Dearest Art Collector
Guerrilla Girls
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
The iconic feminist Guerrilla Girls collective has long been at the front lines of conversations about oppression and exclusion, fearlessly and hilariously tackling sexism and racism in the arts since their founding in 1985. This selection of posters—originally designed to be wheat-pasted in highly visible areas of New York frequented by the art world—is part of a gift of more than 50 posters from Guerrilla Girls BroadBand, Inc., to the Brooklyn Museum. Guerrilla Girls BroadBand, Inc., is the post-Internet iteration of the original anonymous, statistics-backed activist art project.
Caption
Guerrilla Girls (established United States, 1985). Dearest Art Collector, 1986. Offset lithograph, 22 × 17 in. (55.9 × 43.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Guerrilla Girls BroadBand, Inc., 2017.26.8. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Artist
Title
Dearest Art Collector
Date
1986
Medium
Offset lithograph
Classification
Dimensions
22 × 17 in. (55.9 × 43.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Guerrilla Girls BroadBand, Inc.
Accession Number
2017.26.8
Frequent Art Questions
These posters are incredible; it’s amazing that the most recent one is from 1997 and they all remain so relevant. How did the curators make their decision and narrow it down from 50 posters?
Aren't they?! The Guerrilla Girls were founded in in NY in 1985 in direct response to an exhibition at MoMa and to protest gender and racial discrimination in the art word. Many of their points remain relevant to institutions today, it’s true.As for how they narrowed it down, I believe the answer has to do with the ones which resonate even today, as you noticed. The current social and political climate was a major factor in the selection of all of the artworks for “Half the Picture.” This exhibition was actually named for one of the posters, the one which reads “You're seeing less than half the picture without the vision of women artists and artists of color.Looking at it now!It's so simple but communicates its point graphically and effectively.What does this mean? Is the collective still creating new work, but online?
In 2001, the Guerrilla girls evolved into three separate wings to accommodate their broadening interests: Guerrilla Girls, Guerrilla Girls Broadband and Guerrilla Girls On Tour.Guerrilla Girls BroadBand is one of those sister organizations who take advantage of web based technologies to convey their message.Oh awesome! Thanks for the info!Hi! I’m wondering what’s considered a “guerrilla girls original”. Since they make a lot of posters and paper material, what is considered “Museum material”?
Basically, any lithograph in the series can be considered "museum quality". We keep a copy and preserve it.And do they sign it and/or number it?Most of their works include the name of the group on the actual print, a kind of signature or at the very least an attribution to the group.Thank you!
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