Document 7: Guerrilla Girls, "Dearest Art Collector," 1986, in Confessions of the Guerrilla Girls, by the Guerrilla Girls (whoever they really are) (New York: HarperPerennial, 1995), p. 41.
Introduction
Collectors became the most influential force in the market of the 1980s, dominating the art world consensus, with Charles and Doris Saatchi reigning as the most important collectors. Many collectors tried to own the same "hot" artists. Because collectors competed for the same art, the publicity generated by male artists such as Julian Schnabel grew even larger. These collectors often shaped gallery shows. In 1982, for example, the Saatchis lent nine of the eleven paintings in Schnabel's one-person show at the Tate Gallery, the first in a series arranged by the patrons of the New Art Group, of which Charles Saatchi was a founder. "Dearest Art Collector" is one of two Guerrilla Girls public service announcements directed at this system of exclusion.
Copyright © 1986 by the Guerrilla Girls
back to top