‘The Art of Behaving Badly’ by the Guerrilla Girls comes to Grand Forks
Artwork by the Guerrilla Girls is coming to Grand Forks.
The Department of Art and Design at the University of North Dakota is pleased to present “The Art of Behaving Badly”, an exhibition of provocative posters, videos, and other art forms created by the Guerrilla Girls that raise awareness of discriminatory practices in the visual arts.
The exhibition will on view at the UND Memorial Union Gallery from April 14 to July 15. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, April 14 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Union Gallery.
The exhibition is free and open to the public, and is generously supported by the Myers Foundations.
Activist art
The Guerrilla Girls are an anonymous group of activist artists who use humor to expose bias and corruption in politics, art, film, and pop culture. They wear gorilla masks in public to maintain anonymity.
The Guerrilla Girls started their activist strategies in 1985 by pasting posters on the streets of SoHo in New York City to call out discriminatory practices of museums and galleries against women artists. Since then, the Guerrilla Girls have produced posters, books, videos, stickers, and advertising campaigns that have been seen around the world.
The artists infuse these works with humor, facts and shocking visuals to reveal structural causes of inequity.
Most iconic works
The “Art of Behaving Badly” exhibition features artwork produced by the Guerrilla Girls from 1985-2021 that addresses gender and racial inequality in art and film, and chronicles strategies used by the Guerilla Girls to critique institutional practices in contemporary art.
The exhibition is curated by Nicole Derenne, Teaching Assistant Professor in UND’s Department of Art and Design, and students in her advanced art history class on feminist art. Students in Derenne’s class have been working on the exhibition as a focal point in their study of feminist art history.
“The Guerrilla Girls have been a touchstone for raising awareness of the inequitable representation of women artists in museums and galleries through their witty slogans and bold graphics,” said Derenne. “My students and I shaped this exhibition as a showcase of some of the Guerrilla Girls’ most impactful and iconic works that call attention to the lack of artwork by women in galleries and museums.”
Said Donovan Widmer, Chair of the Department of Art and Design, “the Guerrilla Girls have been a driving force in demanding equity by exposing discrimination and corruption in the institutional art world. We are fortunate to showcase some of their most iconic works.
“I am also very pleased that our students can curate this show as part of their feminist art history class. It is a great learning experience for professional practice.”
Exhibition details
The Art of Behaving Badly exhibition will be on view at the UND Memorial Union Gallery from April 14 to July 15. An opening reception will be held on April 14 from 4 to 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the UND Department of Art and Design, with support from the Myers Foundations.
For more information, visit https://arts-sciences.und.edu/academics/art-design/index.html.
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Media Contact:
Nicole Derenne
Teaching Assistant Professor, UND Department of Art and Design
701-739-1290
Donovan Widmer
Chair and Associate Professor, UND Department of Art and Design
701-777-2908