Change, it's not just something in your pocket.

Guerilla Girls: self-proclaimed art conscience of the art. Out to make Feminism sexy, funny and positive. 

First off, how on earth did I not know about the Guerrilla Girls! They are my kind of people. Angry anonymous artists. Well, they are not exactly my kind of people, but I can definitely appreciate their work, and what they stand for. Their basic stance is to integrate women into the ‘system’. This system is dominated by white males in all fields of the art world (museums, sellers, other artist, etc.). They are also fighting for lasting changes towards equality with issues in both racism and gender. 

I find that I often have problems with artists who are too forward with their messages, that’s partly why I had such a hard time with Suzi Gablik. She came off very pessimistic and dead set on this idea that we’re in an apocalyptic era. Way too much negativity (it’s bad for the complexion)...Anyways, the approach that Guerilla Girls are taking is very encouraging to me, one of them said this during the interview; “the whole point of out anonymity is that we don’t use the Guerrilla Girls to further our own careers... we focus on issues and not on our specific careers...that way we speak for more people” (215). This is powerful noninvasive/unifying tactic because they are able to address problems within an extremely difficult and influential system with tasteful humor. The posters they design are harmless, but make very clear points about the discrimination that's occurring within museums and the art world in general. 

They attack the head honchos of the art world. These are the mind and voices that are most influential on society and the way that culture thinks. It only takes one tree to start forest. It only takes one voice for change. Another issue they address is the idea of a ‘change of heart’. This is a very long and subtle process, and they approach it was realistic goals. That’s probably why I like the idea of this group so much, they have goals, but they aren’t demanding. They understand that an entire system can’t be changed over night. Its all about small victories. 

To totally switch sides of the spectrum, Mary Jane Jacobs. Taking it to the people!. She is an outside of the box type of gal. But I still found her quite enjoyable. She experienced, for years, what it was like to be on the inside of those white walls. She found that it was not enough for her, or society, for that matter. I loved her ideas of art forming communities. That social interaction would draw people together and perhaps start a movement of some kind. Or maybe I am just hoping that some sort of movement would emerge. Anyways,. another thing that I liked were her thoughts on why certain pieces make it into museums... because they are “in”. Its in the museum because its what’s ‘hot’. These are the most pointless pieces to me, they are not timeless, they are only relevant to the time and issues of that day. Anyways. Mary Jane, totally winner in my book. 

Visual Response:

I have no idea why, but Friedensreich Hundertwasser kept popping into my head. This guy is absolutely nuts. He’s a freak. And I love it. Its almost obnoxious how ‘out there’ he is. I thought of him mainly because he knew how to take his art to the next level. He decorated buildings, people couldn’t escape his work... not they would want to, but all the same. I guess I connected the idea of displaying art on massive levels to the public... which loosely applies to the art that Mary Jane and the Guerilla Girls do/did.