Guerilla Girls (Ian)

 

    I chose this poster because introduces a little bit about how art museums work as I have none to hardly any knowledge on the matter. The poster attunes having a museum to having a business where the owner is free to collect and distribute products at his/her own leisure. In contrast to businesses, art museums do not visit local manufacturers or retailers to buy products and supplies but rather, as the poster suggests, visit the auction houses and art galleries to purchase art. The poster notes that the owners have free reign and may hire and fire people. Art museums seem to function solely on the whims of the owner. The poster lists billionaire private collectors that are starting private museums controlling what art is exhibited and the staff that is most aligned to their interests. With museums serving as a big part of the art world, whether public or private, the power to choose what art you want to be exhibit definitely creates an abundance of undiscovered art. Private museum owners also have the power to freely discriminate against people.

I chose this poster because of how it talks about artists that are sexual predators. The poster has a big bold text that says "3 WAYS TO WRITE A MUSEUM WALL LABEL WHEN THE ARTIST IS A SEXUAL PREDATOR" and this text instantly tells us that there exists an ignorance towards an artists existing crimes. Below the text, the poster displays three white boxes each including text introducing Chuck Close, the artist that painted President Bill Clinton's Portrait. Upon reading these texts it is evident that a part of the art world turns a blind eye to sexual predators that are considered "prodigies" or "geniuses". This poster to me makes it clear that our society hides and ignores the cruel realities of our world and continues to suggest that everything is fine.