Guerrilla Girls

Assignment Brief: Produce a piece of digital media content (written (250 words each), audio (5 minutes each), audio and visual (3 minutes each), visual (4 or 5 images each) that could be used by you to showcase your talents to a potential employer. The pieces of content should engage with at least one of the following social issues: sexism/LGBTQ+ issues, sustainability/environmental consciousness/pollution/tackling waste, inclusivity/diversity/overcoming prejudice or social stigmas, racism/decolonialisation, war/anti-war. It should include an explanation of the piece of digital media content. Why was this content/approach chosen/taken? How or why is it original, different and/or eye-catching?

Photography has always been a passion of mine. I chose to create this collage based on the photos I took at the Tate Modern Art Gallery in London, which includes postcards and artwork on display there that highlight the issues surrounding feminism and female representation in the art community. It highlights and focuses on the work done by the Guerilla Girls who are an anonymous collective of feminist women artists who hide their identity behind gorilla masks and focus their work on, as they mention, “using facts, humor and outrageous images to expose sexism, racism and corruption in art, politics and pop culture.” Their work is particularly interesting as they use graphic design that tends to be eye-catching with the use of bold colors, to create works of art that highlight important facts that one may not notice or ignore, calling out the flaws in our society today. In their study of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they discovered that only 4% of the artists on display were women however 76% of the nude artwork on display were females. They put this message on local buses after being rejected for a billboard and release it as postcards for the public to enjoy, becoming viral in the process. I found their methods and concept intriguing, and wanted to create a piece that not only highlighted and focused on the message they were presenting but creating a sense of irony since most of the nude paintings on display are still women in the Tate. The black and white edit creates an ominous atmosphere which plays well into the message behind it. This piece not only displays my skills as a photographer but also presents my ability to carefully curate, in order to create meaning behind it through research work.

DK