0:00:20.757,0:00:22.140
-["Frida" VO] There's nothing worse than the word

0:00:22.140,0:00:24.000
"art appreciation."

0:00:24.000,0:00:26.700
It implies that you're[br]just there awestruck,

0:00:26.700,0:00:30.000
and whatever you're[br]being fed, you appreciate.

0:00:30.900,0:00:35.089
Art really is about[br]discourse and about discussion.

0:00:35.089,0:00:38.220
-["Frida"] Do you have any[br]ideas what museums could be?

0:00:38.220,0:00:40.260
-Decolonizing museums.

0:00:40.524,0:00:42.540
Like, not having stolen things.

0:00:43.309,0:00:46.847
-If your art is for the public,[br]then the public should have a

0:00:46.847,0:00:49.960
right to express[br]their opinions and views.

0:00:49.960,0:00:52.620
-As a young artist, like,[br]sometimes I see things and,

0:00:52.620,0:00:55.838
like, get so frustrated and[br]feel like nothing has changed.

0:00:55.883,0:01:06.352
♪♪♪

0:01:06.352,0:01:07.993
-["Frida" VO][br]From the very beginning,

0:01:07.993,0:01:10.440
we have been[br]fighting against sexism,

0:01:10.440,0:01:14.640
racism, and the death[br]hold that wealthy people

0:01:14.640,0:01:18.660
and wealthy institutions[br]have on art and culture.

0:01:19.380,0:01:21.480
-40 million dollars, 1-5-0-6.

0:01:22.490,0:01:25.680
-The Guerrilla Girls will[br]complain about anything that

0:01:25.680,0:01:30.396
pisses them off, and they always[br]do it in an unexpected way.

0:01:32.151,0:01:35.100
-[Coco VO] What the artist has[br]to say about things other than

0:01:35.100,0:01:38.580
his or her art has not always[br]been considered that important

0:01:38.580,0:01:40.920
by the arbiters[br]of the art world.

0:01:41.640,0:01:44.940
And the Guerrilla Girls were[br]at the forefront of doing that

0:01:44.940,0:01:46.680
starting in the 1980s.

0:01:47.642,0:01:51.720
-[Frances] The power of the Guerrilla[br]Girls' work was that whenever I

0:01:51.720,0:01:54.180
looked at their[br]material, I felt implicated.

0:01:54.180,0:01:56.580
It wasn't somebody else's[br]problem, it was my problem.

0:01:56.684,0:02:02.631
♪♪♪

0:02:05.086,0:02:06.720
-["Frida"] I'm one of[br]the founding members of the

0:02:06.720,0:02:08.880
Guerrilla Girls, and I've[br]been involved in just about

0:02:08.880,0:02:11.940
everything the Guerrilla[br]Girls have done since 1985.

0:02:11.940,0:02:13.380
I'm kind of a lifer.

0:02:13.909,0:02:16.620
But I am, in my[br]real life, an artist.

0:02:17.317,0:02:20.100
-["Käthe"] And I'm also a[br]founder of the Guerrilla Girls

0:02:20.100,0:02:23.640
and also a lifelong[br]political artist.

0:02:23.640,0:02:28.793
♪elegant orchestral music♪

0:02:28.793,0:02:32.760
In fall of 1984, the Museum of[br]Modern Art did this exhibition

0:02:32.760,0:02:37.140
– an international survey[br]of painting and sculpture.

0:02:37.140,0:02:40.440
There were 169[br]artists in the show,

0:02:40.440,0:02:45.360
and only 17 women, and[br]very few artists of color.

0:02:45.360,0:02:48.960
And women artists in New[br]York were really pissed off.

0:02:48.960,0:02:52.967
♪aggressive rock music♪

0:02:54.793,0:02:57.660
-["Frida"] We were educated[br]to sort of respect all

0:02:57.660,0:03:01.140
the institutions and the people[br]that were making decisions and

0:03:01.140,0:03:03.769
the people who were[br]writing art history,

0:03:03.769,0:03:07.440
but it dawned on us that it was[br]filled with its own biases and

0:03:07.440,0:03:08.653
limitations.

0:03:10.282,0:03:12.540
-["Käthe"] We're marching[br]in a picket line in front of

0:03:12.540,0:03:17.340
the Museum of Modern Art, and[br]we realize not one person going

0:03:17.340,0:03:19.140
into the museum cares.

0:03:19.140,0:03:22.465
[music slows to a stop]

0:03:22.465,0:03:24.720
And that was the "aha" moment.

0:03:24.720,0:03:29.209
It was so clear that[br]there had to be a better way

0:03:29.209,0:03:33.120
to convince people and[br]make them understand how much

0:03:33.120,0:03:37.620
discrimination there really was[br]– both racism and sexism –

0:03:37.620,0:03:38.751
in the art world.

0:03:38.751,0:03:43.310
♪moody synth music♪

0:03:43.310,0:03:46.800
-Most of the women who are doing[br]all the bitching are completely talentless.

0:03:46.800,0:03:49.177
For example, like,[br]the top women artists,

0:03:49.177,0:03:51.900
you don't hear them making these[br]embarrassing feminist pleas.

0:03:51.900,0:03:53.520
-["Frida"] The more we[br]looked at the numbers,

0:03:53.520,0:03:57.600
we realized that there was a[br]systematic elimination of women

0:03:57.600,0:04:02.251
and artists of color from the[br]so-called mainstream of the art world.

0:04:02.251,0:04:05.220
-[Guerrilla Girl] What does it[br]mean that museums are getting

0:04:05.220,0:04:08.668
subsidies and have no[br]obligations to be ethnically diverse?

0:04:08.668,0:04:10.800
-["Frida"] We thought it[br]would be really important to

0:04:10.800,0:04:13.140
just state the facts

0:04:13.140,0:04:16.620
and see what people[br]did with the facts.

0:04:18.120,0:04:22.740
We met at my loft, and we were[br]just a hodgepodge of artists.

0:04:24.181,0:04:27.660
We called ourselves "the[br]Guerrilla Girls" because we had

0:04:27.660,0:04:30.000
to become anonymous to[br]say what was obvious.

0:04:30.000,0:04:31.800
♪♪♪

0:04:31.800,0:04:35.437
Kathë and I came up[br]with the two first posters.

0:04:38.514,0:04:42.168
The very first poster was this[br]list of male artists who allowed

0:04:42.168,0:04:45.360
their work to be shown in[br]galleries that showed fewer than

0:04:45.360,0:04:47.220
10 percent women or none at all.

0:04:48.975,0:04:51.084
-[Kathë VO] When one[br]worked, we would do another.

0:04:51.084,0:04:53.167
When another worked,[br]we would do another.

0:04:54.529,0:04:57.660
The facts are a hugely[br]important part of it.

0:04:57.660,0:05:00.420
But also, we had this[br]kind of outrageous,

0:05:00.420,0:05:04.620
in-your-face design and crazy[br]headlines that you couldn't

0:05:04.620,0:05:05.580
totally ignore.

0:05:07.584,0:05:10.141
We passed the hat[br]around to pay for printing.

0:05:10.141,0:05:12.360
We were sneaking around New[br]York in the middle of the night

0:05:12.360,0:05:13.897
putting these things up.

0:05:13.897,0:05:16.680
And people saw them[br]and all hell broke loose.

0:05:17.626,0:05:25.209
♪energizing[br]electronic music♪

0:05:25.209,0:05:27.960
We mostly did them in[br]SoHo and the East Village,

0:05:27.960,0:05:31.200
which were the big art[br]neighborhoods of that time.

0:05:31.200,0:05:34.860
So we put these posters up on[br]the gallery windows right below

0:05:34.860,0:05:36.060
the name of the gallery.

0:05:36.060,0:05:43.080
♪♪♪

0:05:43.080,0:05:45.120
-["Frida" VO] It was so [br]exciting to go out the next day

0:05:45.120,0:05:48.360
and to see a[br]dialogue being ignited.

0:05:48.360,0:05:53.340
♪♪♪

0:05:53.340,0:05:57.000
I remember a gallery director[br]came by with her son,

0:05:57.000,0:05:59.580
and he singsong-edly sang,

0:05:59.580,0:06:01.272
"Mommy, why is[br]your name up there?"

0:06:01.272,0:06:03.540
[laughs]

0:06:03.540,0:06:07.020
-If you look at the art schools,[br]at least half of them are women.

0:06:07.020,0:06:08.520
So what happens to these women?

0:06:08.520,0:06:09.360
Where do they go?

0:06:09.360,0:06:11.940
But that's not the art[br]world discriminating,

0:06:11.940,0:06:13.621
that's their choices.

0:06:18.597,0:06:22.471
♪ethereal synth music♪

0:06:22.471,0:06:25.201
-["Frida" VO] The advantages[br]of being a woman artist:

0:06:25.980,0:06:28.260
Working without[br]the pressure of success.

0:06:29.760,0:06:32.160
Not having to be[br]in shows with men.

0:06:33.780,0:06:37.645
Having a relief from the art[br]world with your four freelance jobs.

0:06:38.880,0:06:41.460
Being reassured[br]that whatever work you make,

0:06:41.460,0:06:43.140
it will be labeled "feminine."

0:06:44.460,0:06:47.820
Knowing your career might[br]pick up after you're 80.

0:06:50.640,0:06:54.720
Over the years, about 60 people[br]were in and out of the group.

0:06:55.920,0:06:58.392
Collaboration was[br]wonderful when it worked.

0:06:58.392,0:07:00.408
It was painful[br]when it didn't work.

0:07:00.408,0:07:02.460
We didn't understand[br]where it would go,

0:07:02.460,0:07:04.740
but we knew that[br]what we were saying,

0:07:04.740,0:07:06.240
moment to moment,

0:07:07.200,0:07:09.253
was something[br]that was irrefutable.

0:07:09.253,0:07:14.724
♪♪♪

0:07:19.315,0:07:21.510
-I'm kind of new on the [br]scene here but I love it.

0:07:21.510,0:07:23.460
-["Frida"] Well, do you ever[br]think to count how many women,

0:07:23.460,0:07:25.020
how many artists of color?

0:07:25.020,0:07:26.473
-[woman] Oh, absolutely.[br]-["Frida"] Yeah.

0:07:26.473,0:07:29.460
And does that change[br]your attitude or your idea?

0:07:29.460,0:07:31.080
-[woman] It has a[br]lot, and the idea,

0:07:31.080,0:07:33.480
I think that's[br]why maybe my

0:07:33.480,0:07:36.840
mother and grandmother were[br]never really that interested.

0:07:36.840,0:07:40.008
Because they didn't see anything[br]that was done by people that

0:07:40.008,0:07:41.084
looked like them.

0:07:41.084,0:07:46.046
♪sparse ethereal music♪

0:07:46.046,0:07:49.440
-["Frida" VO] I always[br]felt distance from the

0:07:49.440,0:07:51.385
socioeconomics in the art world.

0:07:52.680,0:07:55.680
I grew up in Pittsburgh[br]in a working-class family.

0:07:56.760,0:08:00.600
There was a lot of trauma in[br]my family with parents dying

0:08:00.600,0:08:03.420
and getting sick, and I[br]had a lot to take care of,

0:08:03.420,0:08:07.800
so I really never felt[br]the freedom to rebel

0:08:07.800,0:08:08.880
in my adolescence.

0:08:11.717,0:08:13.273
-["Käthe" VO] I grew[br]up in New York City.

0:08:13.273,0:08:14.940
I was an activist in my teens,

0:08:14.940,0:08:18.204
and I got kicked out of college[br]for being in a demonstration,

0:08:18.204,0:08:21.540
and that kind of[br]pushing the envelope

0:08:21.540,0:08:26.220
has always been my life, and[br]it's always been the kind of art

0:08:26.220,0:08:26.820
I do.

0:08:26.820,0:08:30.588
♪♪♪

0:08:30.588,0:08:33.000
-["Frida"] I was always[br]uncomfortable with this idea

0:08:33.000,0:08:34.861
that there was a[br]level playing field,

0:08:34.861,0:08:38.653
because it was not my experience[br]in life or in the art world.

0:08:38.653,0:08:41.820
So the minute I felt[br]the freedom to criticize it,

0:08:41.820,0:08:45.120
it was wonderful, it was great,[br]it opened up a whole part of my brain.

0:08:45.120,0:08:49.860
♪quirky upbeat music♪

0:08:50.773,0:08:51.900
-["Käthe"] I couldn't stop.

0:08:51.900,0:08:54.240
I can't explain why,[br]but I couldn't stop.

0:08:54.240,0:08:58.632
And it became as important to[br]me as anything else I did in my life.

0:08:58.632,0:09:05.243
♪♪♪

0:09:05.243,0:09:07.572
-["Käthe"] Those of us who[br]were unfairly left out of

0:09:07.572,0:09:10.020
the system, it was like[br]a breath of fresh air.

0:09:10.020,0:09:13.477
It was so-- it seemed[br]daring, it seemed exciting,

0:09:13.477,0:09:17.382
and the people on the[br]posters were really pissed off.

0:09:17.382,0:09:19.332
-[Guerrilla Girl] They now feel[br]they have to contend with us as

0:09:19.332,0:09:20.425
a power.

0:09:20.425,0:09:23.640
And it's very bizarre to be at a[br]point where I get more respect

0:09:23.640,0:09:25.847
with a gorilla mask on[br]than I get with it off.

0:09:27.501,0:09:32.088
♪energetic percussion♪

0:09:32.088,0:09:35.040
-[Frances VO] In 2006, we[br]had, at The Tate Modern,

0:09:35.040,0:09:38.713
a small room with a group of[br]the Guerrilla Girls' posters.

0:09:39.480,0:09:43.860
But I was put on the back foot[br]by journalists grilling me about

0:09:43.860,0:09:47.220
precisely what the Guerrilla[br]Girls were charging us with –

0:09:47.220,0:09:49.860
lack of representation[br]of women artists,

0:09:49.860,0:09:51.180
lack of diversity –

0:09:51.180,0:09:53.880
and I had no way[br]of responding.

0:09:54.957,0:09:58.920
My inability to respond was[br]published in The Guardian.

0:10:01.380,0:10:05.280
I felt profoundly[br]exposed, profoundly embarrassed.

0:10:05.280,0:10:08.460
And in that moment, the[br]Guerrilla Girls' wonderful pink

0:10:08.460,0:10:12.420
letter really resonated with me[br]-- that idea that I had agency

0:10:12.420,0:10:14.340
in this and I had to[br]take some responsibility.

0:10:15.350,0:10:17.100
-["Frida" VO][br][echoing] Dearest art collector,

0:10:17.100,0:10:20.580
it has come to our[br]attention that your collection,

0:10:20.580,0:10:24.660
like most, does not[br]contain enough art by women.

0:10:25.380,0:10:28.500
We know that you feel[br]terrible about this

0:10:28.500,0:10:32.040
and will rectify the[br]situation immediately.

0:10:32.569,0:10:35.725
All our love, Guerrilla Girls.

0:10:36.840,0:10:40.920
-[Frances VO] About a year later, I took over[br]the leadership of building the

0:10:40.920,0:10:45.240
international collection,[br]and I presented a strategy to

0:10:45.240,0:10:49.393
massively broaden the[br]diversity of the collection,

0:10:49.620,0:10:54.000
and to really address the[br]representation of women.

0:10:54.780,0:10:57.937
That moment with the[br]Guerrilla Girls was profoundly influential.

0:10:57.937,0:11:00.000
♪♪♪

0:11:00.000,0:11:02.040
-["Frida" VO] There are[br]wonderful individuals on the

0:11:02.040,0:11:03.937
inside trying to change things.

0:11:04.380,0:11:07.957
But there is a[br]corporate, capitalist,

0:11:07.957,0:11:11.820
institutional structure that's[br]connected to much larger forces.

0:11:13.762,0:11:16.320
-["Zubeida"] Right now, art[br]institutions do not get enough

0:11:16.320,0:11:20.400
government funding, and so[br]they're reliant on individuals

0:11:20.400,0:11:23.101
to donate to them to make[br]art exhibitions happen.

0:11:24.180,0:11:27.900
A lot of the people are very[br]wealthy individuals for whom art

0:11:27.900,0:11:31.140
is an investment asset, and so[br]they will support exhibitions

0:11:31.140,0:11:34.440
that raise the value of[br]their art collection.

0:11:34.801,0:11:36.360
I feel like in[br]any other industry,

0:11:36.360,0:11:38.700
that would be considered[br]insider trading or something,

0:11:38.700,0:11:40.140
but it's not.

0:11:42.000,0:11:45.660
-["Frida" VO] [echoing][br]Guerrilla Girls' Code of Ethics

0:11:45.660,0:11:47.497
for Art Museums:

0:11:47.497,0:11:51.660
Thou shalt not give more than[br]three retrospectives to any

0:11:51.660,0:11:55.464
artist whose dealer is the[br]brother of the chief curator.

0:11:56.400,0:12:00.504
Thou shalt provide lavish[br]funerals for women and artists

0:12:00.504,0:12:05.220
of color, who thou planneth to[br]exhibit only after their death.

0:12:06.000,0:12:08.340
-[Käthe VO] We did a whole[br]series of these posters.

0:12:08.989,0:12:12.540
After many years, we thought it[br]would be great to do an updated

0:12:12.540,0:12:16.177
version and build[br]the actual monument

0:12:16.177,0:12:21.240
and drag it around to every[br]museum we could possibly get to.

0:12:22.851,0:12:25.920
-["Frida" VO] [echoing] Thou[br]shalt honor all thine employees,

0:12:25.920,0:12:28.500
never undermine[br]their efforts to unionize,

0:12:28.500,0:12:30.925
and pay them a living wage.

0:12:31.680,0:12:36.241
Thou shalt banish board members[br]who make the world a worse place.

0:12:38.220,0:12:42.443
If thou exhibiteth[br]super-expensive art bought at

0:12:42.443,0:12:46.500
super-fancy galleries and[br]donated by super-rich collectors

0:12:46.500,0:12:51.060
for super-big tax deductions,[br]thou must renameth thyself

0:12:51.060,0:12:54.600
The Museum of[br]Super-Rich People's Art.

0:12:57.478,0:13:00.540
-[Käthe] Everybody,[br]this is a monument we think

0:13:00.540,0:13:03.360
needs to be outside[br]every single museum.

0:13:03.913,0:13:05.840
So who wants to talk?

0:13:06.729,0:13:08.760
-The public has[br]no say whatsoever;

0:13:08.760,0:13:10.620
they just go and[br]look at the art.

0:13:10.620,0:13:14.160
What these museums are doing is[br]they've basically turned it into

0:13:14.160,0:13:15.200
a business.

0:13:16.330,0:13:19.381
-[Käthe] You are now[br]an honorary Guerrilla Girl.

0:13:19.381,0:13:20.507
-[man] Oh, really?[br]-[Käthe] Yes.

0:13:20.507,0:13:21.060
-Thank you.

0:13:21.060,0:13:23.100
-Now, I think, in a lot[br]of these institutions,

0:13:23.100,0:13:27.240
they've, like, clung onto the[br]fact that it's trendy to be,

0:13:27.240,0:13:31.380
like, putting art out there that[br]is promoting social justice,

0:13:31.380,0:13:33.300
but when you look at what[br]they're actually doing in

0:13:33.300,0:13:35.280
practice, it doesn't[br]support those ideals.

0:13:35.280,0:13:36.660
-["Frida"] Oh, I agree.

0:13:36.660,0:13:40.343
We think that trustees should[br]be chosen who make the world a

0:13:40.343,0:13:41.372
better place.

0:13:43.260,0:13:45.060
What did you see in[br]the museum today?

0:13:45.060,0:13:46.620
-Oh, we didn't go in.[br]-We are yet to go in.

0:13:46.620,0:13:47.533
-We came to meet you first.[br]-["Frida"] [gasps]

0:13:47.533,0:13:48.868
-Yeah.[br]-["Frida"] Oh, that's so great!

0:13:48.868,0:13:49.752
-[woman] Yeah, we saw[br]it on your Instagram!

0:13:49.752,0:13:50.765
-["Frida"][br]Thank you so much!

0:13:50.876,0:13:53.040
-I consider my[br]art Guerrilla art.

0:13:53.040,0:13:55.920
Well, like, I, like, put a[br]poster up in my city in India

0:13:55.920,0:13:57.180
and stuff like that[br]about mental health.

0:13:57.180,0:13:59.151
-["Frida"] That's wonderful![br]-["Käthe"] Fantastic.

0:13:59.151,0:13:59.608
-This is great.[br]Oh my gosh.

0:13:59.608,0:14:00.309
-[woman] Thank you,[br]thank you so much!

0:14:00.309,0:14:03.888
-I took, like, 15.[br]-Aw, thank you.

0:14:03.888,0:14:05.940
-["Käthe"] We've been so[br]lucky that people all over the

0:14:05.940,0:14:07.693
world want our work.

0:14:07.693,0:14:12.000
♪ambient[br]oscillating synths♪

0:14:12.000,0:14:13.500
-["Zubeida" VO] The[br]Guerrilla Girls' work has always

0:14:13.500,0:14:14.820
been statistics.

0:14:14.820,0:14:17.616
People don't believe you unless[br]you show them the numbers.

0:14:17.616,0:14:23.340
♪♪♪

0:14:23.340,0:14:27.300
Without the numbers, you really[br]have a false sense of diversity.

0:14:29.415,0:14:32.004
-["Frida" VO] For the[br]last 20, 25, 30 years,

0:14:32.004,0:14:34.320
we get people saying to us,

0:14:34.320,0:14:36.973
"I never knew this before."

0:14:38.040,0:14:39.878
Our stuff is easy to understand,

0:14:39.878,0:14:42.080
and then you take off with it on your own.

0:14:43.728,0:14:46.045
-I've been teaching[br]now for almost 30 years.

0:14:46.045,0:14:51.126
I make sure that my students are[br]aware of the Guerrilla Girls' contributions.

0:14:51.270,0:14:53.448
They get museum[br]shows in Europe,

0:14:53.448,0:14:55.356
not so much in[br]the United States.

0:14:55.356,0:14:59.340
I think that that's an[br]indication of the resistance

0:14:59.340,0:15:03.900
still to the practice and to the[br]message of the Guerrilla Girls,

0:15:03.900,0:15:06.540
despite the fact that[br]there are probably, you know,

0:15:06.540,0:15:10.020
200 art history majors writing[br]papers on them right now.

0:15:11.078,0:15:13.560
-["Zubeida" VO] One of the[br]most exciting things for me has

0:15:13.560,0:15:17.268
been the shift where the younger[br]generation are learning about

0:15:17.268,0:15:19.800
the Guerrilla Girls earlier[br]and earlier -- in high school,

0:15:19.800,0:15:22.020
or they saw the[br]work on social media.

0:15:22.620,0:15:24.000
It gives me a lot of hope.

0:15:24.000,0:15:25.460
It gives me a lot of hope.

0:15:26.501,0:15:27.600
-["Frida"] Bye-bye!

0:15:27.600,0:15:29.724
And I hope you find things[br]that you love to look at!

0:15:30.662,0:15:33.780
Can't we think about[br]art as not being about

0:15:33.780,0:15:37.320
winners, but about something[br]that we all need in our lives?

0:15:37.334,0:15:40.044
Thank you so much, and good[br]luck with your own work!

0:15:40.044,0:15:41.501
-[man] This is a big[br]moment in my life!

0:15:41.501,0:15:42.712
Yay!

0:15:42.712,0:15:45.240
-["Frida"] There are so[br]many cultural traditions where

0:15:45.240,0:15:48.985
art is collective, and[br]it's done in a community,

0:15:48.985,0:15:50.700
and artists work together.

0:15:50.700,0:15:52.633
They might do individual work,

0:15:52.633,0:15:57.360
but they somehow present a[br]kinder idea of what it means

0:15:57.360,0:15:58.680
to have a creative life.

0:15:58.680,0:16:03.861
♪♪♪

0:16:03.861,0:16:05.686
["Käthe"] Come over!

0:16:15.233,0:16:24.780
♪ ethereal ambient music ♪