Guerilla Girls / Feminist Activist Artists
I like the provocative nature of the Guerilla Girls work - they highlight controversy and areas of contention within the art community. Women are still at a significant disadvantage in many areas of life and the Guerilla Girls, as a group, bring attention to these issues. Working as a collective, and wearing gorilla masks, the women protect their identities while their work takes on the voice of the many. The subject matter is similar to what I want to focus on in my project and I appreciate how they get their message across: I love the bright, eye-catching colours, bold fonts and thought-provoking imagery.
Sources:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/guerrilla-girls-6858
https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/kzdjpa/guerilla-girls-new-exhibition
The Play / Current of Contemporary Art
Assemble / Art Collective
Granby Four Streets, 2013 - 2017
Art on the Underground, 2015 - 2017
Being Human, 2019
Assemble is an excellent example of how art can bring people together, promote teamwork and actually make a difference. They are probably best known for their 'Granby Four Streets' project - Assemble worked with the Granby Four Streets Community Land Trust (CLT) to refurbish 10 derelict terraced houses on Cairns St in Toxteth, Liverpool. The project was the result of a hard-won, 20 year battle by local residents to save the houses from demolition. The demolition of all but four of Granby’s streets of Victorian terraces during decades of ‘regeneration’ initiatives saw a once-thriving community scattered, and left the remaining “Granby Four Streets” sparsely populated and filled with tinned up houses. The resourceful, creative group of residents started to bring the neighbourhood back to life by clearing, planting, painting, and campaigning. In, 2011 they entered into an innovative form of community land ownership, the Community Land Trust, to secure 10 empty houses, and renovate them as affordable homes, bringing life back to one of Liverpool’s most racially and ethnically diverse communities. I admire their determination and can only hope one day my work can actually make a physical difference to something.
W.I.T.C.H. / Women's International Conspiracy from Hell
W.I.T.C.H. putting a hex on Wall Street on Halloween, 1968
W.I.T.C.H. stage “a ritual performance for housing rights” in Chicago, February 2016
Protestors dressed as witches in Boston, August 2017
W.I.T.C.H. has various 'covens' across America and they have been operating for years, most famously when they put a hex on Wall Street on Halloween, 1968. The group has had a revival in recent years, with people donning masks and black pointy hats again in order to protest against President Trump. Again, as with Guerilla Girls, they operate anonymously but when large groups of protesters show up at rallies across the United States wearing pointy black hats, people pay attention. Working together with others can increase the impact and reach of your message - for the W.I.T.C.H.es, it’s about inclusion and representing everyone who is oppressed or unseen. Witchcraft is still seen as taboo and 'weird' today - “From the outside, it’s still seen as frightening, jarring, shocking,” she [Alex Mar, author of 2015 book Witches of America] explains. “I think that’s something that these activists are having fun playing with.”
I like the idea of taking something shocking and attention-grabbing to bring other, equally important, issues to light. My project may also take on a political angle, so this could be a useful example to look at.
Sources:
https://www.topic.com/witches-brew
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/books/peak-witch.html
https://frieze.com/article/what-we-do-secret-0
https://qz.com/1739043/the-resurgence-of-the-witch-as-a-symbol-of-feminist-empowerment/
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-why-witchcraft-is-making-a-comeback-in-art