The Guerrilla Girls, Feminist Activists & Artists
“If museums don’t cast a wide net and connect the real, full picture of wonderful art in our country, then they’re just collecting the history of wealth and power.”
The Guerrilla Girls, the self-professed "Conscience of the Art World," are a band of feminist activist artists, who have been wearing gorilla masks in public and using facts, humor, and outrageous visuals to expose gender, ethnic bias, and corruption in the art world since the mid-1980s. Join Tamar for a conversation with two of their founding members.
[2:29]: Introductions.
[3:41] Why choose these artists as your pseudonyms?
[5:37]: The Guerrilla Girls (and their font!) origin story.
[8:17]: How has the group changed and evolved, both internally and in terms of its mission? Has progress been made?
[15:49]: The joys and pitfalls of all-women shows. Is “woman artist” a problematic phrase?
[23:18]: Is there something that innately connects women artists?
[27:43]: Reflecting on our inflamed current moment, and whether things are indeed getting better.
[34:33]: How do we get people excited about artists they’re not familiar with, and who fall outside the established canon?
[38:16]: How to reach out to people who disagree with you.
[42:47]: How the Guerrilla Girls changed the rules for artists who came after them.
Music Used:
The Blue Dot Sessions, "Pinky"
Photo Credit:
Traven Rice for PRI’s “The World”
