Women in Revolt! review: Finally these radical artists get their moment

It was a time of ‘casual sexism, casual sex and more overt sexism’ – but in the Tate’s new survey of feminist art, these 1970s Second Wave trailblazers finally come out on top

Jill Posener, ‘Fiat Ad’, 1979 (Courtesy of the artist/Tate)

“Equal pay is not enough, we want the moon.” “Women are revolting.” “We’re not beautiful, we’re not ugly. We’re angry.” Who needs paintings in galleries when you’ve got demo placards that are works of art in themselves? In this bracing exploration of British feminist art, you’ll find yourself plunged viscerally into the atmosphere of 1970s Britain, and confronted by raw, funny, in-your-face slogans and one-liners from the front line of Second Wave feminism.

It was a time when everything was proverbially grim and grotty, but which saw huge upsurges in the struggles of what were then regarded as “minorities” – women, the gay community, Black people. These cultural battles have had a powerful impact on what Britain has become in the decades since.

That quintessential Seventies feel is evident in not just the placards but the lumpen, embattled quality of the materials used in the art: Xerox photocopies, grainy black-and-white photography, blurry video, torn newspapers and, er, knitting.