The Reality Shows

The first Karen Finley book to be published since 2006, this collection of the first ten years of the millennium shows an artist engaged in the deepest political and cultural issues of her time.

Kathleen Hanna, the former lead singer of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, is known widely to a generation of punks and feminists; she will provide a foreword discussing Karen Finley as one of her major influences.

Each performance in this lively collection is introduced by the author to give context and history to the work. Perfect for fans and students of performing arts.

A timeline of political/cultural milestones of the past 10 years will run as a companion to the texts throughout the book.

A renowned performance artist, Finley has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, two Obies, two Bessies, an Edwin Booth Award, Ms. magazine’s Woman of the Year, NARAL’s Person of the Year, Coagula Art Journal’s Artist of the Decade, and two NEA fellowships, one of which was controversially revoked after Senator Jesse Helms condemned her work for “decency” issues.