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"Take a romp through the last two thousand years of Western Art with the Guerrilla Girls as your guides, and find out the real who, what, when, and why of art history. Who put all those naked men in the classical section of museums? What were the "do's" and "don'ts" for female artists as "civilization" marched across Europe? Why did nuns have more fun in medieval times? This wisecracking but cleverly wise story of art is guaranteed to turn history on its head - and maybe a few historians too. Sprinkled throughout are "believe it or not" quotations from so-called experts; useful facts (consider how many prostitutes and how few suffragettes were painted in the nineteenth century); and reproductions of famous art works "enhanced" for historical accuracy and revenge."--BOOK JACKET.… (more)
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I appreciate the theme of this book, and its reason for being. The authors' voice offers the timbre needed to fill out the art world's oratorio. I've definitely learned from reading it, and have been left with a longing to learn more.
That said, the book is laid out like a modern middle school textbook, replete with eye-catching graphics, boxed trivial tidbits on the margins, whimsical fonts and photo montages. All of this offers ample opportunity for distraction. The medium reinforces the fact that the book's authors spend no more than two pages on any single artist, painting the merest outline of each. Many of these character sketches read like quickly-researched essays written by attention-deficit high schoolers, and do little justice to the artists they treat. Thankfully the book ends with an extensive list of texts for further reading.
In summary, the book was an eye-opener, and worth reading, but not exceedingly well-done, and mercifully short.
In-depth information won't be found in this book, other than the additional resources list provided at the back of the book. However, this book serves as an excellent ancillary to any traditional art history book that vastly under-represents female artists. For anyone wanting an entertaining, yet informative, graphic-intensive overview of the women left out of art history books, this is a great starting point.
Page eight of The Guerilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western
"isn't a comprehensive survey of women artists in history. It doesn't include all the cultures of this world. It's not a list of the most significant women artists. It wasn't written for experts who already know all this stuff. Writing about women artists in Western history is complicated. There are a lot of contradictory positions and theories. We have opted to stay out of the theory wars, and present our irreverent take on what life was like for some females in the West who managed, against all odds, to make art".
Their irreverent take on the history of women in the arts include comic strips, mock interviews, mock postcards and/or letters. This less-serious approach may be useful for those who might feel defensive about the role that male artists, and males in general, have played in women being treated as less in art history and their artistic skills.
I wish still-living modern female artists had been included in this volume, such as Judy Chicago, but they are intentionally left out by the Guerilla Girls because they don't believe in "evaluating or excluding our peers". I can understand that sentiment, though I doubt males would worry about evaluating or excluding their male artistic peers.
A good historic introduction to women artists, and I can see it appealing to young adults as well.