| Guerrilla Girls | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Reinventing the "f" word: feminism! |
| Formation | 1985 |
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States |
| Region served | Worldwide |
| Official languages | English |
| Website | www.guerrillagirls.com |
Guerrilla Girls are an anonymous group of feminists devoted to fighting against sexism within the visual fine art world internationally. Started in New York City in 1985 to protest gender and racial inequality in the art world, members are known for the gorilla masks they wear to keep their anonymity.
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Guerrilla Girls formed in 1985 in response to the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition "An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture" which showcased 169 artists; out of those 169, only 17 were women. The curator's press release for the exhibition stated: "Any artist who is not in my show should rethink his career." The founding Guerrilla Girls spoke out against the curator's statement and museum's lack of female artist coverage by placing posters throughout SoHo.[1] Eventually the group started to take notice of racial inequality within the art world, and began to incorporate artists of color into their fold.[2] The group did not start off wearing masks.[2]
Through their history the Guerrilla Girls have seen art and the world surrounding it evolve into a different place with issues changing since 1985. Tokenism is just one of the concerns challenged by the group today.[1] Economic discrimination in art sales and the auction market is another. Women and artists of color earn about 10-20% of what white men do for comparable artwork.
In 2001 the group split into three separate and independent organizations: Guerrilla Girls, Inc., Guerrilla Girls BroadBand, Inc., and Guerrilla Girls On Tour! Inc. The original unincorporated association, Guerrilla Girls, no longer exist!
Guerrilla Girls organize protests, present at public speaking engagements and have conducted surveys about women artists and those of color in museums and galleries internationally.[1] Early organizing was based around meetings where the group would evaluate the statistical data they gathered regarding gender inequality within the New York City art world and plan their next moves. One example of data gathered by the group included a "weenie count," where members would go to institutions, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and count the male to female subject ratio in artworks. The data gathered from the Met's public collections in 1985 showed that only 5% of the subjects were women and 83% of the images of women displayed were nude. Data like this formed the basis for protests - verbally and visually. The group also kept report cards about organizations, galleries and critics featuring this data. The Guerrilla Girls also worked closely with artists, encouraging them to speak to those within the community to bridge the gender gap within the art world.[2]
In 1992, with the Women’s Action Coalition (WAC), a protest was held at the Guggenheim Museum, involving the passing out of large paper bags with gorilla masks printed on them to protesters.[3] A Gig Girl is assigned to handle public appearance requests, as well as funding and coordination of travel. The Guerrilla Girls have protested and/or spoken out about gender and race concerns regarding the Whitney Biennial as well as private collections and auctions.[2]
Throughout their existence the Guerrilla Girls have utilized protest art to express their ideals, opinions, concerns, and to bring revenue into the group. Their posters, which now are in the collection of the museum they originally protested against, the Museum of Modern Art, among others, are known for their bold statements such as "Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?" and "When racism and sexism are no longer fashionable, what will your art collection be worth?".[1] In the early days posters were brainstormed, designed, critiqued and posted around New York. Small handbills based on their designs were also passed out at events by the thousands.[2]
In 1990 the group designed a billboard featuring Mona Lisa that was placed along the West Side Highway supported by the New York City public art fund. For one day, New York's MTA Bus Company also displayed bus advertisements asking "Do Women Have to get Naked to get into the Met Museum?". Stickers also became popular calling cards representative of the group. In the mid-1980s they infiltrated, without masks to maintain anonymity, the Guggenheim Museum bathrooms, placing stickers they had created about female inequality on the walls.[2]
In 1998, Guerrilla Girls West protested at the San Jose Museum of Art, over low representation of women artists.[4]
Since 2002, Guerrilla Girls, Inc.have designed and installed billboards in Los Angeles during the Oscars to expose white male dominance in the film industry, such as: "Anatomically Correct Oscars", "Even the Senate is More Progressive than Hollywood", "The Birth of Feminism,"[5] "Unchain the Women Directors."[6]
Guerrilla Girls have also published books relating to their statistical data, protest art and goals regarding inequality in the art world. In 1995 they published their first book: Confessions of the Guerrilla Girls.[3]
Membership in the New York City group is by invite only, based on relationships with current and past members, and one's involvement in contemporary art world. A mentoring program was formed within the group, pairing a new member with an experienced Guerrilla Girl to bring them into the fold.[3] Due to the lack of formality, the group is comfortable with individuals outside of their base claiming to be Guerrilla Girls; Guerilla Girl 1 stated in a 2007 interview: "It can only enhance us by having people of power who have been given credit for being a Girl, even if they were never a Girl." Men are not allowed to become Guerrilla Girls but do support the group by assisting in promotional activities.[2]
Guerrilla Girls names are pseudonyms generally based on well-known dead female artists. Members goes by names such as Alma Thomas, Rosalba Carriera, Frida Kahlo, Julia de Borgos, and Hannah Hoch. Carriera is credited with the idea of using pseudonyms as ways to not forget female artists; having read about Rosable Carriera in a footnote of Letters on Cezanne by Maria Rainer Rilke, she decided to pay tribute to this little known woman artist with her Guerrilla Girls name. This also helped to solve the problem of media interviews; the group was often interviewed by phone and would not give names, causing problems and confusion amongst the group and the media. Guerrilla Girl 1 joined in the late 1980s, taking on her name as a way to memorialize women in the art community who have fallen under the radar and did not make as notable as an impact as the names takes on by other members.[2]
In a 1985 panel discussion with the group at Cooper Union, Art dealer Holly Solomon questioned their wearing of gorilla masks asking:
Why do they have to wear such ugly things like gorilla masks, why can't they wear Cinderella masks?
With international appearances the reception has varied; students in a small town in Indiana threw things while the Guerrilla Girls presented, in contrast to visits to the Art Institute of Chicago, which they described as being "treated like rock stars."[2]
Members of the group have described themselves as "professional complainers"; believing that just having their posters and group art in the holdings of major museums allows art history to reflect on the critique of 20th-century and 21st-century art which is often overlooked.[1]