GUERRILLA GIRLS' FIRST POSTERS ON NYC STREETS

Some of our first posters plastered on the streets of SoHo.

GUERRILLA GIRLS' FIRST PRESS RELEASE, MAY 6, 1985

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 6 MAY 1985

Posters pointing to the inadequate numbers of women artists represented in leading New York galleries are appearing in SoHo streets, on walls, streetlamps and telephone booths. Two strongly worded posters drawing attnetion to the continuing discrimination against women artists are the work of a newly formed group calling itself Guerrilla Girls and preferring to conduct its campaign of information and public exposure without identifying its individual members. Guerrilla Girls plans to continue its campaign throughout the next weeks and next season, drawing attention to the retrograde attitudes toward women artists that characterize certain segments of the art world of the mid-80's. Simple facts will be spelled out; obvious conclusions can be drawn.

WHAT DO THESE ARTISTS HAVE IN COMMON?

One of the posters that started it all. We plastered them on the walls of SoHo in the middle of the night. A press release promised more to come, warning, "Simple facts will be spelled out; obvious conclusions can be drawn."

THESE GALLERIES SHOW NO MORE THAN 10% WOMEN ARTISTS OR NONE AT ALL.

One of the posters that started it all. We plastered them on the walls of SoHo in the middle of the night. A press release promised more to come, warning, "Simple facts will be spelled out; obvious conclusions can be drawn."

HOW MANY WOMEN HAD ONE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS AT NYC MUSEUMS LAST YEAR?

The attack continued...

THESE CRITICS DON'T WRITE ENOUGH ABOUT WOMEN ARTISTS

Leaving no stone unturned! After calling out artists, galleries, and NYC museums, we went for the critics.

JOHN RUSSEL THINKS THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER FOR WOMEN ARTISTS

What was he thinking?

WOMEN IN AMERICA EARN ONLY 2/3 OF WHAT MEN DO.

WANT TO EARN BIG MONEY IN THE ART WORLD?

Women have never gained economic equality by just working hard and being good girls. With this poster we wanted to make women artists angry as hell and not willing to take it anymore.

Women in America earn only 2/3 of what men do.
Women artists earn only 1/3 of what men do.

IT'S EVEN WORSE IN EUROPE

WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO MENTION WHAT WAS WORSE IN EUROPE IN THIS HEADLINE—PEOPLE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT

We have been invited to speak all over Europe and have noticed that women artists hardly ever get shown there. Nearly all the money their governments spend on art and it's a lot more than the US government spends goes to less than half the population....the white male part. Europe desperately needs foreign aid and the Guerrilla Girls would love to administer it!

DEAREST ART COLLECTOR

Boys will buy boys...

UNDER SURVEILLANCE THIS YEAR

(A PARTIAL SELECTION)

GUERRILLA GIRLS HITS LIST

Examples for all the rest.

HIDDEN AGENDER/PASSING THE BUCKS

Two panels.

GUERRILLA GIRLS' 1986 REPORT CARD

After several years of our complaining, many galleries still were not getting the message. We began to think of them as stubborn, errant children who needed to be scolded for their bad performance. Having to point fingers at galleries a second time proved we had a lot more work to do.

ONLY 4 COMMERCIAL GALLERIES IN N.Y. SHOW BLACK WOMEN.

Women of color know that, as a group, they have an even harder time than white women. These statistics shocked and embarassed the world.

WHICH ART MAG WAS WORST FOR WOMEN LAST YEAR?

Art magazines are essential to the trickle-down process that eliminates women and artists of color from the cultural record. We suspected some were worse than others. It wasn't a surprise when our research showed the major European magazine Flash Art was the worst.