In 1985, a US-based bunch of female artists started a movement that stirred the world of the ‘white, male and Western’ art. In the following years the girls disguised in gorilla masks produced snappy and funny posters, postcards, stickers, books, magazine projects and billboards to speak up about gender and racial discriminations. Their masks form the trademark used as a cover for their ‘basic’ identity. Hidden behind them, they want to draw the attention to the issues that bother those anonymous artists. They aim at breaking the stereotypes (Pict. 1) not only through campaigns but also through their own image- very often they confront public opinion through a combination of their disguise with high heels and short skirts. On the other hand, their ‘guerilla’ identities are strongly connected with the history of the female movement in arts, as they use pseudonyms such as Gertrude Stein, Frida Kahlo and Kathe Kollwitz. They challenge the norms and unwritten regulations (‘the etiquette’), provoke discussions and promote equality in the crucial areas- the art world, politics and media. Their posters talk about wages, percentage of female artists exhibiting in mayor galleries as well as issues concerning female identity in a world dominated by male views (Pict. 3-4). Why they call themselves ‘the conscience of the Artworld’? Because, as GG1 says: ‘the art world need to examine itself, to be more critical’.
The Guerrilla Girls at the Feminist Future Symposium, MoMA
Bibliography:
Comp: ‘An Interview’ from The Confessions of the Guerilla Girls, http://www.guerrillagirls.com/interview/index.shtml -vistited on 28th March 2010
imagined images 
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