Guerrilla Girls
The Metropolitan Museum or Music Videos
The Guerrilla Girls’ protests were data-driven before data became a thing, and over the years they have broadened their remit to encompass inequities in Hollywood and the theatre. What they hope, ultimately, is that their work suggests an alternative to the way things are currently done. “If we are remembered in history, it’s not because art collectors have been interested in us,” says Kahlo. “It’s because artists and students have been interested in our work. I’m really proud that we’ve defined another criterion for art-world prominence. We’ve created another market paradigm.”
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In the meantime, they’ve had a lot of fun. One of the side effects of their anonymity is that they can pull off the trick of being in a room when they’re not there. “I’ve been at the Whitney, for example,” says Agha, “and there’s lots of people there that I know in my non-masked persona, and I’m seeing them in my masked persona. They have no idea. It’s like having a superpower.”
What, you go for meetings at the Whitney in the mask?
“Yes. Sometimes I slip up and mention something I talked about in a previous identity. They’re like, ‘How did you know that?!’”
“It is kind of delicious,” says Kollwitz.
Where do you change?
“Bathrooms are really great places,” says Kollwitz.
“Often we come in through the front door already masked,” says Kahlo.
So, Clark Kent-style, who in the world knows your dual identities?
“Hard to tell,” says Kahlo. “Partners know. Very close friends. My dog knows.”
Oh, and Jeffrey Toobin, of the New Yorker. In 2005, he wrote a piece about a lawsuit brought by some of the Guerrilla Girls against an offshoot of the group, during the course of which he “outed” two members, using their legal names as they appeared in the documents.
“It was unconscionable that he did that,” says Kollwitz, possibly looking furious.
“There’s a question as to whether he was correct,” says Kahlo. “He was making a lot of guesses there.” (Prior to the hearing, the women asked the judge if he would let them testify in masks. He said no.) “It was not a very heroic or courageous act on his [Toobin’s] part.”
The outing didn’t get much traction, mainly because, even though, as Kahlo puts it, they are “a thorn in the side” of the art establishment, they are also appreciated for bringing a certain anarchic joy to an otherwise stuffy and bloated environment.
“People close to us have protected our anonymity because they believe in the issues and realise that they don’t want to know who we are,” Kahlo says. “They’d like us to just keep doing what we’re doing.”
