Created between 2012 and 2018, the works in the series, The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction, explore the subjects of death, Chicago’s own mortality, and the tragic, ongoing extinction of many other species. The processes used to create this body of work–ceramic, glass, and bronze–can be seen as a culmination of the artist’s nearly sixty years of studio practice during which she has worked in a large variety of media, each selected to suit the works’ content. For The End, the materials were chosen as a reflection of life itself: simultaneously hard and fragile. A similar paradox is achieved through the extremely detailed and delicate use of china paint, which gives the images a luminosity and vibrance that draws viewers in to look closer and longer though the subject matter may be troubling. Chicago asks viewers to contemplate their own fate as it is tied to the treatment of other species and the planet and understand the works’ foundation in the feminist principle that justice for women is connected to the need for a global justice that includes the humane treatment of all creatures.
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Judy Chicago, Title Panel: The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction from The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction , 2015, China-painted porcelain, 12 x 16 in. © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Stages of Dying from The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction , 2015, China-painted porcelain, 12 x 16 in. © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Denial from The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction , 2015, China-painted porcelain, 12 x 16 in. © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Anger from The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction , 2015, China-painted porcelain, 12 x 16 in. © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Bargaining from The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction , 2015, China-painted porcelain, 16 x 12 in. © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Depression from The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction , 2015, China-painted porcelain, 12 x 16 in. © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Acceptance from The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction , 2015, China-painted porcelain, 16 x 12 in. © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
