the furry ladies..

I love the Geurilla Girls. I just don't like the Geurilla/Gorilla. I know the Gorilla masks are a pun on the word geurilla. But seriously, it's the most unbecoming costume for women! They look like beasts that will harm you, not fun feminists promoting feminism.

But then, it works for them. Like one of the girls on stage said to her audience, "You know, the funny thing is if I took off this mask none of you would listen to me. I have to wear a hot, heavy gorilla mask on this stage to get your attention". I agree with that. I wouldn't have loved them like I do if they looked like regular female artists. I would have noticed how a few of them are strickingly pretty, and possible even been a little jealous. But with the masks, my ego feels unthreatened and I can pay full attention to what they do, and not what they look like.

And that brings me to another point about female artists. Like the performance piece shown in class "Art must be beautiful, artist must be beautiful" and the Geurilla Girls' gorilla masks point out, the world does not take a female artist seriously. Female artists are supposed to fit into the mould of beauty and that seems to be their only role. If they produce a work, or create some art, nobody really looks at the art. They nod but don't listen.

They began their collective because of the lack of women artists. As Hess says, their art wasn't selling. It wasn't even showing. They fought attitudes about women, about white women and about women as artists. They were artists themselves, and since they could not agree on one plan of action, they started with small geurilla tactics. That turned into the Geurilla Girls. They stayed anonymous so that their audience would listen to their message, and not base it on who was saying it.

Their first posters went up in upscale New York districts that were dominated by men. Their work criticized the art world, and was loved by that same art world. Political posters with hard statistics- people couldn't get enough of them. They referred to their posters as "public service messages" and tackled issues like abortion, rape, cosmetic surgery, education...even the war in Iraq and women enlisting in the US army.

They also produced a tabloid newsletter Hot Flashes. It was made to find new audiences and reacquait the Girls with the old audience. It covered topics like the art pages of the New York Times, the role of museums around the US, and art galleries.

A decade after their birth, the Geurilla Girls' gorilla masks worked against them. They were criticized as backward in Darwinian evolution, and racial/sexist. Due to such critiques, they have altered their project. They still have performances, but they do not pose a threat to the art world. They are more focused on their own art, instead of art practices in the art world.

By going to their website, you can invite them to your city for talks and performances. Perhaps CCIT should look into this.