fierce pussy 2009
fierce pussy 1991
fierce pussy is an artist/activist collective advancing a radical queer and feminist position through a variety of interventions in public spaces. Formed in New York City in 1991 through our immersion in AIDS activism during a decade of increasing political mobilization around LGBTQ+ rights, fierce pussy brought lesbian identity and visibility directly into the streets.
Low-tech and low budget, the collective responded to the urgency of those years, using readily available resources:
old typewriters, found photographs, our own baby pictures, and the printing supplies and equipment accessible in our day jobs.
fierce pussy projects included wheat pasting posters on
the street, renaming New York City streets after prominent lesbian heroines, re-designing the restroom at the LGBT community center, printing and distributing stickers and t-shirts, a greeting card campaign, a video PSA and more recently, various installations and exhibitions in galleries
and museums.
Originally fierce pussy was composed of a fluid and
often shifting cadre of dykes including Pam Brandt, Jean Carlomusto, Donna Evans, Alison Froling, and Suzanne Wright. Many other women came to an occasional meeting, and joined in to wheat paste, stencil and sticker. Four
of the original core members—Nancy Brooks Brody,
Joy Episalla, Zoe Leonard, and Carrie Yamaoka—continue
to work together.
September 12, 1962 – December 8, 2023
Extraordinary artist, beloved friend, fierce comrade sister.
Gatherer of mushrooms, connoisseur of oils and scents, numerophile, lover of games, agile handstand cartwheel tumbler, itinerant dj, firefighter, dancer, fan of candles and matches, activist, mentor, debonair dresser, native new yorker, poetic list maker... and all these words fail.
Brody's artwork spans drawing, painting, sculpture, installation and performance, moving between materials in ways that challenge and shift traditional genres. Over a long career from the 1980s to the present, they exhibited internationally. In addtion to their solo work, they were also a founding member of the queer art collective fierce pussy.
In the summer of 2021 Brody was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and went through every step of illness and treament as they had lived, with dignity, humor, grit and grace. They remained true to themselves all the way through. Brody
died at home, and at peace, surrounded by their loving chosen family.
We were lucky to know you, we will cherish and love you always, and we will continue to hear you and see you in the remarkable body of artwork you left behind, as well as in the wealth of shared experiences we each had with you. You are transplendent. Thank you for sharing your life with us.
Brody is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn,
New York.
Image; Brody, 2008, Mining the Archive, an exhibition at the Lesbian Herstory Archive residency