Guerrilla Girls Talk The History Of Art vs. The History Of Power

[@emperatricemusic8229]

I absolutely love these women. I am currently fighting my university for more female representation. I am studying my bachelor of music, and I can think of ONE class I have taken in two years that has mentioned a female composer. Thank you, you are an inspiration and I truly do love you all x

[@ProfSaxby]

Colbert continues to provide some of the best most diverse guests on late night. educate and entertain!

[@mindoverbread1213]

I love it :-)

[@iller3]

+Lupin Maru ...it's not "Diverse" if he never affords the same opportunity to other people on the other side of this Identity Politic conflict to discuss the actual Merit argument and whether there's any LAWS in effect or not that are preventing certain groups from getting a fair shot. What they (& you possibly...) might discover, is that Legislation & incentives are already in place to give a disproportionate middleclass minority access to a bigger platform than a much harder working majority-demographic individual below the poverty line is ever granted

[@Nosferdamus]

+ilr it's diverse because he is having them explain themselves in front of a group of people unaware to their problem. they are defending their claims by answering his questions. also, they aren't talking about laws they are talking about the popularisation of modern art as a cultural phenomenon, which is controlled by the wealthy majority who purchase said art pieces.

[@A_massive_wog]

+ilr The 'other side' is already covered by 90% of the media.

[@Nosferdamus]

***** these feminists are actually pretty rational, you seem upset for some reason.

[@TheOneAndOnlyNAB]

Of course this has a fair amount of dislikes. Some dudes who don't even care about art in the first place probably watched the video and, due to their disdain for anything labeled "feminist", they felt whiny and disliked the video out of spite.

[@skimaskedjak]

New wave feminism has ruined relationships between men and women. The "liberated" women is not happier than her married with 3 kids counterpart.

[@nape1713]

unfortunately, you are not the one and only nag. jealousy is not generally "liked". frida kahlo is my favorite artist by far because i like her shit, not cuz she's a little jealous winer. stay away from socialism.

[@jessicadamico9381]

@@skimaskedjak "New wave feminism has ruined relationships between men and women." uh-oh, looks like someone's having trouble getting laid. wonder why.

[@SuperKillerpickle]

I feel like a lot dudes in the comments were triggered by the fact that they are feminist and proceeded to not even listen to the interview.

[@LucidDream]

+SuperKillerpickle Yeah, probably. I used to listen to them, but now I just feel there is no longer a need for feminism. So I really can't stand feminists. There are some things maybe we could help the women with...but for the most part it's just making shit up any more. Feminism has lost it's way and now they don't even consider what they're doing to the rest of society by everyone appeasing the ravenous female. I know it hasn't been great for females, but really they've always been the appropriately protected class...well, since the dawn of man. For the simple fact that they have birth rights. It's always been,"Women and children first." and even today when it's not needed as much...women still expect men to put themselves dead last every time.

[@SuperKillerpickle]

LucidDream I feel like that's an interesting way of looking at history when it comes to women. Women have for the most part been "protected" because they can give birth. But in other aspects of life, they are second class citizens. Women in most societies in history have been considered to be second class. It's not till now that in American society, that women are treated almost equally. I disagree that there is no longer a need for them. Women are still sexualized more than men in media.(this happening to men is becoming more common). Birth right's of women are stil controlled in many states. Lack of funding for women health issues. There may be less issues, some feminist may be doing it wrong and making a bad name for the movement. But remember that there are feminist doing good, they just aren't as loud as the others.

[@SuperKillerpickle]

***** What's strongmen about my argument? Just curious

[@DrMattDestruction]

+LucidDream actually, "women and children first" wasn't as common as we thought it was(saw it on qi. a british panel show. i trust the qi elves a good amount.). we would need to save the people that would help the human race survive so men and women with the correct jobs/education would be saved and the rest would sacrifice themselves for the greater good. and real feminists know that men are needed to do the heavy lifting jobs(bouncing, bodyguards, among others) most of the time. and feminists fight for the right to for women to be hit back if the woman is threatening your friends/families' wellbeing. and if the man is the better parent in a m/f relationship, they will fight for that man's right to be the parent. you are probably referring to militant feminists. illogical, they are.

[@iller3]

+SuperKillerpickle listened to it very carefully. ...As an artist who knows hundreds of other artists and art critics, it's nothing new. "Arty" people trying to find their niche for the first few years are incredibly insecure and petulant and typically take on a Vendetta against any content or material or style they don't understand that's completely outselling them or getting way more praise than them. Yes part of this is just due to how completely Subjective Art is to begin with. But in this case here, it's because they didn't even try. They never mastered any Medium except crying sexism.

[@aikifox85]

Mr. Colbert, thanks so much for being awesome and for exposing viewers to culture and issues they may not otherwise know much about.

[@Quarter360]

Exactly. People need to be warned of this enabling behavior and be warned of its impending indoctrination of college students.

[@mindoverbread1213]

@aikifox85 yes!

[@hraghavan10]

+Jean Sopu They are promoting equality, not doxxing people. Why so butthurt?

[@hraghavan10]

***** Why are you cussing? Can't you talk like a normal civilized person? They seemed pretty straightforward and kind to me. They never said, "I hate men, go die!". They simply said that they'd like to see more diversity in art by various genders. Why is this upsetting? They never blamed men. They said that the fault was with the billionaires ( which can be both male/female) who don't give as many opportunities to women. Why are you all so on the offensive?

[@hraghavan10]

***** Wait, so let me follow your line of thinking: "...waffling about cultural appropriation, sexism, racism, and sending of social media bully mobs to browbeat anyone who dares to not immediately jump to fulfill all their whims." Why would you be racist/sexist in the first place? If you are racist/sexist, they have every right to shut you down. "Nothing prevents them to open their own gallery where they can put anything they want, but that would require actual effort, but since feminists lack drive, skills, talent and will to create, they'll just brand all those things as microaggression and continue to do what they always do - latch on the existing enterprise and demand it will be shaped to their wishes..." They never said they they weren't opening their galleries or doing their own forms of art. They simply said that they were artists in real life, but aside from that, they want to promote equality in the art industry. This doesn't mean that they're telling people to burn all the paintings men made, they just want to see paintings women made up as well. They also advocate for people of color. "...it will then be followed by mandatory quotas for substandard art only because vagina, some diversity officer to whip people into the right thinking, petitions against art galleries, banning of art they deem unacceptable..." Again, they never talked about discarding or banning male art. They simply talked about seeing female art in there. This is the same issue they talked about above. If 85% of paintings are nude females, why shouldn't we get more females in the art industry? If you find the idea of adding a painting done by a woman in a more popular art gallery like the Guggenheim "hijacking" or "Adding Mandatory Quotas", I really don't know what to say.

[@PureNightfall]

I love the Guerrilla Girls. Keep up the fight ladies!

[@AnimeBronx]

PureNightfall lol

[@janemillerick9614]

how completely brilliant he was to have them on. the more their message goes out the better. one would hope this goes far.

[@forest487]

Bare minimum!!!! I’m glad he did though

[@FilmKiln]

I'm sure the internet will love this interview.

[@TheStanishStudios]

I swear, people just instantly hit the dislike button the second the word "feminist" comes up.

[@mrfreeman2911]

+Pam Western seconded

[@13xxnetoxx]

+TheStanishStudios are you serious you do know they created a #killallwhitemen right???

[@suckapunch]

+Neto Rodz And that hashtag hasn't killed any white men. Did you know that NoFX has a song with the same title? Oh noes!

[@TheStanishStudios]

Has it never occurred to any of you that Colbert is a feminist..?

[@arj8383]

+Sumdude54 The focus of their protests is not on them. If you actually watched the fucking video you'd know that. There has always been a serious under-representation of female artists in the art world, not because there's not enough, but because female artists have historically not been taken seriously and have been marginalized.

[@josephj714]

I completely agree, it's also about class too, here in the UK at least. Coming from a family where my father is a community artist working with disadvantaged people, like those that are homeless, it really shocks me how the art world doesn't value how art can help the less fortunate. All art does these days is increase the wealth of the wealthy, it's very limiting.

[@ydin9]

That Steven's question @1:00 just shows what an excellent interviewer he can be. Thanks Stephen.

[@StarvingPoet]

wait for all the poor historically oppressed white male comments

[@MrHallajs]

+Jeff Neumann Shrecked

[@Ansemguy]

+Rose Knapp Because shitting on a gender is toootally fine, as long as it's 'the other gender', right?

[@moonskipper]

+Ansemguy But historically, linguistically, and culturally, women ARE the 'other' gender. The meaning and value of what it means to be a women is understood based on what it means to be a man. It's not appropriate or progressive to 'shit on' anyone, but I think it's important to acknowledge the otherness of womanhood. An analogy can be made with race: african americans or latinos who are fighting for equal rights are not 'shitting on' white americans; they acknowledge the inequality and they're asking for other people to acknowledge it, too.

[@naftulzvi3353]

+Jeff Neumann Well that's a vague generalized comment that I would love for you to prove.

[@naftulzvi3353]

Jeff Neumann Yeah, no shit sherlock if you search for something that specific of course it's going to come up, that doesn't mean shit though, it's still a generalization. That also doesn't show them being "applauded". You can't think for yourself enough to understand that people who call themselves feminists might not actually be feminists, but instead you're going to lump anybody who calls themselves a feminist in with people who just hate men? Define "plenty" of feminists who think that way, that doesn't mean anything if that number is so low compared to the total amount, it's called relevancy.

[@8jb65]

I remember from my aesthetics class a discussion about the idea of "genius" and how only those with "genius" could be true artists. Unfortunately, how the term was defined by mid nineteenth century thinkers effectively precluded the idea of a female artistic genius, and thus artistic works by women were typically dismissed. It is interesting how some ideas like "women's place is necessarily in the home" or "women can't run a business" faded away, but this one in particular still influences what people think about "artists," despite the presence and discovery of women artists from more sexist time periods.

[@PBbelongsMe]

the comment section is pretty disgusting

[@creamybass]

+PBbelongsMe i hope you engage with others in the comments to try change their beliefs. instead of, you know, just vaguely complaining.

[@mindoverbread1213]

@PBbelongsMe Its expected, unfortunately

[@mindoverbread1213]

+Jim Knopf hahahahahaha

[@PBbelongsMe]

+Jim Knopf What strikes me here is that the hate comments which usually have no upvotes or just a few are getting multiple upvotes. This is also reflected by the up and downvote ratio....

[@PBbelongsMe]

+Ash Bartlett I doubt that my english is good enough to participate in in-depth discussions about feminism in the art world. And most of the people who post idiotic things are not gonna change their opinion just because someone in the comment section told them to overthink their viewpoint...

[@StanMarsh1]

Dear god, why did I read the comments?!

[@nos52]

Thats true, only a small group of people make the decision of what art is.

[@mariokarter13]

Equal Opportunity ≠ Equal Outcome

[@shockofthenew]

So much respect to Colbert for doing this interview and asking serious questions.

[@TheZombiecowmeat]

I bet one of them is Shia Labeouf

[@theohaegele9011]

Not since Alice Neel was on Johnny Carson do I remember a late night host interviewing a contemporary artist! Thank you Mr. Colbert, and thank you to the Guerilla Girls for being wonderful, clever, and unapologetic!

[@NicoleHuskaConsulting]

This is fantastic! Thank you for being willing to give time to disruptive ideas and movements.

[@valvalrox]

lmao at all the misogynistic comments from all genders

[@Perusel23]

Why, if men believe in equal rights aren't THEY creating a movement for men fghting to beat the patriarchy. Why are they pressuring a group of women who are focused on women's rights - to focus on men. If these men who are criticizing feminists truly wanted equality, then they would do something about it themselves. Men are asking a group of people they are oppressing - to instead turn their attention towards fixing things for them. Typical. Socialized sexism involves the notion that women should shutup & listen, while men's are the one's talking. If these men had actually taken the time to challenge their sexism - they would know not to even come into feminism asking women to drop what they're doing and listen to men, but not only that but to adopt the task of caregiver to men once again, and fix all the things that are broken about him. If men want to fight the patriarchy and how it's damaged them, start your own group. Look to the MRA on how to do it wrong first, then start your own group & fight. When the time comes & we see that group is doing a solid job of the stances they're taking and the actions they're taking then perhaps feminists & they will band together to say the same thing and make their voices stronger. But men really have been needing to step it the fuck up since the beginning, and that's still an ongoing issue.

[@vsh1998]

I mean, why would anyone choose a painting for another solely based on gender? Maybe it's just that there aren't as many women artists as men(I don't have statistics to back me up). I think art is beautiful because it doesn't matter who the artist is, it matters what the artist wants to potray through their painting. I'm a feminist, but this feels completely unnecessary. Fight for bigger things like Wage gaps for gods sakes.

[@alfriesmacdonalds5879]

+Merc With A Mouth Wage Gap is a hoax honey.

[@vsh1998]

+Myo swe Well, you get my point.

[@maiathebee410]

+Merc With A Mouth a large point of this interview is that the art world today is highly commercialized in a way that means it is controlled by the wealthy, who largely make decisions and choices based on commercial value of work rather than the aesthetic value of work. In a lot of ways that leads to the lack of progress in whose work gets chosen -- meaning the art world looks a lot like it did 30 years ago. If what matters is what an artist portrays, don't you want a variety of view points and different images? What Guerilla Girls are advocating for is aesthetic diversity. And whether or not you agree with this idea, you should know it's absolutely untrue that there are just fewer female artists (and I would say it's also nonsense that there are fewer good female artists, but believe what you want, I guess). For just general reference -- at both SAIC and RISD, two of the top 5 arts colleges in the US, the gender balance stands at something like 30% male to 70% female. Many of these women become successful artists, but hit a brick wall in their careers when they reach these prestigious art museums. I think that's a bummer for everyone.

[@alfriesmacdonalds5879]

Maia the Bee " it is controlled by the wealthy, who largely make decisions and choices based on commercial value of work rather than the aesthetic value of work. In a lot of ways that leads to the lack of progress in whose work gets chosen" Quote from you^^ The statement i am quoting has nothing to do with gender. What Guerilla Girls are advocating for is to be GENDER BIASED.

[@vsh1998]

+Maia the Bee Like I said, I didn't check for statistics, and I clearly stated the word "maybe". Seeing how you have proof, I've changed my mind. I do however still believe it's ludicrous to think you're not given an opportunity in the elite world of art based on gender.

[@AkahigeNoAmo]

the main problem here is not necessarily a gender issue but rather an issue about the a) the system (museums and their funding) and b) of what is regarded (and/or appreciated) as art. that is not to say that there probably isn't some gender inequality, but that's something that has to grow more naturally to really get accepted. art should, as steven said, speak for itself and the creator's gender should play no role in the appreciation process. if the guerrilla girls would slightly readjust their message i would like them a lot better. pure feminism is as extreme an idea as the system they criticize - equalism (?) should be the way to go, especially if you want to achieve something

[@Quarter360]

I'd appreciate what you're saying a lot more if you didn't go to the extreme to say that gender has no role in appreciating art, or that it should not be so at least. After all, women are different from men, whether that be biological or environmental. If a woman painted a fetus and so did a male, shouldn't we consider the potential in a difference of meaning based partly on the fact that the former has the ability to give birth to a fetus, and the latter cannot, making the woman's painting objectively more different because of their relationship to birth? What you are advocating is that all artists should be genderless, or at least be unknown to the recipient, so as to provide a honest view. I hope the absurdity of this implication proves my point, otherwise I doubt there is little I can say to convince you otherwise.

[@AkahigeNoAmo]

thanks for your comment, made me think a bit more... wrote the post semi-impulsively, so not every thought was articulated and thought-through very well. i was more intentioning that, to "evaluate" whether art is good or bad gender shouldn't play a role... to really understand and therefore really appreciate the artpiece gender plays an important role - yes, indeed. i was expressing myself very poorly there though for a number of themes, the important factor is how one sees oneself as a human having morality. this would show that i have a seemingly narrow point of view on what art should depict, i should work on that :D anyways... something i can think about

[@Quarter360]

amo0013 It seemed like a slip that you may have unintentionally made, but I nonetheless took seriously. All in all, we agree. *flys away*

[@AkahigeNoAmo]

Nick Rhodes yeah. a slip however minor it is, can still cause a lot of misunderstandings but yeah

[@kozemchuk]

+amo0013 what do you imagine this "pure feminism" to be?

[@Graytune]

I thoroughly enjoyed this interview. It's one of the best things I've seen Stephen do recently; educational and funny. Very well done.

[@syddlinden8966]

Every time I see that stat about female nudes, I think, "but I'm a chick and I love female nudes, they're pretty." Then I think, "And hey! Why aren't there more male nudes anyway? That's a bummer. They'd be pretty too."

[@jessicadamico9381]

nlog alert

[@LordOfTheBored]

Stephen is best. No other late night talker would invite guests like that into his show. And they really got a point...

[@datawizard130]

Culture is such a vague term and can be described as anything really.

[@Perusel23]

I losed faith in men when i started reading this comments.

[@Steve27775]

I wonder how many female artists I can name, off the top of my head. Frida Kahlo, Tracey Emin, Rachel Whiteread, Gillian Wearing, Sarah Lucas, Jenny Saville, Louise Borgeouis (sp?), Beryl Cook, Barbara Hepworth (mostly Brits).

[@interrexclamacion]

1. You Googled this. 2. What point are you trying to make again?

[@rachelransom9455]

Merian, Gentileschi, Fontana, Anguissola, Nelli, De Rossi, Le Brun, Morisot, Cassatt, O'keeffe, Leibovitz, Ringgold, heck, Yoko Ono!

They are very brave girls

[@AnimeBronx]

Pedro Menchén 😂😂😂😂 they wear mask to hide their identity. very brave!

[@MahadHunter]

Does anyone else see the "Hello my name is" stickers on the Guerrilla girls. Great way to keep anonymous

[@lorv8628]

OMG where have you been all my 72 years?💙My brain is exploding!

[@siriusfox195]

I'm honestly suprised that Colbert let them talk without antagonizing them.

[@siriusfox195]

@Fortescue you going on a 4 year late colbert binge? 😅

[@zmail8566]

Naked women can be a piece of art. Art isn't democratic it is expressed by the individual, it isn't a depiction of society and it never can be.

[@sixteenstringjack]

I wish they would state directly what the issue is, and who is at fault. They say there is discrimination, and they say that a few billionaire collectors sit on boards and decide what goes into museums and galleries. Are they the ones discriminating, and if so how? Is it that they actively reject works by female artists? Or that they don't actively look for it? What are they doing, precisely? How are they discriminating - intentionally, because they dislike women? What?

[@tatoomi]

If you attend their works and performances, they note down exactly what you are talking about, also marked with humour. This is a talk show where they are discussing things in general, where an audience is not as well-acquainted with the processes of the art world.

[@jneumann341]

how much funnier would this be if one of them was big red

[@isletoflangerhans8281]

I don't understand why she doesn't have a vlog. She could rival PewDiePie just from hate watchers.

[@jneumann341]

Islet of Langerhans sadly she'd probably have a fair sized fan base that isn't hate watching

[@AlTorresFineArt]

You go girls!

[@pestilencepathogenic]

People here are so salty. Half of you are jumping to conclusions about the Guerrilla Girls and then there is a small group that is just looking to troll people, and then the rest are trying to talk to people who have no interest in hearing anything outside of their own voice.

[@FelizaEstrada]

These girls are awesome! As a woman artist I can admire their work. I'm happy they had the opportunity to be on the show.

[@flirtylaxgirl]

I appreciate that he has diversity in his guest appearances. I have a degree in Art History. I wonder how many female artists are represented at the Denver Art Museum...

[@PaladinusSP]

I guess billionaires buy more art by female artists now, but I don't think the paradigm of art being controlled by the rich has been changed at all.

[@notanameman]

Last I checked artists aren't supposed to be about making money, and the fact that art museums do not tend to buy art made by women for extreme amounts of money should not deter women from making art. (Also, most art you discover nowadays isn't in a museum anyway since it is from films, music, etc.)

[@KitKom]

1:40 So if a billionaire doesn't own your art its not valid? I'm confused. I see tons of cultural art all over the city, but because its not in a billionaires vault or a museum its ... less important?

[@LowestofheDead]

+Sarojin This is what the world actually believes. Starving artist "Get a real job". The same artist but selling for millions, "Ahh, I'm familiar with his style when I saw the exhibition at the Guggenheim last year. I always keep up with the classics, such a shame real art isn't appreciated by the masses."

[@peterschlemihls]

Great open minding topic.

[@MrsAlexisAgnew2019]

This is why I love Colbert. he cares about substantive issues and puts people on that I've never heard of--that's rare for talk-show host.

[@honeydew1]

omg thats so weird how the mask moves as they talk. i hope they arent radical feminists, seem like some cool beans

[@IdoruFalls]

+screams RADICAL FEMINIIIISTS!!!! *shakes fist at sky*

[@BLaiaiprincess]

lol yeah just because there are female artists out there and are "quite successful", the problem is i probably haven't heard of them.

[@BLaiaiprincess]

+screams it's always the radicals that give good things a bad name.

[@NOUSNOKAY]

Maggie Stormcrow most artists people know were born in a time where women couldn't even vote. like davinci, michael angelo picasso and so on i bet you can't even name a male artitst that was born from 1900 to today either. because art isn't important in todays society only billionares and the elite care about art.

[@RobinBonhomme]

+king , Jackson Pollack, Salvador Dali, Jenny Holzer, Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Jean Michel-Basquiat, and Frida Kahlo. I am guessing you recognize a majority of these names. Or at least 1 or 2. It's true though that people care less about art now because art is considered useless by a vast majority of people right now which is stupid as hell

[@LaneK2006]

At least their beliefs can get them on a popular late night show. Sad their art can't do the same.

[@Quarter360]

maybe it's because their art is gimmicky and stupid.

[@Quarter360]

Prakersh TBH I think these women are upset people don't value their art enough (in other words they believe people should *not be governed by self-interest*). I'm sure they would love to reorient people's desires to what they believe is beautiful, especially if what happens to be beautiful is their art ($$$).

[@Prakersh]

Nick Rhodes that new Renaissance these women talk about can never come unless the majority of them stop focusing on mundane things such as "getting thin in less than 30 days" or "how to look beautiful for your beau in seven hours or less"... the solution is simple. EDUCATION.. be pioneers in fields of METS or in politics I'm sorry as much as people wanna believe a 8 million$ piece of art doesn't inspire as an 8$ worth of soup given to a homeless man....

[@jamesgillies8996]

+Nick Rhodes you say that, but these women have been campaigning in anonymity for 30 years; if they wanted more recognition for their art they would have used the Guerilla Girls as a marketing stunt, but they haven't. It shows, to me at least, that they do come from a standpoint of standing for all women and not some bitterness over their own lack of success.

[@iller3]

+Nick Rhodes ..yeah but so is Scott Cawthon's ... and super Uncanny-Valley on top of that. But it didn't stop him from eventually finding a gold mine once he finally embraced that fact

[@taylergreyartbackup]

OMG IM CRYING ITS THEM!

[@davidbradley6040]

One is Freda (as in Freda Kahlo)I knew I recognised those eyebrows.

[@PhotonKingShark77]

Something that relates to my art major.

[@lolovec1]

that one on the left with the trademark feminist glasses

[@interrexclamacion]

Those are normal glasses. To twist labels in to plain objects let the label be good or bad is an incomplete representation of the symbol. To say that one thing is a classic x, y or z devalues its past and future. Take the swastika for example, it was a religious symbol before being used by the Nazis and having its reputation tarnished , and it's still used in some religions like Buddism. large statues of Buddha with a swastika on his chest are still being elected today. Well this doesn't mean set the Buddha is a Nazi or fascist we will think of it that way due to this use of it. Anyway that's my two cents don't want to be nitpicky. Edit: just realized how immense this comment was was there for not many people will read it, and those who will probably giving even more massive reply telling me to gain some perspective so I decided to use this edit to make it longer... Nah just kidding just wanted to address that.

[@poiewhfopiewhf]

I always thought one of them was Colbert, the more you know

[@johnpleung]

um...yeah. all artists back then were men, therefore museums tend to feature a lot of male artists. you don't find the same disparity in contemporary art museums. and re: the female nudes--the naked body had been the subject of a lot of art throughout history. one might make the case that there are more nudes of women than there are of men, but is that a bad thing? sucks to be "the fairer sex," right?

[@jamesgillies8996]

+johnpleung They specifically WERE talking about contemporary art galleries though, and in 1985 when they started they could barely find any exhibitions dedicated to female artists, and apparently nothing much has changed since. Its worth noting the biases in the system

[@BLaiaiprincess]

+johnpleung ah yes, in the same era when cooking and sewing were seen as women's work....yet the most famous names in this business are men. yep, nothing fishy there.

[@Inkbleedful]

+CupofKona "ah yes, in the same era when cooking and sewing were seen as women's work" Actually no, throughout history the most famous chefs have been men women being the ones sewing sure I'll give you that.

[@kb5652]

That little speech had nothing to do with the question that was asked and it got an applause.

[@IsaacDavis69]

first Julian Castro, now the Guerrilla Girls! my heart can't take it

[@mindoverbread1213]

Thank you Stephen for all these awesome guest. Guerrilla Girls are fucking awesome

[@iantusa9207]

These people confuse the difference between what an individual likes and what a populace likes. Art especially is a bunch of opinion pushers telling you what is "good." Personally if you don't like the art in a museum, don't go. I myself feel that the art and design world is just a big power play, these women are no different.

[@steve112285]

Shouldn't it be about the quality of the art and not the demographics of the people making it?

[@GRIIMMJAQUES]

^

[@florin604]

+steve112285 Vagina supersedes quality.

[@HakimSpokenLewis]

I'm a Black bigender feminist trolls AMA!

[@Bazingawow]

The edge is strong

[@tomphilbin799]

i love when a woman bares her shoulders

[@georgelez8363]

I'm not one of those haters who dislikes video just bc there are feminists, but I seriously hate what this term has become. NOONE gives a shit about an artist's gender, its about their art. Noone's going to put more art done by female artists just because they're women. In my opinion, third wave feminism is just women complaining about non-existent inequality. And I'm not saying there isn't any inequality, but they're just looking at the wrong things.

[@GRIIMMJAQUES]

This

[@ambotnimo7109]

Have you read the comments section lately?

[@Hawringdesignrawknowledge2]

before there was Anita sarkeesian there was the guerrilla girls

[@HardCoreHanSolo]

Awesome video. Such great questions from Colbert. Day made.

[@mikecantreed]

I appreciate how Colbert is the higher brow late night show but this is absurd. Why give this fringe group any TV time? There must be wayyyyy more important causes to highlight.

[@WalrusBird25]

Don't agree when they say "the art is made by the same people". Identity doesn't equal creative style. Is there unfair bias in mostly selecting white males for art exhibits? Maybe (I'm not familiar with the subject). But each one of those artists has their own experience and style because they aren't the same person. The art should speak for the artist. I think what would better solve the problem would be blind art selections where whoever decides picks the pieces and then find out who the artist is.

[@markofmountain]

Being in the contemporary art section is normally a really bad thing

[@mikhail3600]

Women are free to make thier own choices, this is not Saudi Arabia. If more women wanted to spend their lives working hard to create art they would. the status quo is a reflection of free will not some imagined institutionalized problem.

[@mikhail3600]

They are encouraged the same as men are. If people desire to follow their passions they wont need you to encourage them, they wont let you stop them lol.

[@mikhail3600]

And again, women have the same options..

[@Aleph2576]

Someone could translate for what they say in Spanish , please? :)

[@donellebullock7404]

Maybe the reason why they're aren't that many females nowadays is because it is the same reason for technology and elected representation. Women typically don't go in those kind of fields. They aim for the social jobs like accountant and teacher, things like that. Majority of art in history in art was made by men, at least the art we are taught in school. The problem like any other dealing with this stuff is simple, If you want more women in these fields, inspire them and encourage them to do those things. As far as the art that is sought after, it tends to be for the most well known artist and their best works. They want the best to say they got the best and to show their wealth and resources typically. The reason why a lot of male art is more valuable is because the art that is valuable is like that because the artist is dead and/or the art itself is well received.

[@rachaelpeck997]

I think you need to do more research. There are/were tones of female artists when famous male artists were painting. It's just men were the ones who bought male artists works. They never showed light on female works because women as a whole couldn't possibly have artistic genius.

[@tatoomi]

This is exactly why they protest. Our perception of what kinds of female artists are out there is so skewed by how much they are exhibited and promoted, and the curation of its diversity sucks. There are a lot of female artists whose works would be well received and who are within the fields you are talking about, but seem to be lost in the selection process in these kind of museums. A lot of female artists are dead too, its just curation and collectors that they are being critical of.

[@TheShoeCheese]

You know your life is easy when your biggest problem day to day is not enough women artists in fancy fine art museums.

[@underweightHater]

fortunately for them, paintings are nearly irrelevant as a popular art form anyway. theres an explosion of art in TV, music, product design, movies, video games, and things that the public actually cares about and will support. if you want people to see your work you are better off designing a wine label than getting a painting in the met.

[@javasoccernut]

If you don't live in a big city, when were you last in a museum?

[@azsxdcfvgbhnjmhn]

I dont see what the problem is? rich people can spend their money on what they like, and they will spend it on what inspires them, which may increase the prevalence of that type of art but so what? If these people increase the prevalence of what inspires them it will cause other people to be inspired similarly. Which is a good thing because these rich people have OBVIOUSLY done something right in life, if they hadnt done something right they wouldnt be in a position of power in the first place. you dont get into a position of power by doing the wrong things.

[@hellomynameisCECIL]

Unless you say ethically wrong...

[@LowestofheDead]

+azsxdcfvgbhnjmhn Bernie Madoff worked hard to screw over thousands of people's lives, every clothing retailer depends on unsafe sweatshops working for cents, electronics manufacturers allow labourers in China to be poisoned. What makes you rich isn't always ethical. Add the fact that success isn't what you do, but who you know. A hard-working genius can only get so far born in the 3rd World with malaria, no jobs, few schools, a corrupt economy where you can't even start a business VS born rich in Europe with connected family. Humans with power will influence the world to keep themselves in power.

[@azsxdcfvgbhnjmhn]

LowestoftheDead good theory, cant apply to 100% of rich people tho i guess some could deliberately try to inspire the wrong things in people

[@Poplinman]

+azsxdcfvgbhnjmhn If you think the VAST majority of rich people have done ANYTHING to be in a position of wealth and power you are wrong. The basis of your comment is wrong. Learn about economic mobility in this country before posting shit like this.

[@azsxdcfvgbhnjmhn]

Claire K Well if theyve done nothing how the fuck do they get in that position? its either them or a relative has done something smart enough to get their hands on alot of cash otherwise they WOULDNT have that cash

[@aubnuwelja]

YES

[@ida5067]

so many men and boys are so insecure that they see the word "feminist" and start freaking out without even watching the video. i thought stephen had a smarter demographic than the other hosts. i'm disappointed.

[@siraf1234]

We dont freak out. Any feminist today is actually dumb.

[@RapidBlindfolds]

3:43 we are carrying ideas and notions of Feudalism in the 16th century into 21st century??? Oh please. Where is the Michelangelo or Bernini of the modern day? That’s nonsense. How many people do you see making art like that today? :/

[@vivianqin9646]

the art world is already bad but if the youtube comments session ran the Met...LMAO

[@iwishiwasafish12345]

What is considered good art, and what gets put into museums, is what the majority of people like, and you can't tell people what to like. If people currently like art that's made by a majority of male artists then your going to have to deal with it or change it by making good art.

[@jonhaynes2384]

I know who one of those girls is for certain.

[@faboze]

Reminds me of the gorilla masked people in The Thin Blue Line. I'll be surprised if anyone knows that show lol

[@ImApromox]

you cant regulate art, thats the whole fucking point..

[@CitkogaSquad]

Zubeida for sure is hot as hell

[@YawnGod]

These First World problems.

[@pacomontes3616]

Me gustaría ser mujer para formar parte de ellas ¡¡¡¡FEMINISMO O BARBARIE!!!

[@2x3x5x6]

Oh boy the comments are full of people who have no inkling of understanding of art history and even less of an understanding of what these women are saying.

[@luckybutterfly2]

*Guerrilla Girls

[@JoshTruff]

I'm sorry there is so much art about everything. who cares what's in art shows. look online for your needs. noone goes to art shows anyway.

[@sumyanlaw]

+JoshTruff "Museums ... are guardians of history, ... they’re also makers of meaning and metaphors." nymag.com/arts/art/features/40979/index1.html "The monographs on artists, permanent collections and major exhibitions are really the path into history." www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2013/may/24/women-art-great-artists-men

[@JoshTruff]

+Grace Law I am sorry but you are horribly incorrect. The world has changed, art shows and high valued art mean nothing anymore. Memes will be remembered before them, the world will remember youtube as our history. Why go to a museum when you can google search history. These people are fighting for a cause that is extinct. Its like saying blacksmithing is male dominated and needs to change. Sure if females are as good at blacksmithing they should be allowed to blacksmith but I just don't really give a shit because I have never met or needed to use a blacksmith.

[@therealr0bert]

Art is just never going to be under the thumb of neo feminism. As an artist I don't work my ass off to portray your values or your ideals. If you want more art that you like in museums get off your ass and make the art. Art is completely indiscriminate. You can't be a success as an artist based on your gender. You need skill.

[@ocirvh1552]

Let me get this straight. The biggest problem in art today is not the fact that you can scribble on a canvas in 3 different colors and make millions, but instead is a lack of diversity? Sure it is.

[@TheNewRobotMaster]

Too much discrimination? Does that imply that some degree of discrimination is okay? What if it's discrimination in your favour? I don't support any kind of discrimination, and that includes "reverse-discrimination".

[@k.r.6623]

What Anonymous is to the hacker world the Guerilla Girls are to art. They are AWESOME!

[@BaxterianEmpire]

Not that it matters but does anyone know the Male to female ratio of artists? Or does anyone care you painted the picture male or female? Also nude art is the human body, and statistically it appears that women are the more attractive of the two genders? Another thing if you think it has taken 30 years, and in that time why havent they started up their own musem or attempted to find funds and donors/investors to see if there is a market for what they have to supply.

[@brandonf6174]

Having a hard time taking them seriously with those masks on

[@tatoomi]

Their art and process, is generally marked in humour and sarcasm. Look it up.

[@TransparentLabyrinth]

Wait, so if the problem is billionaire art collectors dictating what gets put in museums, then why is it a feminist issue? That's a wealth/class issue, not gender. Get working class people more into museums and supporting museums through crowdsourcing and I bet your "gender" issue melts away pretty fast. Case in point... look at a website like KZbin. You could say that youtube videos are a kind of art and there are tons of both men and women who have a boatload of consistent viewers. Why? Because the audience decides who is popular purely through their views and subscriptions. There's a little influence from google and its homepage promotions of videos, but on the whole, this website is a great example of what the museum art world could look like if you put it in the hands of the many rather than the few. And you can do it. People like Bernie Sanders are showing the power of crowdsourcing as we speak. You just have to get people interested and you have to get them involved. Museums, in my mind, are ingrained in our culture as something that is largely made for stuffy aristocrats. Not because of what gets put in them, but the culture of museums themselves. So part of what's working against diversity is probably the perception that museums are for a tiny group of people. If you change that in a big way, the sky is the limit in terms of funding.

[@GianniStella]

This is absolutely brilliant

[@JoshSlinkard]

Fascinating interview

[@obiwankenobi661]

one of my biggest pet peeves is that people dont know the difference in pronouncing "gorilla" and "guerilla" - its a spanish word, its the same reason you dont pronounce pinata "peenahda". hint: its pronounced "gehreelleeah" with a spanish 'r'

[@obiwankenobi661]

@Fortescue what else was i supposed to take from this? some great feminist message? neo-feminism is cancer. i was raised by an original feminist, she would know.