Activism at its finest

   The struggle for racial and gender equality in the world, especially in the United States has been an ongoing battle. The intersectionality of gender and racial discrimination may be interpreted as the relation between these two institutions and how they are influenced by one another. Gender discrimination against women can relate, are encouraged, and are shaped by someone's race and/or ethnicity as well. The combined effects of gender and race discrimination has been attracting a lot of attention to issues like migration, human trafficking, violence against women, and even their occupations. With so much inequality and discrimination against women, there has been active groups going around trying to get rid of this issue.

   For example, the guerrilla girls are one of those active groups trying to spread the word about gender inequality within the art community. The guerrilla girls are an anonymous activist group of feminist, female artists who are devoted to fighting sexism and racism within the art world. This activist group of anonymous females wear masks to disguise themselves from the public to protest. What they do is the call out museums and art galleries for not publicly displaying the art works of females, especially females of color in museums and galleries. Male artists and their work are usually more exposed in museums and galleries than those who are female artists, which is totally unfortunate. Not to mention, male artists get paid more than female artist, which is unfair. One of their most famous quotes seen almost everywhere is "Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?" (Guerrilla Girls). As you can see by the image above, less than 5% of the artists in the modern art sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female. It is as if female artists aren't as valuable to be in the modern art sections for their art work, but are when it comes to showing off their bodies. It really shows how sexist the art community world is, and how much gender inequality carries on, even through the art environment.


   In seeing power, art and activism in the 21st century, art activism is understood by Thompson in terms of modes of artistic strategies that transform our understanding of politics and ourselves in the very texture of the power dynamics that structure our everyday existence. A quote I really liked was "Building new worlds requires patience, compromise, and conviviality. It is a process of working in the world and with people," (Seeing power). In order to work with this world, get things in order, and to become more accepting and understanding of different things, we need to come together and become active to reconstruct things. This world won't be fixed on its own. It takes us, the community, to come together to better things in this world and to bloom successfully.

 


   Being an activist takes guts... You are basically standing up for your own rights and beliefs, and even being the voice of those who do not have a voice when it comes to certain situations. An artist I liked a lot was Michael Rakowitz. I liked how he used his art to create paraSITE, an inflatable shelter for homeless people, so that they can have a place to stay overnight. His invention does not only help the homeless people have shelter, but it also is a noticeable act that gives awareness when people come across and see this invention in the streets, especially in the sidewalk. Homelessness in America is pretty bad. There is actually an epidemic situation when it comes to homelessness. This problem has increased over the years, and having Michael Rakowitz create this invention makes a huge differences and helps him be an advocate for these people. "Produced from plastic bags and tape and attached to air vents on buildings, these one-person shelters are quite portable and put a wasted resource-- the warm air expelled from an HVAC system-- to beneficial use," (Rakowitz). This invention is not only beneficial to the homeless community but it also benefits the environment because of the resources that are used to create this invention.

    Part of being an active group is not only giving a voice to those who do not have one, but it is also to help those who are wrong, realize that what they are doing is unacceptable. I believe it is to also put the person or companies on the spot, so that they can address an issue. For example, the Biotic Baking Brigade is a loosely connected group of activists famous for throwing pies in the faces of important people in the public world like Bill Gates, Willie Brown, and Gavin Newsom. This is done on purpose to humiliate these people because maybe they are doing something that is not on favor of the community. "If the act is embarrassing-- either by its effect on the victim, or for its juvenile tactics--it also humanizes the target," (BBB). Throwing pies at the people who are doing what they are not supposed to do or are not in favor of things, can help the victims become more relevant in the situtation. Again, the BBB is being the voice of those victims who do not have a voice.