Norah DePalma

Judy Chicago, Smoke Bodies, from the portfolio On Fire, 1972 (performance); printed 2013, Inkjet print on paper documenting a site-specific pyrotechnic performance with fireworks and colored smoke flares, California desert, 16 × 16 in. (40.6 × 40.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

Chicago’s Smoke Bodies reflects her broader commitment goal to feminist collaboration and visibility within art spaces that have historically excluded women. The work emphasizes, intimacy and shared By projecting connection and participation, Chicago challenges how museums traditionally display and value art. She is always fighting for more communal narratives. The smoke drifts into the vents and cracks of the building, "infecting" the museum from the outside in. In the context of this exhibition, the piece illustrates how feminist practices can reshape the museum from a hierarchical institution into a more open space.