While still engaged in the Birth Project, Judy Chicago undertook a series of work examining the gender construct of masculinity. In both modest and monumental drawings, paintings, weavings, cast paper pieces and bronzes, she cast a critical eye at the negative ways in which men have exercised power and some of the consequences for both them and the world. Writing in Judy Chicago: An American Vision (the first monograph to appear on the artist), British art historian Edward Lucie-Smith stated: "PowerPlay, begun in 1982, is an enterprise that overlapped with the Birth Project, but that could hardly be more different. In fact, almost the only thing the two series of images have in common is that they are both confrontational and deal with issues that have usually not made much of an appearance in Western art." Lucie-Smith then quoted Chicago: "I knew that I didn't want to keep perpetuating the use of the female body as the repository of so many emotions; it seemed as if everything – love, dread, longing, loathing, desire, and terror – was projected onto the female by both male and female artists, albeit with often differing perspectives. I wondered what feelings the male body might be made to express. Also, I wanted to understand why men acted so violently."
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Judy Chicago, Driving the World to Destruction 11/50, 1988, Serigraph, 30 x 40.25 in. (76.2 x 102.24 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Plate #6 for Driving the World to Destruction, 1987-1988, Prismacolor on rag paper, 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Plate #6B for Driving the World to Destruction, 1987-1988, Prismacolor on rag paper, 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, White plate #1 for Driving the World to Destruction, 1987-1988, Prismacolor on rag paper, 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Blue plate #5 for Driving the World to Destruction, 1987-1988, Prismacolor on rag paper, 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Red plate #4 for Driving the World to Destruction, 1987-1988, Prismacolor on rag paper, 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Plate #3 Earth/Flames Ground for Driving the World to Destruction, 1987-1988, Prismacolor on rag paper, 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Doublehead with Blue Eye #1, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Doublehead with Green Eye Lid #2, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Doublehead with Milky Tear #3, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Golden Doublehead #4, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Doublehead with Gold Tear/Help Me #6, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Growling Doublehead #7, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Roaring Doublehead with Bleeding Tear #8, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Angry Doublehead with Cut #9, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Doublehead with Red Eyebrow #10, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Doublehead with Blue and Orange/Save Me #11, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Doublehead with Torn Tear #12, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 3 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 7.62 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Woe/Man with Turquoise Chin #2, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 5 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 12.7 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Woe/Man with Bleeding Notch #4, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 5 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 12.7 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Woe/Man with Slit Throat #5, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 5 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 12.7 cm), Frame size: 61" x 48.5" x 8". © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Woe/Man with Spittle #6, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 5 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 12.7 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Woe/Woe Bloody Man #8, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 5 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 12.7 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Woe/Man with Blue Eye #9, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 5 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 12.7 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Judy Chicago, Woe/Man with Burning Throat #10, 1986, Sprayed acrylic and oil on hand cast paper, 51 x 39.5 x 5 in. (129.54 x 100.33 x 12.7 cm). © Judy Chicago/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo © Donald Woodman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
