The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art Review

The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art
by the Guerrilla Girls
Penguin, Feb., 1998.
Trade paperback, 95 pages.
ISBN: 014025997X.
Ordering information: Amazon.com

The Guerrilla Girls -- that group of anonymous female artists and art professionals wearing gorilla masks who have been setting the art history world on its head since 1985 -- are back with this witty and irreverent look at over 2000 years of the art history of the Western world. The Girls examine the dominant role of the white male in the art world for the past several centuries and the role that women played during the same time periods. The book features original graphic treatments of various works of art, including a comic-book detailing the life of a Renaissance girl artist and letters of encouragement from (mostly-unappreciated) women artists from the past. Also included is a list of do's and don'ts for girls in each era as well as shocking, yet historically accurate quotations and statistics illustrating the ridiculous double standards of the time.

Always witty and oftentimes downright hilarious, The Guerrilla Girls' latest outing is sure to please artists, historians and those who enjoy some humor and a fresh perspective with their art history.

Return to the April 1998 issue of The IWJ.