Guerilla Girls
Claire Haggarty

The Geurilla Girls are a group of feminist activist artists who wear gorilla masks in public due to their “Geurilla” activist tactics. They began in 1985 by hanging posters voicing their grievances about women in the art world in secret and escalated after every day women started contacting them about how their work not only related to artists, but to all kinds of women.  These women bring to light the discrimination of women in gender roles, pop culture and other art.  Their most well-known poster (shown below) shows a woman in a state of undress with their well known gorilla mask on, begging the question “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?”. 

The Geurilla Girls have now done hundreds of projects aside from these posters including books, exhibitions at museums, videos and stickers.  These women continue to bring to light the inequality and discriminatory practices against women and other discriminated groups of the art world as well as the world in general.

Artist Talk- Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls

by: Allison Krenz

On February 22nd The famous Guerrilla Girls visited MIAD to talk about their movement. In a hot, crowded room, the Guerrilla Girls emerged, masks and bananas included, to talk about intersectional Feminism, and why now, more than ever, they need to be making work. 

While carefully avoiding his name, and instead replacing it with "45" The Guerrilla Girls addressed how we are living in a time where politically, women are not in a safe place. Most of the Guerrilla girls' work has focused around museums, and the wage gap, which is what defines most conventional feminist arguments; but the Guerrilla Girls should also be recognized as artists who expand their work to include every issue. Women need to pay attention to the political climate right now, as our reproductive rights and in the case of women of color, civil rights, are currently in the hands of conservative men.

Women have the power to be heard, and with recent Women's marches across the country, now is the time to spread Feminism as far as it can go, because Feminism is an issue of rights for everyone. The more we work to make that understood, the closer we get to true equality.

Feminism is too often criticized as "shouty" by those who shout the loudest about overreach of feminists' issues. By remaining anonymous, and making work for every woman on every issue, the Guerrilla Girls embrace intersectional feminism and are role models for all Feminists. 

Event Review: Guerrilla Girls

Guerrilla Girls at MIAD
Lainey Koch

Since 1985, there have been over 55 women that represent the Guerrilla Girls. Some members hang around for years, other for only a week or two. When speaking on behalf of the Guerrilla Girls, members keep their faces and identities hidden behind gorilla masks in order to keep all the focus on the issues the group speaks about.

Above all else, the Guerrilla Girls spoke of the importance of intersectionality and intersectional feminism within the art world. Misrepresentation isn't a new idea, and the Guerrilla Girls are here to make a difference. Throughout their talk at MIAD, the Guerrilla Girls spoke about how they use bold graphics and statistics to bring attention to the corruption and injustices in the art world, the realm of film, and even the government. I was inspired to hear about their tireless fight against oppression and have always been in awe of their cleverness when it comes to the way they present their work. I try to keep strong intersectional feminist themes in my own artwork, so I loved hearing them talk about their focus on the issues at hand. It was powerful for me to see issues that I'm passionate about represented in a way so different from my own.

Another important point for me to see was how they responded to questions at the end. The floor was open to any questions for the Guerrilla Girls anything, a couple white men responded with frustration. The ability to remain calm and meet the inquirer with additional facts and statistics was a great demonstration of standing true to their beliefs in a way that their opponent can still understand and respect. 

Identity - Feminist History - Carolee Schneemann

Carolee Schneemann
by: Allison Krenz

Carolee Schneemann's work can best be described as an experience meant to involve the viewer. I was introduced to Schneeman's work through an interview on Artsy.net by Alexxa Gotthardt. In her article, she discusses the inspiration and driving forces behind Schneeman's work. Schneemann refers often to the power of female pleasure, and the relevance it holds in today's political climate. When introduced into the avant-garde scene in the late 60's, Schneemann's work stood out for having been made by a female artist. At the time, most of her contemporaries were men, who more often than not, objectified the female body. Schneemann overcomes this stereotype within her genre of work not by rejecting the notion that women have sexual power, whether it be in reproduction or otherwise, but by embracing it. In one quote from her interview she states: "“When I was young, living in the country, the biggest compliment I could get was a  boy saying, ‘When we grow up, will you breed my babies?’” Schneemann recalls. “I think that idea—that women have the power to procreate—still underlies the need to control and possess by male culture.” 

Film still from "Fuses" 1965, 16mm film, 18 min

One of her film media based pieces "Fuses" embraces just this. Through careful attention to gaze, and cut away scenes to place the  a couple (which is herself and her then partner) in a place of intimacy, rather than focusing on the action of having sexual intercourse, she transcends pornography and creates an artistic experience in which the viewer can relate to. Schneemann very carefully avoids the kind of criticism that other feminist artists have received by shifting away from the male gaze and instead inviting one into her own gaze. 

To call Schneemann a photographer or videographer, even in regards to her media that categorizes itself as such, is far too limiting. Carolee Schneemann expertly puts herself into her work and makes everything about the act, or performance. 

If one wanted more information on Carolee Schneemann, her website would be an excellent place to find links to more of her work, but the website itself could use an injection of her own raw aesthetic. 

Identity - Feminist History - Female Artists and their Influence

Identity - Feminist History - Female Artists and their Influence

by Mandy Litwin

In an article that was posted on artsy.net titled “How Feminist Photography of the 1970s Paved the Way for Women Artists Today” by Charlotte Jensen, we learn about some major female artists and their influences from the work they created during the 1970s. The discussion begins by mentioning how people may argue that, if it has been done before, it should be left just there.      

The author of this article continues to explain how the effect is just the opposite. Females artists such as Cindy Sherman and Valie Export were both involved in such art movements. At the time, a lot of work being made used the female body to provoke and challenge the viewer. Many works were considered “scandalous”, and some artists were called narcissistic for showing their bodies in these photos.

I would argue that, for this very reason, it is important that work with these same ideals continue to be created today. Further, because of the work done in the past, a sort of platform has been set up to push these issues – e.g., “protests for civil rights and sexual revolution, protests against war.” 

Cindy Sherman did a lot of work that exposed stereotypes, and in her words, “make someone feel bad for having a certain expectation.” She took photos utilizing her self as a model, but did not create self portraits. Rather, she took on various roles and photographed herself playing these roles to point out these traditional expectations.

For someone like Valie Export, performance art was very important. One piece she did was titled Touch Cinema in which she created a small “theater” that attached to her upper body. She walked around various city streets and let people touch inside. She was challenging the ways in which we “engage with the female body on screen.” The link for the video can be seen here.

This article exposed me to some artists that seem to have pioneered an important movement for women in art. In addition, artsy.net proved to be a very useful and informative place to explore the art world.  Connecting artists and artworks by finding similar characteristics is efficient.

Questions:

Do you agree with the idea that “even though it’s been done before,” continuing to push and recreate past work helps strengthen work being made now (within the same subject matter)?

What other feminist artists do you know; not just photographers?