Women Who Launch by Marlene Wagman-Geller

Author:Marlene Wagman-Geller [Wagman-Geller, Marlene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781633536968
Publisher: Mango Media
Published: 2018-02-07T15:17:08+00:00

Chapter # 23

The Beast (1985)

The attire of the 2011 Pussy Riot punk rock group was not a fashionista statement, but a feminist one: Crayola-colored balaclavas and bright-hued leggings. The adoption of masks stemmed from a desire for anonymity during protests against the repressive regime of President—to them a.k.a. Dictator—Vladimir Putin. The Russian dissidents followed in the footsteps of an earlier American women’s group who, although they adopted black clothes and alternative headcoverings, shared sisterly solidarity.

New Yorkers expect the unexpected, and this came to pass when the city awoke to hundreds of posters plastered on walls, kiosks, and construction site fences. The action was not a novel event; what set it apart was that the posters were dedicated to data. They proclaimed, “These Galleries Show No More Than 10% of Women Artists or None at All” and named names. They were signed “The Conscience of the Art World.” The message was the F word: Feminism. This display threw an unwelcome spotlight on the oh-so-progressive Manhattan art scene. Who were these vigilantes who dared swipe at an august institution?

The protest movement was birthed after the Museum of Modern Art held an exhibition in which only thirteen of the 169 artists featured were female, even though it was purported to be the definitive showing of contemporary painting and sculpture. A group of friends felt this fact was a stick-in-the-throat statistic in the twentieth century, a throwback to a history that discouraged women from expressing themselves on canvas. The girls went ape over this gender injustice and decided to turn angst into action.

The band of sisters picketed the Museum of Modern Art and were ignored. It was not as if New Yorkers had never seen a posse of pissed-off ladies. A gimmick was needed, and bikinis, thongs, and stilettos were not their style. They decided to garner attention by wearing ski masks, in keeping with their role as urban guerillas. When one of them misspelled guerilla as gorilla, they felt it was serendipitous and agreed on simian masks. This tactic would not only garner the requisite notice, it would also protect against professional counterattacks, as many of them worked in galleries. The costumes all bore varying facial features, similar to the characters in “The Masks” episode of The Twilight Zone. While Russian Communist revolutionaries assumed pseudonyms—Lenin took his name from a river in Siberia, “Stalin” translates to “man of steel”—the Guerrilla Girls wore tags displaying the names of pioneering, deceased female artists: Frida Kahlo, Kathe Kollwitz, and Diane Arbus. Kahlo—whose gorilla visage sports glittery pink lipstick—highly recommends this modus operandi and explained, “If you’re in a situation where you’re a little afraid to speak up, put a mask on. You won’t believe what comes out of your mouth.” A variation of in vino veritas.

When the public took notice—and how could they remain oblivious to a number of black-clad, smart-talking apes?—the method as message became more refined. Instead of bearing statistics, the simian clique designed posters which showcased arresting images and thought-provoking captions laced with humor.

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