Guerrilla Girls @Kvadrat500

GUERRILLA GIRLS: The Art of Behaving Badly

GUERRILLA GIRLS: Timeline [first period of their work]

_about

Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. museum? (1989)

The exhibition presents for the first time in Bulgaria the art of Guerrilla Girls. The retrospective `The Art of Behaving Badly` features the group’s most significant works, including the legendary poster `Do Women Have to Be Naked to Get into the Metropolitan Museum?`—a piece that made waves in 1989 by highlighting that while less than 5% of artists in modern art museums were women, 85% of the nude figures depicted were female. The exhibition is part of BFW’s multi-year Fund for Art Projects by Women Artists.

The Guerrilla Girls in Bulgaria project is part of the long-standing initiative "Women's Artistic Projects Fund" of the Bulgarian Fund for Women.

_highlights

🖤 this is the first time when such an artistic collective exhibits in Bulgaria. I cannot recall another major feminist art show happening here during the recent (and not only) years.
💭 the exhibition itself (the way it was arranged and presented) was nothing special and exciting - there were prints of some of the most famous works of Guerrilla Girls over the years, two video installations, and an interactive space to leave notes.
🖤 I imagine that the events around the exhibition must have had much stronger outcome - the opening, the workshop with the collective etc. Also, it had a nice media coverage, since it was all over my social media feeds (or at least in my bubble).

The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist (1988)

_Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. museum?

Some of the notes at the interactive exhibition spot

Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. museum? (1989) is probably one of the most famous and recognisable pieces by Guerrilla Girls.

Less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female.

If we have a look at art history books, the majority of the artists we study are men. There were, of course, female painters, but their art is becoming visible only during the most recent years. They are still much less than men, because, back in the day, art was not as accessible for women as for men.

_The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist

The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist (1988) is one of my favourite pieces. Probably because I can still relate to many of the things they mention, even though it's more than 35 years later. Some of the statements I would like to highlight:

_Having the opportunity to choose between career and motherhood
_Having an escape from the art world in your 4 free-lance jobs
_Knowing your career might pick up after you're 80
_Being reassured that whatever kind of art you make it will be labeled feminine

and more <3

_The interactive space

At the end of the exhibition, there is a wall where visitors could leave notes. There I could read many different messages, all sorts of things - from doodles, cute messages from little girls who liked the exhibition, to political statements, and hate speech. A small wall of the current reality in Bulgaria, I would say.

_links

▶▶exhibition webpage
▶▶Bulgarian Fund for Women