbag for the Lady Dior collection, also based on the historic Parisian facade of the Dior headquarters.
Pandemic Art (2020)
Slinger created a series of photo collages during the Pandemic (2020) entitled ''My Body In a Box''. This series documents the personal and collective feelings of this period and featured her own naked body as part of her current practice addressing ageism.
Rediscovery of early works
2009 marked a renewed interest in Penny’s early work after her inclusion in the ''Angels of Anarchy'' exhibition at Manchester Art Museum and in ''The Dark Monarch'' ''– Magic & Modernity in British Art'' at Tate St. Ives in 2009.
''Penny Slinger-Out of the Shadows'', 2017, is a documentary by Richard Kovitch focusing on Penny’s life and work in the 1960s and 1970s, revealing the pioneering nature of her work.
From 2018 Penny has resided in Los Angeles where she has been working on a series of large format prints of digital collages utilizing her own body as a body of experience. This series is engaged with her practice to use her body as her muse at this senior age to confront ageism which she considers the next bastion of feminism.
Personal life
Penny Slinger was partners with filmmaker Peter Whitehead from 1969 to 1972.microbiologist
A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...
Christopher Hills
Christopher Brian Hills (April 9, 1926 – January 31, 1997) was an English-born author, described as the "Father of Spirulina" for popularizing spirulina (dietary supplement), spirulina cyanobacteria as a food supplement. He also wrote 30 books ...
, the co-discoverer of the protein-rich plankton spirulina and co-founder of the University of the Trees in Boulder Creek, California
Boulder Creek () is a small rural mountain community in the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains. It is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz County, California, with a population of 5,429 as of the 2020 United Sta ...
. Hills died in 1997 at age 70.
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
2022 50% Unboxed, Pace Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2021 50/50, Blum & Poe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2019 Penny Slinger: Tantric Transformations, Richard Saltoun Gallery, London, UK
2018 ''Inside Out'' Fortnight Institute, New York, NY, USA
2017 ''Sex Work'', (solo booth, @ Frieze Art Show), Blum & Poe Gallery, London, UK
2015 ''Self Impressions'', Riflemaker, London, UK
2015 ''Penny Slinger'', Blum and Poe Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2014 ''Penny Slinger'', Blum and Poe Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2012 ''Exorcism Revisited'', Broadway 1602 Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2012 ''Hear What I Say'', Riflemaker Gallery, London, UK
2011 ''A Photo Romance'', Riflemaker Gallery, London, UK
1993 ''Arawak Renaissance'' ''– The Tribute Continues'', New World Gallery, Anguilla.
1992 ''Amerindians- Studies of a Lost People'', Cotton Gin Art Gallery, Anguilla
1982 ''Visions of Ecstasy'', Visionary Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1977 ''Secrets'', Mirandy Gallery, London, UK
1977 ''Inner Vision'', Patrick Seale Gallery, London, UK
1973 exhibition ''Opening'', Angela Flowers Gallery, London, UK
1971 solo exhibition at the Angela Flowers Gallery, London, UK
Group exhibitions
2022 A Feminist Avant-Garde, Les Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles, France
2022 Punk is Coming, MOKA Westport, USA
2022 Black Book Presents: A Woman's Right to Pleasure, Sotheby's Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2021 Scarlet Women, Atelier Melusine, Chateau Mareuil, La Trimouille, France
2021 Oh Marilyn, Gazelli Art House, London, UK
2021 The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, Ruttkowski 68, Paris, France
2020 Some of the Hole, Simian gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2020 LESS Festival of Contemporary Collage, Viborg, Denmark
2020 The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree, Camden Arts Center, London, UK
2020 Tantra: Enlightenment To Revolution, British Museum, London, UK
2020 The Enchanted Interior, Guildhall, London, UK
2020 Bodily Objects, Richard Saltoun Gallery, London, UK
2019 House of the Sleeping Beauties, Sothebys S/2, London, UK
2018 Visible Women, Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Norwich, UK
2018 The Hired Grievers, curated by Jason Dodge, Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon, Portugal
2018 ''Virginia Woolf:: An Exhibition Inspired by Her Writings'', Tate St Ives, Cornwall, UK
2018 ''The House of Fame'', convened by Linder, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK
2018 ''Worship of Sticks and Stones'', Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2018 ''Paris Photo'', Richard Saltoun Gallery, Grand Palais, Paris, France
''2017 Dreamers Awake'', White Cube Gallery, London, UK
''2017 Women House'', Monnaie de Paris, Paris, France; traveled to National Museum in the Arts, Washington D.C., USA
2017 ''The Beguiling Siren is Thy Crest'', The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland
''2017 Room'', Sadie Coles, London, UK
2016 ''The One Fest Goa'', India
2016 ''Inaugural Exhibition'', Broadway 1602, New York, NY
2016- 2017 ''Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s'', works from the Verbund Collection, Photographers' Gallery, London
2015 ''Photo London'', Somerset House, London, Riflemaker Booth
2015 ''Art 15'', Olympia, London
2015 ''History Is Now'', Hayward Gallery, London.
2015 ''Thea Porter - 70s Bohemian Chic'', Fashion & Textile Museum, London.
2015 ''The Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s'', Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg
2014 ''Woman'', Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels.
2014 ''Paris Photo'', Paramount Studios, Los Angeles.
''2014 Cry Me a River'', Etoile Polaire Lodge #1, New Orleans, LA
2014 ''I:MAGE 2014- Travelling with Unfamiliar Spirits'', Fulgur Esoterica, London
2013 ''Lips Painted Red'', Trondheim Kunstmuseum, Norway
2011 ''Threat'', Broadway 1602, New York.
2009 ''The Dark Monarch'', Tate Gallery, St Ives
2009 ''Angels of Anarchy'', Manchester Art Museum
1993 ''Presentes Caraibes - 500 Years of Amerindian History'', Fort Delgres, Guadeloupe.
1992 ''Addressing the Forbidden'', Edinburgh Art Festival.
1982 ''Imaginary Images'', Floating Foundatiopn of Photography, New York.
1982 ''Rated X'', Neikrug Gallery, New York
1982 ''Erotic Art Photography'', Jacques Baruch Gallery, Chicago.
1978 ''Surrealism and Company in this Decade'', Camden Arts Center, London.
1978 ''Metamorphosis'', University of Cambridge, England.
1974 ''Nude and Naked'', Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, London
1973 Exhibited in the 12th Bienal de São Paulo
1969 ''Young and Fantastic'' Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, UK
Upcoming Group Exhibitions
2022 Joan Didion, What She Means, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2022 Sensitive Content, Unit Gallery, London, UK
2022-2023 The Horror Show, Somerset House, London, UK
2023 Body Poetic, Giant, Bournemouth, UK
Publications
* '50% The Visible Woman', collages and poetry by Penelope Slinger, Empty Eye, 1971.
* An Exorcism''—a book of surreal photo-collage by Penny Slinger, with introduction by Sir Roland Penrose, Villiers publications, 1977.
* 'The Book of Matan' Automatic Writings from the Brink of Eternity edited by Nik Douglas, illustrated by Penny Slinger, Spearman Books, 1977.
* 'Mountain Ecstasy' - full color collages and poetry by Penny Slinger and Nik Douglas, Dragons Dream, 1978.
* 'Secret Dakini Oracle' divination card deck by Penny Slinger and Nik Douglas, US Games and Systems 1977.
* 'Secret Dakini Oracle' book by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Destiny Books, 1979.
*'Sexual Secrets: The Alchemy of Ecstasy' by Nik Douglas and Penny SLinger, including more than 600 line drawings by Ms. Slinger. 1979, Destiny Books. .
*'The Pillow Book' by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Destiny Books, 1981. ,
*'The Erotic Sentiment in the Paintings of India and Nepal', Nik Douglas and Penny SLinger, Inner Traditions, 1989.
*'The Erotic Sentiment in the Paintings of China and Japan', Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Inner Traditions, 1990. ,
*'The Path of the Mystic Lover—Baul Songs of Passion and Ecstasy' by B. Bhattacharya with Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger: Cover and 84 original drawings by Penny, Destiny Books, 1993.
*Anniversary edition of 'Sexual Secrets-The Alchemy of Ecstasy', by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Destiny Books, 2000.
*'Tantric Dakini Oracle', boxed set cards and book, by Nik Douglas and Penny Slinger, Destiny Books, 2001.
References
External links
Penny Slinger's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slinger, Penny
Living people
American contemporary artists
American draughtsmen
Draughtswomen
American surrealist artists
American women essayists
American essayists
1947 births
21st-century American women
People from Boulder Creek, California