The Guerrilla Girls are a socially active group of women that originated in 1985. Their identities are hidden by gorilla masks. Their group of women came about because I guess they were tired of women not being noticed. In 1982, the Coalition of Womens Art Organizations reported that only 2% of museum exhibitions by living artists were devoted to women. The Guerrilla Girls took it upon themselves to start doing something about this. They started plastering New York City with posters, publicly questioning the inequity with which women are represented, exhibited, and funded in the arts. The Guerrilla Girls have produced posters, stickers, books, printed projects, and actions that expose sexism and racism in politics, the art world, film, and the culture at large. They use humor to convey information, provoke discussion, and show that feminists can be funny. They were the gorilla masks to focus on the issues rather than their personalities. Dubbing themselves the conscience of culture, they declare themselves feminist counterparts to the mostly male tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, Batman, and the Lone Ranger. Their work has been passed around the world by kindred spirits. The Guerrilla Girls are an extremely proud group of women and I would be proud to be a part of them. The Guerrilla Girls believe feminism is a fundamental way of looking at the world and they recognize that half of us are female and all of us should be equal. I could not agree more. It’s a fact of history that for centuries women have not had the rights and privileges of men and I believe it’s time for that to end. I wholeheartedly believe in everything that the Guerrilla Girls stand for.
By Paige Horowitz
The Guerrilla Girls have definitely found a way to be noticed, not for themselves, but for the causes that they support. The ability to bring attention to issues such as sexism and racism in such diverse areas as politics and the arts, yet in a manner that is as generally non-confrontational as humor is in itself a gift. I like that they consider themselves the feminist counterparts to the likes of Robin Hood, Batman, and the Lone Ranger. What an eclectic group – Robin Hood while doing good was essentially a thief, and Batman and the Lone Ranger were do-gooders who had to hide their identity. Hmm, perhaps like the Guerrilla Girls who hid behind their masks? I totally agree with your view that it is time for inequality between men and women to end. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing, if women were equally represented in not only the arts, but in the world in general?
ReplyDeletePosted by Maryann Bordonaro (Group Awesome)
Hi Paige! So your comment on my blog inspired me to reply back on yours! I glanced at this section in the chapter and contemplated writing about it, however, I am in love with Banksy and couldnt turn my back on him! I agree with you that both of our topics very different yet they encompass political topics or social issues (as is seen with Banksy specifically) that give one fuel for the fire and a desire to express via art. I could tell while reading your blog that you truly posses compassion with regards to this topic. I must say that I particularly enjoyed the video you embedded for several reasons. It is nice to get a first person perspective from an actual woman who participated in this "movement". Also, the background song is one of my favorite female artists! Her philosophies very much parallel the sense of feminism that the Guerrilla Girls convey. This concept of depreciated women in the media/art world is still very much so an issue today. Where womems bodies are used as/in art yet a female artist is shown a lack of respect much like a female business woman due to male domination. Although, what I speak of has come a long way sense the past and I know that it is because of the impact the Guerrilla Girls made for the future female artists and women generations.
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