Anonymous Activist Group Guerrilla Girls Release Retrospective Book, 'The Art of Behaving Badly'

The founding members of the collective talk about tackling social issues in the art industry.

Anonymous Activist Group Guerrilla Girls Release Retrospective Book, 'The Art of Behaving Badly'

The founding members of the collective talk about tackling social issues in the art industry.

Since 1985, the Guerrilla Girls have been raising questions and starting conversations on problematic issues in the art industry. More than 30 years later, the activist group comprised of members that go by the names of dead female artists for anonymity, has published a retrospective book titled Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly.

While 2020 may seem like a year where social activism is bigger than ever in the world of art, statistics show that not much has actually changed. According to a study conducted last year, white male artists represent 75.7 percent of works in 18 major museums in the United States. Facts like these are what drive the Guerrilla Girls to start changes in the industry: “We really think that museums need to re-examine themselves, what are they about? Who are they run by? Who are they for?”

For those unfamiliar, the Guerrilla Girls were initially founded in New York City as an effort to combat the lack of representation for female creatives. Its members, who wear gorilla masks in public, have been addressing sexual inequality in the art world through graphic posters, asking questions like: “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum?”

In a recent interview, the founding members of the collective – Frida Kahlo and Käthe Kollwitz – talk everything about activism, the role of wealthy donors in the industry, their new retrospective book and beyond. You can head over to HYPEBEAST for the full conversation.

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