Guerilla Girls Quotes and Art Projects

Quotes

“Actually, we wear mostly nondescript, bohemian black clothes--like everyone else in the art world. Sometimes we do wear high heels wne short skirts. And that's what people remember” (15).

• Despite the challenge posed by their masks, the guerilla girls are visually remembered by their “sexy” clothing. It is sad that the majority of society remembers women based on their sex-appeal rather than their true characters. That is why the have chosen to challenge the view of women by wearing mini skirts and heels with their masks. 

“We'd love to be inclusive, but it's not easy to find men willing to work without getting paid or getting credit for it"--(15)

• One of the major hallmarks of the Guerilla Girls is their animosity. This allows them to protest without conflicts of self interest. Unfortunately the majority of Male artists are unwilling to change a system that benefits their work unless they can get greater benefits through said change. Their desired benefits manifests itself through money and fame, which are the benefits they already enjoy through the traditional art world. 

Art Projects

“Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?” (8)

• This poster ridicules the classic paintings of nymphs and nude women glorified in museums and the majority of the art world by replacing the face of a nude women with a gorilla head. THe twisted picture demonstrates the Guerilla Girls’ emblem--the gorilla head--while questioning the sexualization of the female body. Throughout history, the majority of women’s worth has been placed on their sex-appeal as evidenced by the myriad nude paintings and statues of women proudly displayed in art galleries. Despite society’s historical obsession with women, the only women traditionally represented in museums are nude women. Art with fully-dressed women and female artists have been ignored and excluded from the art world due to a supposed ‘lack of quality.’ This poster challenges this reality, by revealing the percentages of female artists and nude women in museums. 

“YOU’RE SEEING LESS THAN HALF THE PICTURE WITHOUT THE VISION OF WOMEN AND ARTISTS OF COLOR” (57)

• This poster has a play on words and typography, by showing the first part of the phrase grouped into one third of the page, thereby leaving a huge blank space.. The blank space represents the large portion of the art world that glorifies white, male artists. Despite the glorification of this small section of the human population, women and people of color also produce art. The ignored artists represent the ‘color’ on the poster. Since they are ignored by the art world, the poster has only been printed in black and white, thereby demonstrating the injustice towards minority artists. Even though this poster was printed years ago, museums’ exclusion of the majority of minority artists continues today. Thus, this poster will probably apply a few years from now as it did several years ago.