The Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls are an anonymous group of feminists devoted to fighting against sexism within the art world. They are famous for wearing gorilla masks in order to keep their identity hidden.

They formed in 1985, as a response to the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition "An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture," which showcased work by 169 artists. However, out of those 169 artists, 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 by placing posters throughout SoHo. Ironically, their posters are now on display at the museum they originally protested.

Early organizing was based around group evaluation of statistical data gathered regarding gender inequality within the New York City art world. An example of data gathered by the group included the "penis 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 that 83% of the women depicted were nude. Data like this formed the basis for protests - both verbally and visually. The group also kept "report cards" about organizations, galleries and critics featuring this data.

Example of the Guerrilla Girls Report Cards

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. They are known for their bold statements, including "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?"

However, the Guerrilla Girls had their fair share of critics, too. One even stated, “why do they have to wear such ugly things like gorilla masks, why can't they wear Cinderella masks?”

Membership in the New York City group is by invite only, and is based on relationships with current and past members, and one's involvement in contemporary art world. Due to the lack of formality, the group is comfortable with individuals outside of their base claiming to be Guerrilla Girls. One Guerrilla Girl stated in a 2007 interview that "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 may support the group by assisting in promotional activities.

Guerrilla Girls generally take on pseudonyms based on dead and/or forgotten female artists. Members go by names such as Alma Thomas, Rosalba Carriera, Frida Kahlo, Julia de Borgos, and Hannah Hoch. By using pseudonyms, they are able to pay homage to, and remember, female artists.

Though the art world has made quite a bit of progress since the Guerrilla Girls formation in 1985, it's still a work in progress. Women artists working today still earn less than what most male artists earn, and working women in general earn about 77.4% of a man's salary.

Since 2000, only 14% of the Guggenheim's solo shows of living artists have been devoted to women. Only 8% of the work exhibited by the Museum of Modern Art is by women. Only about 23% of solo gallery shows at top New York sites feature pieces by female artists. Women are also consistently only 15% of the names on Artforum‘s, Art + Auction‘s, and ArtReview‘s annual “power lists.”

80% of students at the School of Visual Arts are female. However, in the real world, galleries and museums are dominated by male artists, as 70 to 80% of work displayed is usually by male artists.

Now I'm going to get off my feminist soapbox, and let you do your own independent research!  As always, feel free to comment or contact me with any questions.  Sorry it took me so long to get the post up, I've been having some problems with my internet.

"There is still an institutional lag and an insistence on a male Eurocentric narrative. We are trying to change the future: to get girls and boys to realize that women's art is not an exception—it's a normal part of art history."
Judy Chicago, Artist

To find out more about the Guerrilla Girls, visit: http://www.guerrillagirls.com/