Joyce Kozloff Reveals 41-Year Guerrilla Girls Secret
Joyce Kozloff, an artist and activist, has disclosed her identity as a founding member of the Guerrilla Girls after 41 years of remaining anonymous under the name "Liubov Popova." In a discussion with Art Journal Open's Feminist Interview Project, she shared that her choice to remain anonymous was intended to prioritize issues over personal safety. In 1971, she was among the seven original members who co-founded the Los Angeles Council of Women Artists (LACWA) to protest the lack of female representation at LACMA. The group's name stemmed from a mix-up involving a gorilla mask. Kozloff contributed to the creation of the 1988 poster "The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist" and was part of the organization until 1991, expressing alarm over threats to women's rights following the repeal of Roe v. Wade.
Key facts
- Joyce Kozloff revealed she was a founding member of the Guerrilla Girls after 41 years.
- Her assigned pseudonym was Liubov Popova.
- She argued for anonymity to keep focus on issues, not to avoid reprisals.
- She was among seven inaugural members, including two other older women from the 1970s women's movement.
- Kozloff co-organized the Los Angeles Council of Women Artists (LACWA) in 1971.
- LACWA protested the lack of female representation at LACMA.
- She helped create the 1988 poster 'The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist'.
- She was affiliated with the Guerrilla Girls until 1991.
Entities
Artists
- Joyce Kozloff
- Liubov Popova
- Maura Reilly
- Helena Reckitt
- Max Kozloff
Institutions
- Guerrilla Girls
- Art Journal Open
- Hyperallergic
- Los Angeles Council of Women Artists (LACWA)
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
- Heresies Collective
- Pattern and Decoration movement
- California Institute of the Arts
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Ocula
Locations
- Los Angeles
- New York
- United States