Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
5-2025
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Fine Arts
Degree Program
Art (Creative) and Art History with a concentration in Art History, MA
Committee Chair
Sichel, Jennifer
Committee Member
Reitz, Chris
Committee Member
Kleinkopf, Kathryn
Author's Keywords
lesbian; avant-garde; feminism; the ladder; lesbian magazine
Abstract
This project examines the role of the periodical magazine in artistic production of avant-garde ideology, focusing on the ability of print as a medium to distribute poetry, art, literature and discourse of the avant-garde in an underground manner. More specifically, it places the earliest American lesbian periodical, The Ladder, in conversation with the surrealist magazine, Minotaure and the New York Dadaist magazine, Blind Man in order to examine the overlaps in how each publication functioned within their respective movements. I use this positioning to argue that The Ladder is as worthy of scholarly attention as the Surrealist and Dadaist publications I discuss as it positions art as a central element in lesbian identity and ways of being.
Recommended Citation
Melloy, Sarah, "Movement on the ladder: The lesbian avant-garde in America." (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4588.
Retrieved from https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd/4588
