Artist Biographies
The Guerrilla Girls
http://enculturation.net/6.2/tulley
In “The Guerilla Girls’ Comic Politics of Subversion,” Anne Teresa Demo argues that the Girls rely on three rhetorical strategies of incongruity (first described by Kenneth Burke in 1954) to get their message across, including mimicry, “an inventive re-vision of history” and strategic juxtaposition to prompt feminist resistance (134). These rhetorical strategies are useful for creating media spectacle because they rely on strategies other than the “angry” or straightforward political rhetoric associated with the feminist movement of the 1970s while still raising consciousness to the plight of female artists. The Girls have been very careful to make sure that their rhetoric retains an element of humor when packaging a message about feminism. In fact, on their website, the following Guerrilla Girl, going by the pseudonym of Eva Hesse, claims, “we found out quickly that humor gets people involved. It's an effective weapon” (“Interview,” par. 10).
While some could argue that humor might create an ambivalent message regarding feminism, parody, or mimicry, it is actually a key element in creating an image event for the Guerilla Girls to package the feminist message. Joel Schechter also confirms that despite the fact that the Guerrilla Girls do public appearances, release videos, and conduct televised interviews, their real strength lies in their ability to use printed material to spoof current events and to address discrimination. Therefore, the actual public appearance of the Girls is no longer the only image event in itself, because “in person they could not offer the precise wit and inventive visual imagery of the videotape and wall posters” (27). As a result, while the presence of the Girls can and does cause a stir, the repeated visual imagery combined with a carefully constructed rhetoric of feminism can also constitute a media event, as even the presence of one of these controversial posters outside the Met invites media attention, even if the Girl who posted it has retreated into the darkness. In other words, it isn’t only what the Girls say in public appearances or even directly, it is the entire media package, most notably strengthened by the rhetoric of the bumper stickers and posters.
Indeed, the Girls have often argued that the writing (and by association, the rhetorical strategies they purposely use noted by Demo) is often the cornerstone to prompt media attention. In a 1995 interview, one Guerrilla Girl notes, “I don’t think any of us as individuals has the possibility of changing the system, but writing, I’ve found has some effect in the world; it does the one thing I think it is possible to do, which is to influence people toward a change of heart, or a change of consciousness” (Gablik 224). Clearly, the Girls strategically attempt to change consciousness using their writing as a launching pad toward public attention.
In “The Guerilla Girls’ Comic Politics of Subversion,” Anne Teresa Demo argues that the Girls rely on three rhetorical strategies of incongruity (first described by Kenneth Burke in 1954) to get their message across, including mimicry, “an inventive re-vision of history” and strategic juxtaposition to prompt feminist resistance (134). These rhetorical strategies are useful for creating media spectacle because they rely on strategies other than the “angry” or straightforward political rhetoric associated with the feminist movement of the 1970s while still raising consciousness to the plight of female artists. The Girls have been very careful to make sure that their rhetoric retains an element of humor when packaging a message about feminism. In fact, on their website, the following Guerrilla Girl, going by the pseudonym of Eva Hesse, claims, “we found out quickly that humor gets people involved. It's an effective weapon” (“Interview,” par. 10).
While some could argue that humor might create an ambivalent message regarding feminism, parody, or mimicry, it is actually a key element in creating an image event for the Guerilla Girls to package the feminist message. Joel Schechter also confirms that despite the fact that the Guerrilla Girls do public appearances, release videos, and conduct televised interviews, their real strength lies in their ability to use printed material to spoof current events and to address discrimination. Therefore, the actual public appearance of the Girls is no longer the only image event in itself, because “in person they could not offer the precise wit and inventive visual imagery of the videotape and wall posters” (27). As a result, while the presence of the Girls can and does cause a stir, the repeated visual imagery combined with a carefully constructed rhetoric of feminism can also constitute a media event, as even the presence of one of these controversial posters outside the Met invites media attention, even if the Girl who posted it has retreated into the darkness. In other words, it isn’t only what the Girls say in public appearances or even directly, it is the entire media package, most notably strengthened by the rhetoric of the bumper stickers and posters.
Indeed, the Girls have often argued that the writing (and by association, the rhetorical strategies they purposely use noted by Demo) is often the cornerstone to prompt media attention. In a 1995 interview, one Guerrilla Girl notes, “I don’t think any of us as individuals has the possibility of changing the system, but writing, I’ve found has some effect in the world; it does the one thing I think it is possible to do, which is to influence people toward a change of heart, or a change of consciousness” (Gablik 224). Clearly, the Girls strategically attempt to change consciousness using their writing as a launching pad toward public attention.