Monica Sjöö (31 December 1938 – 8 August 2005) was a Swedish-born British-based painter, writer and radicalanarcho/eco-feminist who was an early exponent of the Goddess movement.[1] Her books and paintings were foundational to the development of feminist art in Britain, beginning at the time of the founding of the women's liberation movement around 1970.
Sjöö's most famous painting is God Giving Birth (1968), which depicts a woman giving birth and was inspired by Sjöö's religious view of motherhood; it sparked some protests from Christian groups in the 1970s.[2] She wrote or co-wrote the manifesto Towards a Revolutionary Feminist Art (1971) and The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth (1987).
Her parents were the Swedish painters Gustaf Arvid Sjöö (1902–1949) and Anna Harriet Rosander-Sjöö (1912–1965), who divorced when Sjöö was three years old.[3] She left school and ran away from home when she was 16.[3][4]
Sjöö traveled Europe and held a variety of jobs: she worked in vineyards and as a nude model at art schools in Paris and Rome.[4][5] She first came to Britain in the late 1950s, and eventually settled in Bristol where – except for a period in Wales in the early 1980s – she lived for the rest of her life.[6]
The cover of The Great Cosmic Mother (1987). It features Sjöö's painting Diana The Moon (1976).[7]
Sjöö was the main author of Towards a Revolutionary Feminist Art (1971) one of the first, and most militant, feminist art manifestos. It was discussed widely in the feminist press, and The Guardian published an article in response.[8]
Sjöö wrote the original pamphlet[9] that, with Barbara Mor's re-write and expansion,[10] would become the book The Great Cosmic Mother (1987). It covers women's ancient history and the origin of religion, and is one of the first books to propose that humanity's earliest religious and cultural belief systems were created and first practised by women. It is currently in print and has been, and still is, a part of many women's studies, mythology and religious studiessyllabi.[11] Her research and writing helped uncover the hidden history of the Goddess. Sjöö's successful use of interdisciplinarity in her research has led to its acclaim within the Goddess movement.[12]
Sjöö's first exhibition was at the Gallery Karlsson in Stockholm, Sweden in 1967.[13] Having been a founder member of the Bristol Women's Liberation group, in March 1971, she participated in the first "Women's Liberation Art Group" exhibition held at the Woodstock Gallery in London.[14][15]
Margaret Harrison (1977) states that [on one occasion in 1970 several of Sjöö's paintings were banned from being shown in St. Ives during the St. Ives festival]. (...) "Monica then wrote in Socialist Woman (Nottingham) proposing forming a group or alliance of women artists. This led to the formation of the Bristol Women's Art Group (...)".[16]
Sjöö used imagery in her paintings which often references birth, the female body, and nature. All of these images were central to her beliefs regarding her "Cosmic Mother". She described herself as among the pioneers in this movement of reclaiming female divinity – along with many other writers, artists, poets, and thinkers. In her art, she attempted to "holistically express" her growing religious belief in the Great Mother as the cosmic spirit and generative force in the universe. This was a critical component of her artwork. She claimed to enter a "state" of being or of mind where knowledge was available from past, present, and future.
Sjöö's most famous painting, God Giving Birth (1968), depicts a woman giving birth, and has the title text painted in red capitalized letters. It is an expression of Sjöö's spiritual journey at that time, inspired by her religious experience during the birth of her second son, and represents her perception of the Great Mother as the universal creator of cosmic life. The painting and its concept created some controversy among Christian groups in the 1970s; at a group exhibition in London in 1973, it led to Sjöö being reported to the police for blasphemy, although the case was not taken up by the court.[17]
Sjöö's work and beliefs centered on her respect and care of the Goddess, or Mother Earth. The Goddess was "the beauty of the green earth, the life-giving waters, the consuming fires, the radiant moon, and the fiery sun". Sjöö's respect for nature and the environment was not mere belief but, for her, a spiritual truth. The Goddess / Earth is to be respected as the life giver. This respect is to be found not only in her imagery, but in two texts which chronicle her journey through the written word.[18][19]
Yet, these abstract beliefs were grounded with a firm foundation of action and activism. She was involved with the anarchist and anti-Vietnam War movements in Sweden in the 1960s and was active in the women's movement in Britain. Her political activism always grew out of her spiritual understanding of the earth as our living mother, similar to the beliefs of some Native American peoples.
Starhawk described Sjöö's work as paintings that "transformed ancient images and symbols into contemporary icons of female power."[21]
In 1976 Sjöö was the subject of a film documentary shown at the ICA and NFT.[22]
Sjöö believed heterosexuality was an unnatural state imposed by patriarchy, and later in her life she enjoyed a number of intimate romantic relationships with women. (In the context of the 1980 essay by Adrienne Rich, "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence".) However, after separating from her second husband, Andy Jubb, a composer, in the mid 1970s, Sjöö had an intense relationship with Keith Paton, a founder of the Alternative Socialist movement and, like Sjöö herself, a regular contributor to the alternative press, especially Peace News. Under Sjöö's influence, Paton changed his name to Motherson (or Mothersson).[23]
Two of her three sons died young. In 1985 her youngest, Leify, was killed in front of her by an oncoming car at age 15. Her eldest son, Sean, died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1987, aged 28.[24] She claimed that his death was exacerbated by his experiences of rebirthing.[25] Sjöö's grief at this double loss led first to an artistic paralysis akin to writer's block, and then to artistic expression, in the shape of the painting My Sons in the Spirit World (1989).[24]
Sjöö's art can be found in the Women's Art Collection at Murray Edwards CollegeinCambridge and at the Museum Anna Nordlander [sv]inSkellefteå, Sweden. Some of her works are currently held in private collections of individuals: Sig Lonegren, Alice Walker, and Genevieve Vaughan[13] hold a few, while Maggie Parks holds most of her art.[26] The Temple of Goddess Spirituality dedicated to Sekhmet holds Solar Lionheaded Sekhment of Primordial Fire (1992, oil on hardboard) where it is displayed in the living room of their guest house.[27][28]
Excerpted in: Sjöö, Monica; Mor, Barbara (2016). "The First Sex: In The Beginning We Were All Female". In Barrett, Ruth (ed.). Female Erasure. Tidal Time. ISBN978-0997146707.
—— (1999). Return of the Dark/Light Mother or New Age Armageddon: Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future. Austin, TX: Plain View Press. ISBN9781891386077.
—— (1 May 2000). The Norse Goddess. Meyn Mamvro Publications. ISBN978-0-9518859-6-3.
—— (2003). Kvinnligt konstnärligt skapande är mänskligt skapande: några kommentarer till Monica von Stedingk, "Kvinnokonstmuseum som ide" [Female Artistic Creation is Human Creation: Some Comments by Monica von Stedingk, "Women's Art Museum as an Idea"] (in Swedish). Museum Anna Nordlander. ISBN9789186072315.
Sjöö, Monica (1972). "A Woman's Rights Over Her Body". In Wandor, Michelene (ed.). The Body Politic: Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement in Britain, 1969–1972. London: Stage 1. pp. 180–188. ISBN9780850350142.
—— (1983). "Aspects of the Great Mother" and "Creation". In Garcia, Jo; Maitland, Sara. Walking on the Water: Women Talk About Spirituality. London: Virago. ISBN9780860683810
——; Smythe, Roslyn (1987). "Some Thoughts About Our Exhibition of 'Womanpower: Women's Art' at the Swiss Cottage Library". In Parker, Rozsika; Pollock, Griselda (eds.). Framing Feminism: Art and the Women's Movement, 1970–85. London: Pandora Press. ISBN9780863581793.
—— (1990). "Tested by the Dark/Light Mother of the Other-world". In Matthews, Caitlin (ed.). Voices of the Goddess: A Chorus of Sibyls. Aquarian Press. ISBN9780850309652.
——; Straffon, Cheryl (1993). "Introduction". Pagan Cornwall: Land of the Goddess. Penzance, Cornwall: Meyn Mamvro. ISBN9780951885925.
—— (1995). "Monica Sjöö". In Witzling, Mara R. (ed.). Voicing Today's Visions: Writings by Contemporary Women Artists. London: Women's Press. ISBN0704344335.
—— (1996). "Well Worship: The Cult of Sacred Waters". In Castle, Leila (ed.). Earthwalking Skydancers: Women's Pilgrimages to Sacred Places. North Atlantic Books. ISBN978-1883319335.
^Monica Sjöö with Barbara Mor, The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1987. ISBN0-06-250791-5.
^Herndobler, Robin (September 1987). "In The Spirit of the Goddess". The Women's Review of Books. 4 (12): 17. doi:10.2307/4020153. JSTOR4020153. Filled with Sjoo's artwork, drawings of the Mother from every angle (literally), the book combines historical data from diverse sources, some long buried or suppressed, with penetrating analysis.
^ ab"Exhibitions". Monica Sjöö: An Online Retrospective. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
^Parker, Rozsika; Pollock, Griselda, eds. (1987). Framing Feminism: Art and the Women's Movement 1970 – 1985. Pandora Press. pp. 2–4, 27–28, 181, 187–188, 191. ISBN978-0863581793.
^Harrison, Margaret (1977). "Notes on Feminist Art in Britain 1970–77". Studio International. 193 (987): 212–220.
^Raivio, Magdalena (2007). "Transforming Reality or Reinforcing Stereotypes? On the Use of Birth-Giving as Metaphor in a Spiritual Ecofeminist Context". In Stenström, Hanna; Vuola, Elina; Bieberstein, Sabine (eds.). Scandinavian Critique of Anglo-American Feminist Theology. Journal of the European Society of Women in Theological Research. Vol. 15. Leuven: Peeters. p. 150. doi:10.2143/ESWTR.15.0.2022774. ISBN978-90-429-1974-7.
^Monica Sjöö with Barbara Mor, The Ancient Religion of The Great Cosmic Mother of All. Trondheim, Norway: Rainbow Press, 1981. ISBN82-7223-012-7.
^Monica Sjöö, New Age and Armageddon: The Goddess or the Gurus? Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future. London: Women's Press Ltd., 1994. ISBN0-7043-4263-4. Reprinted as Return of the Dark/Light Mother or New Age Armageddon? Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future. Texas: Plain View Press. ISBN1-891386-07-7.
^Sjoo, Monica (1999). Return of the Dark/Light Mother or New Age Armageddon? – Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future. Plain View Press. pp. 161–173. ISBN1891386077.
White, Rupert (2018) Monica Sjöö: Life and Letters 1958-2005 Antenna Publications ISBN9780993216442
Gunnarsson, Annika (2010). "Monica Sjöö". In Nilsson, John Peter (ed.). Det Andra Önskemuseet: The Second Museum of Our Wishes (in Swedish). Göttingen: Steidl. pp. 104–108. ISBN9783869301457.