One could claim that the very act of creating art that makes an original statement never uttered before is a controversy in itself. Thus, arguably, every art piece that has been defined as a seminal work representing a specific movement could be seen as an example of artistic controversy as it challenged people’s perception of how reality could be interpreted. Nevertheless, when looking for the artworks that have stirred a storm not only within their niche artistic communities but created a controversy on a larger social scale, one might consider Guerilla Girls’ 1989 piece, “Do Women Have to Be Naked to Get into the Met Museum?” By using shock value as the means of attracting people’s attention to the problem of the objectification of women, “Do Women Have to Be Naked […]” makes a bold and powerful statement that creates premises for a larger discussion of gender inequality.
The art piece in question is a provocative statement that has prompted a shift in the perception of women within the artistic community. Having chosen an unusual medium defined officially as “color offset lithograph on illustration board,” the anonymous artists created an image of a female body that meets the traditional beauty standards topped with a head of an ape (Guerilla Girls, 1989). The work contributes to the social dilemma of women being objectified and undervalued within American society (Lopez, 2018). The work has a unique aesthetic that challenges the viewer’s perception of beauty and evokes a feeling of confusion. With the sharp contrast of an aesthetically impeccable female body taken from “La Grande Odalisque 1814” and the head of a gorilla, the poster reflects the human condition by perceiving members of vulnerable groups as objects (Guerilla Girls, 1989). The art piece relates to my life directly since my community also has a problem with providing women with equal rights and freedoms.
Remarkably, the work has been censored since the time of its conception. Originally expected to be a part of the New York Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition, the artwork was finally rejected from the exhibition (Guerilla Girls, 1989). Similarly, the Public Art Fund refused to put the poster on a billboard as the Guerilla Girls requested after renting the space (Guerilla Girls, 1989). Finally, the poster was hung during the night, when Guerilla Girls could install it anonymously (Guerilla Girls, 1989). Therefore, the history of the art piece exemplifies the problem that the poster addresses.
Despite the controversy, the aesthetically challenging image, and the seemingly simple concept used for “Do Women Have to Be Naked […],” the artwork must be considered as such and exhibited in a museum. Influenced by a combination of minimalism and neo-conceptualism, “Do Women Have to Be Naked […]” represents a social statement made in a way that affects people’s perception of women in art (Martin & Jacobus, 2014). Moreover, it does so by incorporating the artistic tools that have not been used in tandem before, namely, the poster genre and the combination of minimalism and surrealism (Martin & Jacobus, 2014). Remarkably, both critics and audiences express polarizing opinions about the artwork (Guerilla Girls, 1989). Therefore, “Do Women Have to Be Naked […]” must be seen as a perfect example of an artistic controversy.
By using a combination of visually incompatible elements and challenging the viewer’s perception of aesthetics, Guerilla Girls’ “Do Women Have to Be Naked” challenges the traditional perception of women’s bodies as objects and the source of aesthetic pleasure. Despite having been heavily censored and originally rejected, the artwork has gained impressive publicity and represented an important change in the perception of women and their role in art. Thus, Guerilla Girls’ 1989 “Do Women Have to Be Naked […]” should be considered not merely a provocative one-note statement but, instead, an important and challenging step in changing the role of women in the artistic community.
References
Guerilla Girls. (1989). Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?[Poster]. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, United States.
Lopez, S. (2018). Sargent’s mysterious sitter: Objectification and subjectivity in Madame X and other works by John Singer Sargent. History in the Making, 11(1), 21.
Martin, F. D., & Jacobus, L. (2014). Humanities through the Arts. McGraw-Hill Education.