(Photo: Frances Meng-Frecker)
By: Natalia Zreliak, Digital Editor
“Are there any hungry feminists out there?”
Yesterday two members of the Guerilla Girls, a group of feminist activist artists, began their speech by walking down the aisles of the Claver Recital Hall and tossing bananas to the crowd. The hall was filled with students, faculty, and community members while music from Queen Latifah and Christina Aguilera played. The event was hosted by Regis’ Fine Arts Department and Dr. Barbara Coleman, a professor of Art at Regis, welcomed the crowd and introduced the work of the Guerilla Girls by showing their first ever poster.
The Guerilla Girl's most famous work (Photo courtesy of Guerrilla Girls)
“What that simple poster said opened so many of our eyes to the institutionalized racism and sexism in the Regis’ Fine Arts Department, a group of feminist activist artists, began their speech by walking down the aisles of the Claver Recital Hall and tossing bananas to the crowd. The hall was filled with students, faculty, and community members while music from Queen Latifah and Christina Aguilera played. The event was hosted by Guerrilla GirlsYesterday two members of the so-called “liberated” world of the arts, that simple turn of phrase turned that world on its head,” said Coleman.
After a short introduction video, the Guerrilla Girls took to the stage and talked about their motivations and the work they have done over the years. The Guerrilla Girls started tackling injustice in the Art world in 1985 by calling out major galleries. “We stand for the conscious of the art world,” said Kathe Kollwitz, one of the Guerrilla Girls who has taken the name of the dead artist to keep her memory alive as the rest of the Guerrilla Girls do. They’ve had over 55 members through the years, some for weeks and others for years. They wear gorilla masks to keep their identities anonymous, grab the public’s attention, and keep the focus on the issues. Facts and humor are the main ways in which they spread their messages claiming that if you can make someone who disagrees with you laugh then you have more of a chance to change their mind.
What started as a movement in New York City has spread all over the world, the two members having just returned from a protest in Brazil. Their work has also been featured in the very museums that they critique and their work has expanded to call out Hollywood and the injustice that lies there as well.
To learn more about the Guerilla Girls visit their website, www.guerrillagirls.com, and get involved.