The Evelyn Simon Gilman Gallery at the William Benton Museum of Art at UConn in Storrs has 43 artworks on exhibit, some of the jewels of UConn’s collection. Of the 39 pieces whose artists are known, 34 were created by men and five by women.
In the adjacent gallery is a show of work by the Guerrilla Girls. The goal of that art-activist group is to challenge the unequal representation of female and nonwhite artists in the art world.
Jean Nihoul, curator of the Guerrilla Girls’ show, is aware of the irony of the two exhibits’ juxtaposition. He isn’t fazed by it.
“Our show here is pointing to that show. This shows that the problem is systemic and widespread and it’s applicable to us, too,” Nihoul said.
The side-by-side exhibits lend even more truth to the Guerrilla Girls’ rallying cry, which they have been calling out since 1985: That museums, galleries and collectors give overwhelmingly preferential treatment to white male artists. Since hype and exposure translate into respect and money, the Guerrilla Girls argue that female and minority nonrepresentation suppresses art, opportunity and artists’ ability to make a living.
So the exhibit at UConn levels the field, at least in that museum for now, giving a huge presence to women artists and their in-your-face message. Whether it gives a presence to nonwhite artists is unknown, because the Guerrilla Girls keep their identities secret. They wear gorilla masks when they speak in public, as they will on April 6 at UConn.
Late last year, the Benton acquired the Guerrilla Girls’ complete portfolio from 1985 to 2012, 89 pieces in all. Thirty-seven of them are in the show. Nihoul pointed out that in 2016, when the Oscars have contended with charges of discrimination and some presidential candidates have been in the habit of saying sexist things, the message is more relevant than ever. “They’ve been doing it so long, but the issues haven’t changed,” Nihoul said.
One of the exhibit’s centerpieces, created in 2012, is called “Disturbing the Peace.” It shows a brick wall covered with misogynist statements made by famous men throughout history. Napoleon: “Nature intended women to be our slaves. They are our property.” St. Thomas Aquinas: “Woman is defective and misbegotten … a male gone awry.” Random bumper sticker: “So you’re a feminist. Isn’t that cute!”
That piece addresses the issue of sexism in general. The rest of the pieces address sexism and racism in the art world. The piece “The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist” ironically lists all these “advantages”: “Working without the pressure of success,” “Not being stuck in a tenured teaching position,” “Seeing your ideas live on in the works of others,” “Not having to undergo the embarrassment of being called a genius.”
“Top Ten Signs that You’re an Art-World Token” is both funny and maddening, with “signs” including, “No collector ever buys more than one of your pieces” and “Whenever you open your mouth, it’s assumed that you speak for ‘your people,’ not just yourself.”
One of the Guerrilla Girls’ most famous pieces, the “Anatomically Correct Oscar” — which depicts the statue as a pasty, bloated white man rather than as a gold inanimate object — is in the exhibit, as well as an updated version citing the traditional domination of the awards by white men. Other movie-related pieces include a sign meant to be hung in the ladies’ room at a film festival: “Wanna direct? You’re in the wrong room.”
Another of the group’s most well-known pieces, “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?” is in the show, pointing out that few women artists are represented in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but most of the museum’s nude artworks depict women. Again, that fact is emphasized by the exhibit in the Gilman gallery. Seven of those artworks depict nudes. Five of them show women and two of them show men.
Nihoul pointed out a further irony: William Benton, the museum’s benefactor, was a white man. And so is he. “As a white guy, it put me a bit on edge while I was writing the labels,” he said. “I had a lot of people proofread them.”
GUERRILLA GIRLS: ART, ACTIVISM AND THE F WORD is at William Benton Museum of Art, 245 Glenbrook Road, on the campus of University of Connecticut in Storrs, until May 22. Some members of the Guerrilla Girls will give a presentation on April 6 at 5 p.m. Information: benton.uconn.edu.
