ART GROUP
THE F * WORD OUT LOUD FRONT AND CENTER
by Diana Perry Schnelle
On Thursday , June 1 , a group of about twenty of us had a fantastic tour at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg . Julia Meer , curator of graphic art at the MK & G , led us through the exhibition THE F * WORD : Guerrilla Girls and Feminist Graphic Design . Meer chose to curate this exhibition as a way of drawing attention to how few works by female artists are in the collection and the decisions that have been made historically about forming museum collections .
The Guerrilla Girls are an anonymous feminist art collective composed of female activists who have been exposing and critiquing sexism and racism within the art world for almost four decades . Formed in New York City in 1985 , the Guerrilla Girls wear gorilla masks and use pseudonyms referencing female artists , such as Frida Kahlo , Käthe Kollwitz , and Alice Neel . The group stages “ guerrilla ” public actions and creates posters , billboards , and books in an attempt to disrupt the status quo and reveal discrimination and inequalities .
Meer explained to our group how she was able to purchase the entire graphic collection of the Guerrilla Girls ’ work directly from the group , thereby providing them with money to continue their work . The tour was a wonderful look behind the scenes at curatorial choices in putting on museum exhibitions , as well as an exhilarating show of powerful — and often very funny — artwork . After the guided tour , a number of us had dinner nearby .
38 HAMBURG HAPPENINGS