How are you coping in self-isolation? Has this strange turn of events impacted your work rhythm?

Not very much.  I have been self-isolating for years.  It is the only way to get anything done.  I am not in my NYC studio at all though which means no studio visits.  I do miss them. but other than that, I work about 4-5 hours a day.

What are you working on now? Are you focusing on a particular series or do you bounce between bodies of work simultaneously?

For years I have worked on images that include language at the same time that I am doing sex works.  Right now I am working on works on paper that have language (mostly classic abuse lines) and scrawls and I am tackling a new group of paintings that include use of color with chromatic blacks.  Also i have been continuing the "Insults" and "Lament" paintings.  And now I am trying to work out the logistics of getting art history images onto canvas so I can paint words and stories on top of them.  

Can you talk a little bit about how you “collect” the language for these works? I know that in the beginning of the “Women’s Words” project you would solicit contributions from people...but since then, you have also appropriated found language from the public domain. How has the #MeToo movement come into play in this body of work?

I still get email or messages with someone’s story.  But since #MeToo started, I get a lot of material from the newspaper stories and blog posts.  Seems to be unending. It’s wonderful (for me, not for the people involved of course). They are a gift.  Also every once in a while, I google something like “classic abuse lines”.  I write them all down and then see what resonates later.  Also in the beginning, when I solicited words through email, my rule was that none of them could originate with me.  As the concept has developed into the art history pages and the "Apologia" series, that rule does not stand.  Some of them I have written through my own experiences or things my grandmother told me when I was a child.  I did a Mona Lisa that was the story of my divorce.  Pretty cathartic stuff.  

Speaking of catharsis, your whole story has been a long journey from being initially misunderstood and rejected by feminist artists to now becoming an icon of radical feminist art practice for many of us...is there ever a point where you are tired of being labeled as a woman artist or a feminist? Or are you happy with this gendered reception of your work? It used to be a goal of some women artists to shed that category...for a non-gendered, full parity utopia. Others fully embrace the labels of sexual difference and derive strength from affirming their separateness. Thoughts?

Good question!  I have been on both sides of it over the years.  When I was in grad school in the ’60’s, my then husband taught at the same school. He came home one day to say the faculty had decided to dedicate one of its grad student slots to a woman. He was very proud of this. i was so confused by it. i said to him “what happens if there are 2 women grad student? One is in this totally gendered grad slot and the other is simply a grad student?  I don’t remember getting a reasonable answer. The full parity utopia is a fantasy right now so i am going with the alternative. The backlash against women reminds me of the 50’s.  All progress we had made is gone.  I am standing with the feminists .I am so grateful that the younger generations of feminists have decided to embrace my work.  

As a defiant figure on the front lines of censorship for many decades, how have you been doing in the social media front?  We’ve talked about your struggles with instagram and you’ve been instrumental in getting that company to abide by its own “community standards” by not censoring images of nudity in the case of artworks. Have you been able to maintain your presence on these platforms or is it still a struggle? How important is social media to your practice?

Today is the one year anniversary of my instagram account being reinstated.  So it is much on my mind.  It was taken down a second time for a few hours but then reinstated. Apparently my accounts flagged so that EVERYTHING I post is reviewed.  In the second case, they thought I had posted a porn photo making it the only time I have gotten in trouble for doing it too well.  When I post something I think they will find questionable, I also post the community guidelines.  It is very odd to have to censor my posts like this.  I simply don’t post a lot of what I do. I still do it but I don’t post it.  it's ridiculous.  So I would say it is still a struggle. In our current situation with galleries/museums shut and the internet and social media having an even larger influence than previously, the implications are a bit frightening! 

about betty tompkins

In a career spanning five decades, Betty Tompkins, born in 1945, has been celebrated and scorned for her provocative feminist iconography. A pioneering artist, Tompkins is best known for her direct depictions of the female body, sexuality, and sexual desire. Tompkins has presented recent solo exhibitions at The Flag Art Foundation, New York, New York; J Hammond Projects, London; Ribordy Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland; and P·P·O·W, New York. Her work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including Half the Picture: A Feminist Look at the Collection, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, 2018; Histórias da sexualidade, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Brazil, 2018; Black Sheep Feminism: The Art of Sexual Politics, Dallas Contemporary, Texas, 2016; and Elles, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France, 2011. Tompkins’ work will be the subject of a solo exhibition at MO.CO. Montpellier Contemporain, France in 2021.