The System of Sexism: Artist Edition

In the 1980’s, a group of anonymous activists donned gorilla masks, new names, and a pile of posters, and headed out into the art world to create change. They called themselves the Guerilla Girls, hoping to create a more equal playing field in art museums, and to challenge the status quo. Back then, the majority, if not the entirety, of the artists showcased in museums were white men, channeling a significant portion of the financial support towards men while disregarding women, leaving them in the dust. 

As we talked about why people like the art they like, I thought about art, and its correlation to history and time. So much of the art we know about (e.g. Starry Night, the Mona Lisa, the Kiss, the Last Supper) is well-known partially because the work was made so long ago, and unfortunately, much of the time, women did not have the money or schooling that men may have had to be able to make artwork—all of the paintings I mentioned were made by male painters. Until the 1900s it was uncommon for women to make much money, so unless husbands were willing to provide paints and canvases to women, there’s not much of a chance that they could have made much art. Part of this, I think, is where the problem originally stems from—people, only knowing of men’s artwork in history, think it natural for professional painters to mainly be men. People thought that if you were good, you were in, and if you weren’t you weren’t, only reinforcing women’s inability to get into professional art spaces, (because if they were good, wouldn’t there already be women in museums? people would think). When Ms. Fliegel talked about the background of art in museums pre-Guerrilla Girls, I couldn't help but think of it as a cycle, or a system built to quell the voices of our female ancestors and peers.

So, the Guerrilla Girls sought to fix this sexist system. By putting up posters that questioned the lack of women in art, they put pressure on museums to feature more women artists (and artwork of women in general). Some museums changed as a result, and others took a while to respond. As one of the articles mentioned, as of late, there’s a whole room in a museum dedicated to feminism and the observation of female genitalia. Kicking off a whole lot of growth, the Guerrilla Girls certainly seem to have made quite an impact. While the Guerrilla Girls started with a lot of almost in-your-face protesting and poster-making, their influence has evolved over the decades. They have become a part of the art world they once criticized, collaborating with museums, holding exhibitions, and even incorporating their work into museum collections.