Without looking it up, would you know what this poster is about?
http://www.guerrillagirls.com/posters/1989europe.shtml
According to them, you should.
Even knowing what they are about, I still didn’t have a clue.
No clue here, either. Not exactly the most effective communication. I suppose it’s intended to make you look them up on the web. Sorry, I’m busy.
That’s it I suppose, because even though I do know what they are on about it still left me wondering how.
Don’t know, don’t care. And that is some shit “art”.
It explains at the bottom of the page that it’s a striking statement about the disproportionate amount of art funding which is given to white males. Of course, if this is an example of great, non-white art, perhaps the disparity is justified.
Sorry; I meant to type ‘female, non-white art’. Wouldn’t just want to be seen as a big racist.
I figured out its meaning pretty easily but only because I was already aware of the Guerrilla Girls and their campaign. I’ll admit I hadn’t realized they were still active as an organization.
Judging by the filename and copyright date, this poster was originally displayed in 1989. Depending on exactly where and when they posted it, the meaning might have been clear to the intended audience of art-world insiders. Cut out of its original context and floating free on the Internet decades later, it is incomprehensible on its own and requires an explanation like the one at the bottom of the page.
Pop music?
Everyone in the high art-y world over 30 or so knows of the Guerrilla Girls and their platform, especially back then (it was a well-known movement). Otherwise… it explains it at the bottom of the page. Why are we harping about a poster from 1989 and getting bent out of shape about not knowing the context?
Nope.
One more reason not to go to Europe, I guess.