The Guerrilla Girls Are Turning 30! Inline
Photo: Courtesy of Guerrilla Girls1/7
Photo: Courtesy of Guerrilla Girls2/7In response to the Whitney Biennial in 1987, the Guerrilla Girls exposed the museum s record on showing work by women and artists of color in an exhibition at the space The Clocktower.
Photo: Courtesy of Guerrilla Girls3/7The most famous and enduring Guerilla Girls poster was commissioned by the Public Art Fund, and then rejected by it. The group then rented advertising space on New York City buses and ran the campaign themselves.
Photo: Courtesy of Guerrilla Girls4/7By 1991, the Guerrilla Girls had expanded their critique beyond the art world. One poster cited national health care, an end to poverty and homelessness, reproductive rights for all women, and an alternative energy policy, among other issues, as "Missing in Action." Another campaign took on the first Iraq War.
Photo: Courtesy of Guerrilla Girls5/7Still, the art world remained the primary focus of the Guerrilla Girls ire. In 1992, when the Guggenheim opened a branch in Soho, the so-called "conscience of the art world" responded with a postcard campaign protesting the rumored exclusion of women and artists of color in the museum s inaugural exhibit. Work by sculptor Louise Bourgeois was then added to the show—which didn t stop the Guerrilla Girls from staging a big protest at the opening, at which they handed out bags printed with the face of a gorilla. When Bourgeois turned up, she wore one over her head as she entered the show.
