Lucy Lippard: I See / You Mean

‘I See/ You Mean’ is an experimental novel by Lucy Lippard, a prominent artist and feminist activist.

The book traces the shifting currents between two men and two women through a collage of overheard dialogue, sexual encounters, the I Ching, palmistry, and astrology. Written in 1979, this book also catalogues the flourishing of Lippard’s feminist consciousness.

A lot happens between the lines. Art critic Lucy Lippard wrote this novel in 1970 and became a feminist in the process: “I started writing and realized I was ashamed to be a woman. Then I had to find out why. Then I got very angry. The fragmented and visual form came out of contemporary art and the conflicting emotions of 1960s political confrontation; they suggested a new way that didn’t pretend conclusions.”