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The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art
Take a romp through the last two thousand years of Western Art with the Guerrilla Girls as your guides, and find out the real who, what, when, and why of art history. Who put all those naked men in the classical section of museums? What were the "do's" and "don'ts" for female artists as "civilization" marched across Europe? Why did nuns have more fun in medieval times? This wisecracking but cleverly wise story of art is guaranteed to turn history on its head - and maybe a few historians too. Sprinkled throughout are "believe it or not" quotations from so-called experts; useful facts (consider how many prostitutes and how few suffragettes were painted in the nineteenth century); and reproductions of famous art works "enhanced" for historical accuracy and revenge.
96 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 1998
31 people are currently reading
2948 people want to read
About the author
Guerrilla Girls
8 books117 followersThe Guerrilla Girls are feminist masked avengers in the tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, Wonder Woman and Batman. We use facts, humor and outrageous visuals to expose sexism, racism and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture. We undermine the idea of a mainstream narrative in visual culture by revealing the understory, the subtext, the forgotten, the overlooked, the understated and the downright unfair. Our work has been passed around the world by our tireless supporters, who use us as a model for doing their own crazy kind of activism.
In the last few years, the Guerrilla Girls have appeared at over 100 universities and museums around the world. We created a large scale installation for the Venice Biennale, brainstormed with Greenpeace, and participated in Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women Campaign in the UK. In 2006, we unveiled our latest anti-film industry billboard in Hollywood just in time for the Oscars, appeared at the Tate Modern, London, and created large scale projects for Istanbul and Mexico City. In 2007 we dissed the Museum of Modern Art at its own Feminist Futures Symposium, examined the museums of Washington DC in a full page in the Washington Post, and exhibited large-scale posters and banners in Athens, Rotterdam, Bilbao, Sarajevo, Belgrade and Shanghai. In 2008-9, we did actions at the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA, Los Angeles, Bronx Museum, New York, Ireland and Montreal.
The Guerrilla Girls’ work has appeared in The New York Times, The London Times, The New Yorker, and Bitch; on NPR, the BBC and the CBC; and in many art and feminist texts. We are the authors of stickers, billboards, posters and other projects, and several books including The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art, Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers: The Guerrilla Girls' Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes and The Guerrilla Girls’ Art Museum Activity Book. Our latest book, The Guerrilla Girls' Hysterical Herstory of Hysteria and How it Was Cured, from Ancient times Until Now, will be published in 2010.
(From http://www.guerrillagirls.com/press/o...)
In the last few years, the Guerrilla Girls have appeared at over 100 universities and museums around the world. We created a large scale installation for the Venice Biennale, brainstormed with Greenpeace, and participated in Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women Campaign in the UK. In 2006, we unveiled our latest anti-film industry billboard in Hollywood just in time for the Oscars, appeared at the Tate Modern, London, and created large scale projects for Istanbul and Mexico City. In 2007 we dissed the Museum of Modern Art at its own Feminist Futures Symposium, examined the museums of Washington DC in a full page in the Washington Post, and exhibited large-scale posters and banners in Athens, Rotterdam, Bilbao, Sarajevo, Belgrade and Shanghai. In 2008-9, we did actions at the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at LACMA, Los Angeles, Bronx Museum, New York, Ireland and Montreal.
The Guerrilla Girls’ work has appeared in The New York Times, The London Times, The New Yorker, and Bitch; on NPR, the BBC and the CBC; and in many art and feminist texts. We are the authors of stickers, billboards, posters and other projects, and several books including The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art, Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers: The Guerrilla Girls' Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes and The Guerrilla Girls’ Art Museum Activity Book. Our latest book, The Guerrilla Girls' Hysterical Herstory of Hysteria and How it Was Cured, from Ancient times Until Now, will be published in 2010.
(From http://www.guerrillagirls.com/press/o...)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
February 11, 2023
FULL DISCLOSURE. I have a degree in art history (I read Jenson's History of Western Art like it was my job) and I am a lady. That may have a very strong impact on my response to this book. Some people I have talked to (dudes, mostly. White dudes) think this book is revisionist shenanigans and HEY YOU KNOW WHAT maybe some of it is. Maybe white dudes painted all this stuff or whatever. But there are also plenty of facts about women in art. Convents, which we normally think of as stifling, oppressive places were actually the one place a women could express herself in beautiful and intricate works of art. Take from it what you will, but the GGs have put together a really intriguing and witty volume.
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May 24, 2024The fact is, in the way of males, I like only the bulls I paint.
Rose Bonheur
No estilo panfletário e ousado típico do grupo, The Guerrilla Girls´ Bedside Companion to The History of Western Art é, sobretudo, um manifesto pragmático e feminista (que não se descola, propositadamente, da política) e que reúne num volume, ao estilo de um portfólio de arte das mulheres, vários nomes, histórias e obras no feminino desde a época clássica ao séc. XX.
Tina Modotti
Hands Washing, c. 1927, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Recuando sobretudo para contextualizar, lembra-nos que é no berço da civilização ocidental que tudo começa - para o bem e para o mal:
Although each Greek city-state differed a bit, ancient Greece was a rigidly stratified society, consisting of citizens, freemen, dependents, and slaves. Only men could be citizens, only citizens could vote or own estates, property, or livestock. You were stuck in the class you were born into and could move to another only by a vote of the citizens. Women of all classes were considered inferior. Even the wives of citizens were not important enough to be counted in censuses in most of the ancient world until the 3rd century AD. Power rested with a small group of privileged males (about 13 percent of the population) who occupied themselves managing property and slaves, engaging in politics, and waging war.
<
Sonia Delaunay
Chanteur Flamenco (dit Petit Flamenco), 1916, Centro de Arte Moderna - Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
Mas também nos lembra que é antiga a contribuição feminina no campo da arte...
Art in the Middle Ages became a didactic tool of the church. The great cathedrals, built over centuries, presented Bible stories and doctrine to the illiterate masses. [...]But many other arts flourished: religious objects, illuminated manuscripts, and tapestries, to name a few, all made by artists working in guilds, collective workshops, and religious communities. These nameless artists labored in the service of abbots, abbesses, kings, and nobles, who dictated the content of the work and directed its production.
Many of these artists were women, either working in businesses owned by male family members or living as nuns in convents. By the 15th century in Bruges, for example, 25 percent of the members of the illuminators' guild were female. Records tell us there were many women sculptors, too.
...e que o seu reconhecimento é escasso, fazendo-se sentir muito pouco nas épocas que se lhe seguem, com pequeníssimas exceções:
The city of Bologna stood out from the rest of Europe in its attitude toward women. Women were admitted to its university beginning as early as the 13th century and were even permitted to lecture there (although Novella d'Andrea had to speak to students from behind a screen to avoid "distracting the students with her personal charms"). The city produced many learned women in philosophy and law.
Its painters' guild had a female patron, Caterina Vigri, an artist nun who later was canonized as Saint Catherine of Bologna.
There was even a school for women artists, founded by the painter Elisabetta Sirani. And guess what... there were more women artists in Bologna during this time than anywhere else in Italy.
Sanccia Guidisalvi
Cruz processional, séc. XI/XII, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Porém, este pequenino guia da História da Arte das mulheres tem como grande objetivo - parece-me - o de nomear, com todas as letras, várias das mulheres que se distinguiram no mundo essencialmente masculino da Arte, o que, creio, faz bastante bem dentro dos moldes a que se propõe (arte ocidental/ feminina/ inovadora/ produção de artistas já desaparecidas). Eis algumas das menos badaladas: Sanccia Guidisalvi, Onorata Rodiani, Judith Leyster, Edmonia Lewis, Harriet Powers, Sonia Delaunay, Gunta Stoltzl, Tina Modotti.
Todavia, apesar de se debruçar sobre algumas histórias interessantes...
Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750) was born in Amsterdam. Her father was a professor of botany and anatomy who had a big collection of rocks and skeletons that Maria Merian studied from. When Rachel was 15, she was apprenticed to a flower painter, Willem van Aelst. Later she married a portrait painter, Juriaen Pool, and moved to the Hague. Together they had ten kids and were members of the Painters' Guild. All her life, Rachel was swamped with commissions for her exquisite flower paintings. Flowers, especially tulips, were very important in Holland and were one of its major businesses. To paint them was to symbolize the wealth of the country and was not considered a second-rate activity, as in other parts of Europe. She was paid more for her work than Rembrandt was for his. She painted until she was 80 and died at 86.
Judith Leyster
Autoretrato, c. 1630, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
...este guia peca pela visão um pouco negativa de que se serve, insistindo demasiado no tratamento dado às mulheres artistas mais do que no efetivo valor do seu trabalho. Essa abordagem, tornada repetitiva nas poucas páginas que compõem o livro, acaba por entrar em conflito com o humor de que fazem uso as Guerrilla Girls, tornando a abordagem um pouco menos coerente do que seria de esperar.
Apesar de tudo, este pequeno livro é uma mais-valia no âmbito do estudo da História da Arte. Não sendo, de todo, uma exploração académica nem aprofundada (nem às teorias feministas, nem ao ativismo, nem à História da Arte ou à própria Arte), é sim um poderoso olhar sobre os estigmas que as mulheres artistas sofreram (e sofrem) às mãos de um cânone artístico masculino:
In TJ. Clark's "groundbreaking" work on Impressionism, The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers (1984), no mention is made of Mary Cassatt, but 30 pages are devoted to prostitutes and courtesans.
Com um grafismo magnífico e característico do estilo interventivo do grupo, The Guerrilla Girls´ Bedside Companion... é um ótimo guia introdutório, seja dentro dos estudos de género ou dentro do campo da História da Arte quando a perspetiva é a de alargar o escopo para fora dos moldes socialmente impostos.
Harriet Powers
Bible Quilt, 1885/86, National Museum of American History
Rose Bonheur
No estilo panfletário e ousado típico do grupo, The Guerrilla Girls´ Bedside Companion to The History of Western Art é, sobretudo, um manifesto pragmático e feminista (que não se descola, propositadamente, da política) e que reúne num volume, ao estilo de um portfólio de arte das mulheres, vários nomes, histórias e obras no feminino desde a época clássica ao séc. XX.
Tina Modotti
Hands Washing, c. 1927, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Recuando sobretudo para contextualizar, lembra-nos que é no berço da civilização ocidental que tudo começa - para o bem e para o mal:
Although each Greek city-state differed a bit, ancient Greece was a rigidly stratified society, consisting of citizens, freemen, dependents, and slaves. Only men could be citizens, only citizens could vote or own estates, property, or livestock. You were stuck in the class you were born into and could move to another only by a vote of the citizens. Women of all classes were considered inferior. Even the wives of citizens were not important enough to be counted in censuses in most of the ancient world until the 3rd century AD. Power rested with a small group of privileged males (about 13 percent of the population) who occupied themselves managing property and slaves, engaging in politics, and waging war.
<
Sonia Delaunay
Chanteur Flamenco (dit Petit Flamenco), 1916, Centro de Arte Moderna - Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
Mas também nos lembra que é antiga a contribuição feminina no campo da arte...
Art in the Middle Ages became a didactic tool of the church. The great cathedrals, built over centuries, presented Bible stories and doctrine to the illiterate masses. [...]But many other arts flourished: religious objects, illuminated manuscripts, and tapestries, to name a few, all made by artists working in guilds, collective workshops, and religious communities. These nameless artists labored in the service of abbots, abbesses, kings, and nobles, who dictated the content of the work and directed its production.
Many of these artists were women, either working in businesses owned by male family members or living as nuns in convents. By the 15th century in Bruges, for example, 25 percent of the members of the illuminators' guild were female. Records tell us there were many women sculptors, too.
...e que o seu reconhecimento é escasso, fazendo-se sentir muito pouco nas épocas que se lhe seguem, com pequeníssimas exceções:
The city of Bologna stood out from the rest of Europe in its attitude toward women. Women were admitted to its university beginning as early as the 13th century and were even permitted to lecture there (although Novella d'Andrea had to speak to students from behind a screen to avoid "distracting the students with her personal charms"). The city produced many learned women in philosophy and law.
Its painters' guild had a female patron, Caterina Vigri, an artist nun who later was canonized as Saint Catherine of Bologna.
There was even a school for women artists, founded by the painter Elisabetta Sirani. And guess what... there were more women artists in Bologna during this time than anywhere else in Italy.
Sanccia Guidisalvi
Cruz processional, séc. XI/XII, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Porém, este pequenino guia da História da Arte das mulheres tem como grande objetivo - parece-me - o de nomear, com todas as letras, várias das mulheres que se distinguiram no mundo essencialmente masculino da Arte, o que, creio, faz bastante bem dentro dos moldes a que se propõe (arte ocidental/ feminina/ inovadora/ produção de artistas já desaparecidas). Eis algumas das menos badaladas: Sanccia Guidisalvi, Onorata Rodiani, Judith Leyster, Edmonia Lewis, Harriet Powers, Sonia Delaunay, Gunta Stoltzl, Tina Modotti.
Todavia, apesar de se debruçar sobre algumas histórias interessantes...
Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750) was born in Amsterdam. Her father was a professor of botany and anatomy who had a big collection of rocks and skeletons that Maria Merian studied from. When Rachel was 15, she was apprenticed to a flower painter, Willem van Aelst. Later she married a portrait painter, Juriaen Pool, and moved to the Hague. Together they had ten kids and were members of the Painters' Guild. All her life, Rachel was swamped with commissions for her exquisite flower paintings. Flowers, especially tulips, were very important in Holland and were one of its major businesses. To paint them was to symbolize the wealth of the country and was not considered a second-rate activity, as in other parts of Europe. She was paid more for her work than Rembrandt was for his. She painted until she was 80 and died at 86.
Judith Leyster
Autoretrato, c. 1630, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
...este guia peca pela visão um pouco negativa de que se serve, insistindo demasiado no tratamento dado às mulheres artistas mais do que no efetivo valor do seu trabalho. Essa abordagem, tornada repetitiva nas poucas páginas que compõem o livro, acaba por entrar em conflito com o humor de que fazem uso as Guerrilla Girls, tornando a abordagem um pouco menos coerente do que seria de esperar.
Apesar de tudo, este pequeno livro é uma mais-valia no âmbito do estudo da História da Arte. Não sendo, de todo, uma exploração académica nem aprofundada (nem às teorias feministas, nem ao ativismo, nem à História da Arte ou à própria Arte), é sim um poderoso olhar sobre os estigmas que as mulheres artistas sofreram (e sofrem) às mãos de um cânone artístico masculino:
In TJ. Clark's "groundbreaking" work on Impressionism, The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers (1984), no mention is made of Mary Cassatt, but 30 pages are devoted to prostitutes and courtesans.
Com um grafismo magnífico e característico do estilo interventivo do grupo, The Guerrilla Girls´ Bedside Companion... é um ótimo guia introdutório, seja dentro dos estudos de género ou dentro do campo da História da Arte quando a perspetiva é a de alargar o escopo para fora dos moldes socialmente impostos.
Harriet Powers
Bible Quilt, 1885/86, National Museum of American History
June 19, 2021
Not a bad book, just not right for me. The feminism is more than introductory, but still pretty much for beginners. And the art history is kind of the same. It's a slight book, only 96 pages, so they really only have time to hit some high notes and explain the specific limitations on women in western civilization of the past 2000 or so years. To be fair, their work over time has tended to be ad-length: punchy, but quick, and not surprisingly, highly visual. So expecting anything in depth was my own error. Their work is amusing and arresting and fun as activism. If my only complaint is wanting more, that's great.
Borrowed copy
Borrowed copy
June 10, 2012
3.5 stars
I got my degree in Art History and I had never heard of the Guerrilla Girls until I took a class called "Women in Art." It's a shame that I had to take a class specifically about women artists before anyone in my field ever decided to mention such an amazing organization. Their goal is to get more women and artists of color showcased (or even put on display rather than kept in basements and storage rooms) in art museums and galleries. They want equality and to be recorded in history books as such. Here are a few of my favorite posters that they've done over the years:
These are all awesome and extremely important messages and ideas that need to get out to the public but I just didn't feel that the book was as powerful and effective as it could have been. I wish there had been some more in-depth analyses of the reasons why women and people of color have been kept out of history books and museums for so long, as well as some more information on some of the more famous women artists. Each artist is given only 1-2 pages apiece (for fairness I suppose) and it's just not enough space to fully discuss them, especially when there's so much extra stuff (quotes, facts, etc.) around the margins. It's a great introduction though to a very important topic and a fabulous organization that's trying to make the world a better place. Here's their website for more information: Guerrilla Girls
I got my degree in Art History and I had never heard of the Guerrilla Girls until I took a class called "Women in Art." It's a shame that I had to take a class specifically about women artists before anyone in my field ever decided to mention such an amazing organization. Their goal is to get more women and artists of color showcased (or even put on display rather than kept in basements and storage rooms) in art museums and galleries. They want equality and to be recorded in history books as such. Here are a few of my favorite posters that they've done over the years:
These are all awesome and extremely important messages and ideas that need to get out to the public but I just didn't feel that the book was as powerful and effective as it could have been. I wish there had been some more in-depth analyses of the reasons why women and people of color have been kept out of history books and museums for so long, as well as some more information on some of the more famous women artists. Each artist is given only 1-2 pages apiece (for fairness I suppose) and it's just not enough space to fully discuss them, especially when there's so much extra stuff (quotes, facts, etc.) around the margins. It's a great introduction though to a very important topic and a fabulous organization that's trying to make the world a better place. Here's their website for more information: Guerrilla Girls
August 2, 2021
বইয়ের নাম ‘গেরিলা গার্লসের পাশ্চাত্য শিল্প ইতিহাস (বিষয়ক) প্রবেশিকা’। গেরিলা গার্লস প্রণীত। অনুবাদ করেছেন জি এইচ হাবীব।
গেরিলা গার্লস সম্পর্কে : “[…]১৯৮৫ সালে নিউ ইয়র্কে সাতজন ‘অজ্ঞাতপরিচয়’ নারী মূলত শিল্প জগতে সেক্সিজম ও রেসিজমের বিরুদ্ধে সংগ্রাম করার উদ্দেশ্যে ‘গেরিলা গার্লস’ (Guerrilla Girls) নামে একটি দল গঠন করেন।” দলটির মোটো : feminism! (Reinventing the "F" word)
তাঁরা গরিলার মুখোশ কেন পড়েন আর নিজেদের পরিচয় এত সতর্কভাবে কেন গোপন করেন সেটা জানতে বইটা পড়তে হবে! (আমার এই লেখাটার উদ্দেশ্য আপনাকে বইটি নেড়েচেড়ে দেখতে উদ্বুদ্ধ করা। অবশ্য আমার পড়া বইগুলো যদি আপনার ভালো লাগে, এটা অবশ্যই লাগবে!)
বইয়ের শুরু গেরিলাদের ইতিহাসের একটা টাইমলাইন দিয়ে। ১৮৬৮ সালে লুইসা মে অ্যাকলটের লিটল উম্যান প্রকাশিত হওয়া, ১৮৯৯ সালে রোজা লুক্সেমবার্গের জর্মন সমাজবাদী দলের নেতা নির্বাচিত হওয়া, ১৯৫৫ সালে বাসের পেছনের আসন বসতে অস্বীকৃতি জানানোর কারণে রোজা পার্কস গ্রেফতার—এরকম আগে পড়া ঘটনাগুলো আবার দেখতে অসম্ভব ভালো লাগছিল। (সামান্য চিৎকার-চেঁচামেচি আর কান্নাকাটিও করেছিলাম!) এটা তো মাত্র শুরুর পাতা।
এরপর প্রাচীন গ্রিস আর রোম থেকে শুরু করে এখন পর্যন্ত পাশ্চাত্য শিল্পের ইতিহাসে নারীদের অবস্থান (অনুপস্থিতি) নি��়ে সরস ভাষায় আলোচনা। আমার নিজের শিল্প নিয়ে ধারণা শূন্যের কাছাকাছি। তবু কিছু কিছু বুঝতে পেরেছি বোধ হয়। প্রত্যেক গেরিলার নাম পড়ে মনে হ��়েছে, এই নামটা খুব গুরুত্বপূর্ণ, মনে রাখতে হবে। নাম নিয়ে আমার বিশেষ দুর্বলতা।
সবার কথা অল্প করে বলতে ইচ্ছে করে। দু’জনের কথা বলি।
কেথে কোলভিৎস। জার্মান শিল্পী। জার্মানত্যাগী শরণার্থীদের সঙ্গে টাকা-কড়ি নিতে দেওয়া হতো না তাই তারা কোলভিৎস-এর ছবির প্রিন্ট নিয়ে যেতেন। গন্তব্যে পৌঁছে তারা সেসব প্রিন্ট বিক্রি করতেন।
জর্জা ও’কিফ। বইটা হাতে পাওয়ার পর অনেকবার উল্টে পাল্টে দেখলেও জর্জা ও’কিফকে নিয়ে দু’পাতার স্প্রেডটা চোখ এড়িয়ে গেছে। বইতে যে ছবিটা ফিচার করা হয়েছে, তার নাম হলুদ কালা (Calla) ফুল। আর ডায়না আপু যে পোস্টকার্ডটা পাঠালো, সেটা সাদা লিলি নম্বর ৭। কি দুর্দান্ত ব্যাপার!
তবে শুধু ভালো ভালো কথাই লেখা হয়নি বইটাতে। দাঁত কিড়মিড় করে দু-চারটা কাচের গ্লাস ভাঙ্গার মতো ঘটনাও আছে! আগেই সাবধান করে দিচ্ছি। তবে ভালোটাই বেশি মনে থাকবে সম্ভবত। আর এঁদের নিয়ে পড়ার অসুবিধা হলো, গপাগপ পড়ে ফেলতে ইচ্ছে করে আবার থেমে থেমে গুগল করতেও ইচ্ছে করে!
পুনঃ গেরিলা গার্লসের আরেকটা বই Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly এক্ষুণি কিনে ফেলতে ইচ্ছে করছে। দাম দেখে দুঃখ কষ্টে মরে যাচ্ছি!
পুনঃ পুনঃ গেরিলা গার্লসের পক্ষ থেকে জনস্বার্থে প্রচারিত ‘নারী শিল্পী হওয়ার সুবিধে’র তালিকার একটা সুবিধা হলো : “শিল্প-ইতিহাসের সংশোধিত সংস্করণে জায়গা পাওয়া”!
(হ্যাঁ, আমার ধারণা সবারই ‘গেরিলা গার্লসের পাশ্চাত্য শিল্প ইতিহাস (বিষয়ক) প্রবেশিকা’ পড়া উচিত!)
গেরিলা গার্লস সম্পর্কে : “[…]১৯৮৫ সালে নিউ ইয়র্কে সাতজন ‘অজ্ঞাতপরিচয়’ নারী মূলত শিল্প জগতে সেক্সিজম ও রেসিজমের বিরুদ্ধে সংগ্রাম করার উদ্দেশ্যে ‘গেরিলা গার্লস’ (Guerrilla Girls) নামে একটি দল গঠন করেন।” দলটির মোটো : feminism! (Reinventing the "F" word)
তাঁরা গরিলার মুখোশ কেন পড়েন আর নিজেদের পরিচয় এত সতর্কভাবে কেন গোপন করেন সেটা জানতে বইটা পড়তে হবে! (আমার এই লেখাটার উদ্দেশ্য আপনাকে বইটি নেড়েচেড়ে দেখতে উদ্বুদ্ধ করা। অবশ্য আমার পড়া বইগুলো যদি আপনার ভালো লাগে, এটা অবশ্যই লাগবে!)
বইয়ের শুরু গেরিলাদের ইতিহাসের একটা টাইমলাইন দিয়ে। ১৮৬৮ সালে লুইসা মে অ্যাকলটের লিটল উম্যান প্রকাশিত হওয়া, ১৮৯৯ সালে রোজা লুক্সেমবার্গের জর্মন সমাজবাদী দলের নেতা নির্বাচিত হওয়া, ১৯৫৫ সালে বাসের পেছনের আসন বসতে অস্বীকৃতি জানানোর কারণে রোজা পার্কস গ্রেফতার—এরকম আগে পড়া ঘটনাগুলো আবার দেখতে অসম্ভব ভালো লাগছিল। (সামান্য চিৎকার-চেঁচামেচি আর কান্নাকাটিও করেছিলাম!) এটা তো মাত্র শুরুর পাতা।
এরপর প্রাচীন গ্রিস আর রোম থেকে শুরু করে এখন পর্যন্ত পাশ্চাত্য শিল্পের ইতিহাসে নারীদের অবস্থান (অনুপস্থিতি) নি��়ে সরস ভাষায় আলোচনা। আমার নিজের শিল্প নিয়ে ধারণা শূন্যের কাছাকাছি। তবু কিছু কিছু বুঝতে পেরেছি বোধ হয়। প্রত্যেক গেরিলার নাম পড়ে মনে হ��়েছে, এই নামটা খুব গুরুত্বপূর্ণ, মনে রাখতে হবে। নাম নিয়ে আমার বিশেষ দুর্বলতা।
সবার কথা অল্প করে বলতে ইচ্ছে করে। দু’জনের কথা বলি।
কেথে কোলভিৎস। জার্মান শিল্পী। জার্মানত্যাগী শরণার্থীদের সঙ্গে টাকা-কড়ি নিতে দেওয়া হতো না তাই তারা কোলভিৎস-এর ছবির প্রিন্ট নিয়ে যেতেন। গন্তব্যে পৌঁছে তারা সেসব প্রিন্ট বিক্রি করতেন।
জর্জা ও’কিফ। বইটা হাতে পাওয়ার পর অনেকবার উল্টে পাল্টে দেখলেও জর্জা ও’কিফকে নিয়ে দু’পাতার স্প্রেডটা চোখ এড়িয়ে গেছে। বইতে যে ছবিটা ফিচার করা হয়েছে, তার নাম হলুদ কালা (Calla) ফুল। আর ডায়না আপু যে পোস্টকার্ডটা পাঠালো, সেটা সাদা লিলি নম্বর ৭। কি দুর্দান্ত ব্যাপার!
তবে শুধু ভালো ভালো কথাই লেখা হয়নি বইটাতে। দাঁত কিড়মিড় করে দু-চারটা কাচের গ্লাস ভাঙ্গার মতো ঘটনাও আছে! আগেই সাবধান করে দিচ্ছি। তবে ভালোটাই বেশি মনে থাকবে সম্ভবত। আর এঁদের নিয়ে পড়ার অসুবিধা হলো, গপাগপ পড়ে ফেলতে ইচ্ছে করে আবার থেমে থেমে গুগল করতেও ইচ্ছে করে!
পুনঃ গেরিলা গার্লসের আরেকটা বই Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly এক্ষুণি কিনে ফেলতে ইচ্ছে করছে। দাম দেখে দুঃখ কষ্টে মরে যাচ্ছি!
পুনঃ পুনঃ গেরিলা গার্লসের পক্ষ থেকে জনস্বার্থে প্রচারিত ‘নারী শিল্পী হওয়ার সুবিধে’র তালিকার একটা সুবিধা হলো : “শিল্প-ইতিহাসের সংশোধিত সংস্করণে জায়গা পাওয়া”!
(হ্যাঁ, আমার ধারণা সবারই ‘গেরিলা গার্লসের পাশ্চাত্য শিল্প ইতিহাস (বিষয়ক) প্রবেশিকা’ পড়া উচিত!)
November 25, 2019
I have a degree in Art History and the majority of this was new to me.
Something needs to change with our educational system. The hours and hours I have spent learning about the white male version of art history is SUPER upsetting. Thank you to the Guerrilla Girls for getting the word out.
This book is a super easy read with lots of hilarious quotes and first-hand accounts. You should definitely read this if you have ever wanted to know more about women artists and art in general.
Something needs to change with our educational system. The hours and hours I have spent learning about the white male version of art history is SUPER upsetting. Thank you to the Guerrilla Girls for getting the word out.
This book is a super easy read with lots of hilarious quotes and first-hand accounts. You should definitely read this if you have ever wanted to know more about women artists and art in general.
March 23, 2023
4.5. A great primer for the women of art history and the misogyny that held so many of them back. Certainly a simplified/quick look at the subject (with a couple of missteps in my opinion, such as a somewhat belittling view of sex workers/models at times and suggesting that Frida Kahlo’s affairs were just to get back at Rivera rather than, yknow, ‘cause she wanted to) but that’s what the book promises to be. I enjoy the punchy style of GG’s writing and design and I think it made for an engaging read. Lots of great info and great artists here to inspire further research!
July 15, 2018
Oh, wow...this book was published in 1998; coincidentally, the year I started studying AP Art History. I remember at least once our teacher trying to discuss the lack of women in our textbooks. We acknowledged that it existed, that women could of course be artists and as talented as men, but because of a historical lack of opportunities, that there just weren't that many women artists. But really, there were. There are nearly 70 women artists in this book, and that's just mostly Western artists, and women that got some recognition in their time, and then were forgotten in the history books, or women who were remembered in the history books for a little while, then forgotten. There were loads and loads of female artists just intentionally not included in the canon, and I rather resent that for a long time, as long as I was being formally and officially education, the excuse was "women doing anything of import didn't really exist because sexism," when in fact loads of amazing, inspiring women existed and have just been conveniently left off the list written by white dudes. AND they had to work twice as hard, painting in between domestic responsibilities, reliant on the approval and support of their fathers or spouses, ridiculed and scorned for being women who did anything other than think about men....oh, god.
It's not like I didn't /know/, but I am always learning more and even in 2018 it shocks and appalls. This book was like 100 pages of "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR". I know things are in many ways different now, but I am really going to be intentional about making sure my nieces and also my nephew aren't surprised to find out that women--women of all races, in all places--have been doing amazing things since time began without any recognition. It's a crime and tragedy that we are just barely beginning to create an inclusive canon and/or to understand creativity that doesn't spout from white dudes'.......................................
How many women have been saying this and saying it better for hundreds of years? Do what we can, keep reading and learning, uncovering and dusting off all these women.
It's like visiting some kooky old uncle and seeing his displaying empty soup tins all over and finding out he has a treasure chest full of actual treasures gathering dust in the basement.
God and some of these guys were such monstrous jerks, too, especially when it came to women.
It's not like I didn't /know/, but I am always learning more and even in 2018 it shocks and appalls. This book was like 100 pages of "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR". I know things are in many ways different now, but I am really going to be intentional about making sure my nieces and also my nephew aren't surprised to find out that women--women of all races, in all places--have been doing amazing things since time began without any recognition. It's a crime and tragedy that we are just barely beginning to create an inclusive canon and/or to understand creativity that doesn't spout from white dudes'.......................................
How many women have been saying this and saying it better for hundreds of years? Do what we can, keep reading and learning, uncovering and dusting off all these women.
It's like visiting some kooky old uncle and seeing his displaying empty soup tins all over and finding out he has a treasure chest full of actual treasures gathering dust in the basement.
God and some of these guys were such monstrous jerks, too, especially when it came to women.
Read
February 21, 2017Love the work of the Guerrilla Girls and love women's art and could not wait to get this book. Although "romp" is the phrase used on the cover, I was hoping for more depth and analysis of women's art and the lives of women artists. There are also some major artists missing--a copyright issue, perhaps? (Diane Arbus, Francesca Woodman, May Stevens, Sister Corita Kent, Dorothea Lange, Martha Swope, Judy Chicago, Alice Neel, Mary Ellen Mark, Yoko Ono, not to mention illustrators like Jessie Wilcox Smith and all the "Red Rose Girls" etc etc etc). Fair or not, I was expecting more celebration of women's art and lives but the emphasis here is on how women have been exploited or fallen short of the male model of achievement. Which is true-- we are under-represented in the canon and the museums-- but women have endured and made some really great art, and in many instances, they've made it on their own terms. I'd love to see that part of the story in this book (or the next book the Guerrilla Girls write?) Also troubling is a tendency to dismiss traditional female subject matter-- i.e. Cassatt painting domestic scenes. Yes it's true that women should not be pigeon-holed and Cassatt's non traditional subjects should be renowned. At the same time, a work that conveys some aspect of female experience-- i.e. Les Dernier Jours d'enfance by Cecelia Beaux, for instance-- is profoundly moving and insightful, and given the realities facing a 19th century woman artist, a triumph over tremendous odds. I wish that kind of work was more examined and celebrated here, and I hope the Guerrilla Girls will have an opportunity to write a more extended history. Another great idea would be to ,onsider the relationship of visual art to other art forms (look at how Woolf, for instance, handles the balance of art vs. domestic life in To the Lighthouse-- she respects both equally!! --or consider Olsen's Silences or Rich's Of Woman Born and consider how they relate to this work.).
I was excited to share this book with my daughter and now I'm wondering if I should consider a big book of feminist art instead. The lively "comic" approach seems ideal for kids, but the message is more victim-focused than I hoped. Dear Guerrilla Girls, please write a sequel.
I was excited to share this book with my daughter and now I'm wondering if I should consider a big book of feminist art instead. The lively "comic" approach seems ideal for kids, but the message is more victim-focused than I hoped. Dear Guerrilla Girls, please write a sequel.
November 27, 2019
As someone who wanted to take art history classes in college but could never seem to fit them in, the concept of this book was really interesting to me. I loved learning about history's unsung heroines of art, and that it included a range of mediums. This book was informative, accessible, and witty, and I'm really glad I read.
November 8, 2013
Disclaimer, I had to read this book because I was running a book club on it. It is not something I would have picked up on my own. The cover alone is jarring, and while I get the rationale behind it and the entire movement, I hate hate hate that they defaced the art in the book. How can I appreciate it if it has a giant gorilla head pasted on it?
The reason for the book is to help people learn more about the female side of Western Art's history. And it does that. There are hundreds of names here of people I promise you've never heard of. But that's the problem. There's lots of little blips with no real information. I'd have loved to read an entire chapter on Rodin's lover who was probably a better artist than he was. Instead I got a blurb.
So yes, lots of meat, no real substance. This is the book version of chinese food.
The reason for the book is to help people learn more about the female side of Western Art's history. And it does that. There are hundreds of names here of people I promise you've never heard of. But that's the problem. There's lots of little blips with no real information. I'd have loved to read an entire chapter on Rodin's lover who was probably a better artist than he was. Instead I got a blurb.
So yes, lots of meat, no real substance. This is the book version of chinese food.
March 15, 2023
"The 19th century saw the war to abolish slavery in the U.S. and the beginning of women's long struggle for equality. At the same time, male painters began to obsess over and objectify the naked female body as never before. Consider how many prostitutes and mistresses they painted, and how few suffragettes."
"In T.J. Cark's 'groundbreaking' work on Impressionism, The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers (1984), no mention is made of Mary Cassatt, but 30 pages are devoted to prostitutes and courtesans."
"Part of [the male surrealists'] shtick was to fetishize the feminine, presenting women in male-generated stereotypes: muses, young virgins, vampires, decapitated ad mutilated torsos. But, like so much Western art, their work was about men ogling women."
"Hannah eventually dumped Raoul, who insisted that her greatest contribution to art would be to support him while he was busy being a genius, and to give him a child. He also refused to leave his wife. She immediately started a nine-year lesbian relationship with Dutch poet Til Brugman." I lol'ed.
"In T.J. Cark's 'groundbreaking' work on Impressionism, The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers (1984), no mention is made of Mary Cassatt, but 30 pages are devoted to prostitutes and courtesans."
"Part of [the male surrealists'] shtick was to fetishize the feminine, presenting women in male-generated stereotypes: muses, young virgins, vampires, decapitated ad mutilated torsos. But, like so much Western art, their work was about men ogling women."
"Hannah eventually dumped Raoul, who insisted that her greatest contribution to art would be to support him while he was busy being a genius, and to give him a child. He also refused to leave his wife. She immediately started a nine-year lesbian relationship with Dutch poet Til Brugman." I lol'ed.
September 14, 2020
A book that endeavors to shed some light on female painters throughout history. I really liked this book, but it is a jumping off point for research. You are dipping your toe into each artist, time-period, -ism, that you'll end up wanting to learn more about several of the artists in the book. I liked the shifting formats of information including mock interviews, post cards, etc. All the artists within the pages are deceased as it is written by an anonymous coalition of contemporary artists known collectively as the Guerilla Girls. Not enough information is being presented mainstream about these artists so this book was very eye-opening.
January 12, 2023
The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art, Very good short and fun lots of histories of women artists who I didn’t know about and a few that I did, before reading this book I would have been lucky if I could name five women artists, the one thing that bothered me was one of the five artists I could name was Tamara De Lempicka and she wasn’t mentioned here and that kind of surprised me, but otherwise this was a very nice little place le book totally a Guerrilla Girl fan. Four stars
December 30, 2022
3.5 stars
A good introduction to women in Western art history, but not the right format for me.
The text was funny and approachable, supported by many punchy visuals (I would expect nothing less from the Guerrilla Girls!). Despite my own trouble with the format, I’d recommend this book to others who are looking to begin learning about women in Western art.
A good introduction to women in Western art history, but not the right format for me.
The text was funny and approachable, supported by many punchy visuals (I would expect nothing less from the Guerrilla Girls!). Despite my own trouble with the format, I’d recommend this book to others who are looking to begin learning about women in Western art.
February 9, 2018
I loved this! such a unique and creative way to learn from women artists! A light reading but very enlightening
February 15, 2016
This. Was. Fabulous.
I got so many ideas of new people and arts to research and found this so inspiring. This proves that you can pack a LOT of information into a small space, as long as it is smartly planned. This is also written in many different styles (letter, CV, narrative, diary, etc.), so there should be a way for everyone to find something to connect with.
It's easy to forget how mnay people are shut out of our popular histories, and any attempt to write these wrongs is an important one. The Bedside Companion does a bang-up job of doing so and beginning the process of rectifying historical omissions. I adored this and can't wait to fly through the remaining Guerrilla Girls catalog. This is a must for everyone who looks at or appreciates art - I promise there will be information you've never heard of.
I got so many ideas of new people and arts to research and found this so inspiring. This proves that you can pack a LOT of information into a small space, as long as it is smartly planned. This is also written in many different styles (letter, CV, narrative, diary, etc.), so there should be a way for everyone to find something to connect with.
It's easy to forget how mnay people are shut out of our popular histories, and any attempt to write these wrongs is an important one. The Bedside Companion does a bang-up job of doing so and beginning the process of rectifying historical omissions. I adored this and can't wait to fly through the remaining Guerrilla Girls catalog. This is a must for everyone who looks at or appreciates art - I promise there will be information you've never heard of.
March 7, 2010
An awesome message that reads like an urgent pamphlet -- it could be much longer and deeper but the critical value was obviously getting the message out -- that there have been many obstacles to women making art and getting respect as artists. I'm curious about how a lot of women's creativity gets filtered into their appearance, cooking, home-making, etc. and valued the opportunity to ponder this issue, although the book is quite brief, under 100 pages. A great conversation starter.
July 11, 2014
A good intro to women aritsts in history that are often not talked about, made me want to go out and find more about them. However . . . a bit too over-the-top for me and man-bashing. I'm a feminist through and through, but the book skates over why women artists have been marginalized, that it's a longstanding cultural atmosphere --- I wish the book had been twice the length so it could have offered more explanation, more analysis.
April 28, 2012
The Guerrilla Girl's provide an interesting alternative view to the history of western art. As a former graphic design major I had to take art history during my freshman year of college. The class was about discussing the styles of art more-so than the artists themselves, but the GG's Bedside Companion is kind of a back alley approach to discussing more of a behind the scenes look at what possibly went on. Plus it highlights a bunch of female artists that my class never bothered to talk about.
June 3, 2008
Finally, I got the title right...it only took a couple dozen tries. Anyway, a good light read that artists, historians, art historians, and feminists can all appreciate, with a hidden 1, 2 punch about just how unfair history can be. Reads a bit like a comic bood, excuse me, "graphic novel", but I enjoyed it anyway.
July 28, 2011
I adored this book and learned a lot about women artists that I had never ever heard of. It is written in such an easy and conversational way that you don't need to know anything about art history, so you could give it to a middle schooler and they would be able to read it without getting bogged down in art jargon. It would be the perfect book for your artsy "I'm not a feminist bur..." friend.
January 23, 2015
I mostly gave this 5 stars because I had to read it in one of my university classes and write a short essay based around a few artists featured in this book. For that reason, I enjoyed the light-hearted format of this book (i.e comic strips, random facts, strange illustrations). It was refreshing and a needed change from reading a 500+ page textbook.
June 30, 2015
I got the title right finally .it only took a couple dozen tries. Anyway, a good light read that artists, historians, art historians, and feminists can all appreciate, with a hidden 1, 2 punch about just how unfair history can be. Reads a bit like a comic bood, excuse me, "graphic novel", but I enjoyed it anyway
March 26, 2017
The Guerrilla Girls were anonymous women artists starting in the 80's, wearing guerrilla masks. They protested the lack of women artists in museums, collections, galleries. Short but fun, interesting read. Love their quotes -"Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?" "Less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female."
April 15, 2013
This book rocked and was especially useful for my SMP research. I wish it hadn't belonged to the library, it would've been a great book to return to later...just for personal feminist killjoy reasons.
May 8, 2013
I took Women and The Arts for my art minor, and this was one of the recommended texts. This is the most creative book I have ever read; I mean everything from the writing style to the layout to the graphics... I LOVE IT!! I just wish it was longer.
July 31, 2013
A great introduction to the under-realized theme of women being left out of art history studies; however, not for complete art history n00bs because of the name dropping. I would recommend this to anyone interested in feminism, history, or art.
November 6, 2007
I love the Guerrilla Girls! They're so fiesty, and this books uses fun drawings and humor to illustrate just how inaccurate "history" can be.
December 9, 2007
B+ Esp useful for young female artists
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