<b>The Guerrilla Girls</b>

[Jenina MacGillivray]

Do women have to be naked to get into the Metropolitan Museum? Less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female.

The YWCA of Greater Kansas City and Kaw Valley Arts and Humanities proudly present The Guerrilla Girls, a group of feminist artists established in New York City in 1985 known for using guerrilla art to promote women and people of color in the arts. They have dedicated the past twenty years to decrying the gender and racial imbalance of artists represented in galleries and museums. Over the years they expanded their activism to examine Hollywood and the film industry, popular culture and gender stereotyping.

http://www.guerrillagirls.com/

[Ruth Lawrence]

I first heard of the Guerrilla Girls when Angela Antle did a rubber stamp 'flattering the masters' peice two years ago for a RCAV fundraiser called "The Advanges of Being a Newfoundland Artist" I bought it. It's very witty and she credits them for the original idea. They (and she) are pretty cool.

But to your question...it seems obvious that the female body is appreciated much more in its nude form, and not that surprising that men painted them I suppose BUT this is the Modern Art section.

I love the female figure, I prefer it aesthetically by a long shot. But when will we ever get over thinking that art is a man's domain? Because we still do. Theatre certainly is. Way more productions by male writers, writing male stories, for male characters. That doesn't mean women aren't writing, and writing moving, amazing and terrifying things, but they sure aren't getting produced as much! Same can be said for film, music.

The same is obviously true of painters, visual artists. There are many, many women doing truly outstanding work but is it in the galleries, in the museums, in public spaces inspiring us as we walk by? Hardly. We needn't look to the Metropolitan, we can see that (or not!) right here.

I love all forms of art and I don't want to be thinking about this question all the time--but I do. More and more all the time. Why do we not have an acceptable public face as women creators?