This picture was taken in a quiet neighborhood in Hackney, East London. It shows a clear divide between the upper and lower classes,and illustrates the split between the two sections of society within London. On the right we see a cobbled, bumpy brick road, old uneven pavement, and a dash of graffiti on the abandoned garage door. While right opposite is a smoothly paved entrance to a neighborhood with newly built houses, a Bentley parked right on the edge. It portrays the reality in which we live in, how those suffering in extreme poverty are living side by side with those on the opposite end of the socio-economic spectrum. We may never know what lies beyond each side, but it just puts into perspective the extent of social inequality in the UK. While many are suffering just to get through the day, and provide for their families, we see the politicians eating into the pockets of the elite 1%, paving the way for their own future careers and furthering their own interests. To make significant change in society, we need MPs who are able to represent the working class and the majority of people properly, which is certainly NOT happening, with the number of MPs who have actually experienced work outside politics decreasing, and 1/3 of them privately educated.

'Why we need a more equal society'

If you know your cars...

Our visit to Tate modern

In December 1992, The Tate Trustees had announced their plans to create a separate gallery for modern and contemporary art located within London. The Bankside Power station was selected as the new gallery site in 1994 with Swiss architects Herzog & De Meuron were assigned to convert the building into a gallery. In 1996 the deign plans were revealed with a £12 million grant from the English Partnerships regeneration agency and the work had begun.
Since opening in May 2000 more than 40 million people have visited the amazing site becoming one of the UK's top three tourist attractions and manages to generate an estimated £100 million in economic benefits to London annually

So of course, we had to make a visit there, using the district line we set off to visit people who used art to showcase their outlook on ideologies

Specifically, we fixated solely on feminist artists finding works from 

• Margret Harrison, Mary Kelly and Kay Hunt 
• Andy Warhol and the Guerrilla Girls
• Birgit Jugenssen and Valie Export

Tate Modern - Birgit Jugenssen and Valie Export

Jurgenssen was an artist who specialized in feminine body art with self-portraits and photo series. Her plea for female artists to be recognised was unfortunately denied, she had asked the DuMont publishing company in a letter to include a miscellany ( a collection) of female artists, including the words that

 'So often the woman is an art object, rarely and reluctantly she is able to speak or show (her work) up. I for once would like to have the possibility to compare myself not just to my male, but also to my female colleagues."

Her requests were repeatedly denied so this, of course, fueled her desire of wanting equality causing her to continue her feminist works, below is a piece published in 2006 titles 'Everyone has their own point of view', the artist in the image has her back turned, with the title written on her back in German. The play on words included in the photograph is that the German word 'Ansicht' meaning 'point of view' also implies the idea of a frontal view also, the fact that lipstick was used could further the idea of a woman's identity being shaped and moulded by her appearance and exterior.

Valie Exports is another talented artist who adopted a pseudonym to reject the names of her father and her former protest. Her cinematic, photographs and performances were often critical of the limits imposed on an individual due to their gender. 

In this image titled Identity Transfer, she adopts a seemingly masculine pose at odds with her hair and makeup exploring the codes through which identity is traditionally conveyed

Tate Modern - ANDY WARHOL AND THE GUERRILLA GIRLS

Andy Warhol is probably a recognizable artist for many, you've probably seen his duplicate images of Marilyn Monroe and other pieces. He was an artist that understood the potential of a mass-produced image, the collaboration with the Anonymous artist group the Guerrilla Girls is interesting. You may not have heard about these feminist artists, but with their signature gorilla masks they're too fascinating not to notice.

(wish i walk around like this)

They both use interesting and striking design. Their borrowing of artworks and typefaces somewhat replicates Andy Warhol’s use of existing images. However, their confrontational tactics juxtapose Warhols more laidback approach.

While the Guerilla Girls (Funnily enough, the spelling is due to how an early member spelt it incorrectly) campaigned consistently and forcefully against discrimination, The Factory (Warhols Manhatten studio) provided a space for people who didn't conform to the social and sexual convictions of 1960s society

Tate Modern - Woman and Work

Specifically, we fixated solely on feminist artists finding works from 
Margret Harrison, Mary Kelly and Kay Hunt who both conducted a detailed study on women who worked in the factory, their investigation had occurred while the Equal Pay Act was implemented, the three artists collected as much data as they could on the women, the simple pieces put on display like black and white photographs, plain typed letters reflect the dull, low-level skilled tasks given to women contrasting to the more demanding and laborious tasks given to the men.  

 

As you can see there is also black women included in the employee portraits; the labour industry included those from all races

Feminist Artists, the Tate

Margaret Harrison:

She is a radical feminist artist. Her first ever solo exhibition which was in 1971, was shut down by the police because of it's representation of men, and on 'grounds of indecency''. Her exhibition included a portrait of Hugh Hefner squeezed into a bunny costume (I actually cracked up when I read about this!), yet being completely unaware of double standards, the police proceeded to shut it down. Included in her exhibition was also a portrait of an emasculated Captain America, with massive fake breasts.

Harrison said that these images "questioned the idea of having a fixed sexuality", and that the police  "were reacting as males to the notion that there were other manifestations of sexuality than the strictly heterosexual variety, and that was threatening". (source; the Guardian).

Now her works are displayed at the Tate Modern, and free for all to visit.


Linder Sterling:

A well known figure of the Manchester punk and post-punk scene, Sterling was  most recognised for her art work combining images taken from pornographic magazines and womens fashion showcasing the cultural expectations and the commodification of women's bodies. Much of her work was published within the Secret public - a fanzine which she founded with Jon Savage
In 1997 she put a one-women exhibition in Londons Cleveland gallery called ' what did you do in the punk war mummy'. The next year she performed a work called Salt Shine where she filled a room with 42 tonnes of industrial salt. Her later works included 'Working Class Goes to Paradise' and 'Requiem: Clint Eastwood, Clare Offreduccio and Me' A new instalment of 'Working Class Goes to Paradise' in the Tate Gallery, as a part of the Tate Triennial 2006. It included music performed by three indie rock bands playing simultaneously for four hours, a group of women re-enacted the gestures of 19th century Shaker worship, while Linder performed assuming different roles, including that of a figure from one of her photomontages, that of Ann Lee, and of a fusion of Ann Lee, Christ and Man With No Name. Audience members were able to view the performance and to join in.
Isnt it pretty impressive that a woman was able to single handily illustrate the commodification and misogyny within her own artwork, while using music



Mary Kelly:

The guardian describes this woman as 'As one of the world’s foremost feminist artists, she has pursued hers relentlessly for 45 years'. Kelly’s work ranges between conceptual art and the more intimate interests of artists of the 1980s. Her work has been shown internationally, her work is renowned for its inspection into cultural identity, particularly the relationship between femininity and power in Western capitalist society