gorillagirlsKathleenBedard

Gorilla Girl Write Up

In 2007 it’s hard to imagine a time when women were limited to becoming nuns or mothers, or very rarely single teachers; a time when any other occupation was unheard of, laughable. In our current world, where women dominate college attendance, it is hard to imagine a time when such limited expectations abounded. Society has come a long way in achieving equality among the sexes… or has it? As a sheltered, Midwestern, middle class white girl, the only prejudice I can recall encountering involved being picked last a couple times for hockey- a prejudice that was grounded more in the fact that I couldn’t play very well rather than in gender stereotypes. In my life, gender discrimination has surfaced only in the form of a section or two of reading in tenth grade political economics. Perhaps this is why, when Gorilla Girl Freda Callowell(?) asked us whether or not we considered ourselves to be feminists I remained a “fence person”. As a sympathetic individual, I could always somewhat identify with the cause of feminists, yet not in such a way that made me consider ever becoming one. The images and messages contained in the lecture helped to paint a better picture of what exactly women are up against in a world that is for the most part, still male dominated.
The Guerilla Girls attack discrimination in a new and engaging way- seeking to break down these social constructs using humor; degrading the act in a way that makes people laugh. After the laugh, the message remains with the individual. The combined use of facts, slogans, and powerful images combine to drive the point across: injustice has been going on for far too long. Founded in 1985 the Guerilla Girls proclaimed themselves the “conscience of the art world” and set about putting up posters defaming galleries and museums known to practice racial and gender discrimination. The posters, composed of bold black lettering on a white background became artwork as well as messages, relating to the blatant, black and white nature of unfair treatment thriving in the art world. In a response to criticism that the Guerilla Girls were just whiny, talent less, women artists the Guerilla Girls created a new poster entitled “The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist”. This witty play on the various set backs, and stumbling blocks faced by women artists brought widespread attention and a few chuckles as well. The message was straight forward and simple, laid out with no embellishment or decoration. The piece was attractive because of its shocking report on the reality of women artists. It communicated ideas to its audience clearly and effectively. People could relate to a simple poster. Though their presentation was simple, the poster provoked a serious consideration of the issue it was renouncing. Like the art we are currently creating, the posters communicated distinct messages to their audience using simple techniques and a natural, everyday environment. Soon after the introduction of this poster, the Guerilla Girls sought to take on a bigger evil: museums. After conducting what was affectionately termed “the weenie count”, the group of female primate masqueraders produced a poster reporting the number or female vs. male artists represented in the major museums in New York City. Along with this count, the Guerilla Girls displayed the number or female vs. male nudes represented in art work in each museum. The slogan on the bright yellow poster read “Do Women have to be Naked to get into the Met. Museum?”. Beneath this, the familiar image of a nude female with the new addition of a gorilla head. This powerful mocking imagery makes its audience reexamine the familiar depiction with a critical eye. Why is it that so many of the nudes in museums are female? And why aren’t there more women represented? This poster relates to the idea of museum art being out of reach and above the average person; unattainable and distant instead of inviting and engaging.
Discrimination has existed for centuries. Art History texts and courses center mainly on white, male artists, but what of their female contemporaries? While it is true that fewer examples of female artists exist due to gender role expectations, there remain a good few talented women artists neglected in current curricula. Harriet Powers and Rosa Bonheure are just a few examples. In their book “The Guerilla Girls Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art”, the girls seek to poke fun at the general under representation of female artists’ work by playing around with famous paintings and texts of the subject.
With their witty and cutting sense of humor, the Guerilla Girls are bringing rapt attention to a very serious social issue affecting not only the art world, but the worlds of music, television, movies, etc. Their valiant efforts have brought many people, like me, to see the underlying evils and rampant injustice incurred on women and people of color everywhere. While I’m not sure I’ll be putting on a hairy mask and pasting clever political posters around New York anytime soon, I believe the lecture was instrumental in granting greater awareness to social issues facing the United States today.

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Studio Writing: Gorilla Girls last edited on 9 April 2007 at 10:46 am by 148.61.85.8