Radical Care as Social Action: Mierle Laderman Ukeles' Manifesto and Maintenance Art

Abstract

As a manifesto, Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Manifesto! Maintenance Art – Proposal for an Exhibition “Care,” 1969 stems from the political and artistic traditions of declaring radical ideas and disrupting oppressive power systems through art. Ukeles’ manifesto makes the feminist, social, and environmental assertions that are then embedded in her art performances. Ukeles’ art uses mundane labor and care to disrupt power structures, gendered identities, and institutional hierarchies. She wrote her manifesto to highlight the disregard society has for maintenance workers and domestic caregivers. After writing her missive, she created performative art pieces by cleaning spaces and caring for her children. She named this work Maintenance art. Ukeles’ art acknowledges the labor of maintenance as life sustaining. The social contract she makes with participants and viewers encourages the human capacity for collective action to resolve social and environmental crises by providing care. A critical analysis of Ukeles’ artistic mission can be contrasted with Hannah Arendt’s theoretical distinction between repetitive labor and creative work in The Human Condition to deepen our understanding of how Ukeles’ manifesto and art elevate labor and work into a viable and valuable political initiative. This thesis explores Ukeles’ trailblazing role in two key art strategies: the creation of manifestos by women artists and a type of art practice now identified by scholars as Socially Engaged art.