Center on Contemporary Art / 2019
In mid 2019, the executive director at CoCA invited me to design a show card for their exhibition Girlfriends of the Guerrilla Girls; an exhibition featuring self-identified feminist artists from the Pacific Northwest alongside original posters by the Guerrilla Girls. This card would also include a map of the art galleries in Pioneer Square to be distributed during the Seattle Art Fair.
One of the requirements for this design was to ensure that Ann Leda Shapiro’s piece, “Anger,” would not be obstructed in any form, as it had been censored in the past. This proved to be a difficult task when paired with the details of the exhibition, graphics, a map, and a full list of galleries (and other points of interest). After a couple of drafts, the executive director decided it would be best if we split the project into two cards:
A show card featuring Ann Leda Shapiro’s, “Anger,” unobstructed on one side with the exhibition details on the other.
A second, larger card featuring the map of galleries and an advertisement for CoCA’s next major event, CoCA Magic.
Background
The Guerrilla Girls, “conscience of the art world,” are a group of women artists committed to exposing the overlooked, as well as gender unfairness in the art world since 1985. They wear gorilla masks in public as the anonymity keeps the focus on the issues; use facts, fur and humor to expose gender and ethnic bias and have creatively inspired millions to be themselves, speak up and express their truths. We are thrilled in particular to be including Ann Leda Shapiro’s sexually explicit image, “Anger,” which the Whitney Museum of American Art refused to hang in her one-person show in 1973. - CoCA, “Girlfriends of the Guerrilla Girls”
Inspiration
You can view these and more at the Guerrilla Girls’ website.
