With a line of 300 people streaming across the main level of the HUB-Robeson Center, Heritage Hall resembled a zoo last night — complete with gorillas.

Due to a lack of space, almost 300 people had to be turned away to see two of the infamous Guerilla Girls speak about their efforts to shed light on sexism and racism in the art world.

According to one of their posters, less than 5 percent of artists in the modern section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art are women, but 85 percent of the nudes are females.

Dressed in gorilla masks, two Guerilla Girls, under the aliases of artists Lorraine Hansbury and Aphra Behn, presented an hour-long slideshow of some of their famous political posters which have been posted throughout the world, particularly in New York City.

The Guerilla Girls, a group of women artists, writers and performers, originated in 1985 as a response to an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art which was a summary of the most significant contemporary art in the world.

Of 169 artists, only 13 were women and there were no minorities represented.

Since then, the Guerilla Girls have protested at major events in the art world such as the Tony Awards, and exhibits at the Guggenheim and Whitney museums. They have also published two books and designed over 60 posters.

Some of their most famous posters were shown last night and the Guerilla Girls explained the origins and influence for their slogans.

Their most popular poster, "The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist," has been seen around the world and printed in 18 languages.

Another poster discussed was their response to New York City's Mayor Rudolph Guiliani's threats to cut funds for the Brooklyn Museum of Art because of the Sensation exhibit last year, where real elephant dung was spread on a painting of the Madonna.

The Guerilla Girls also explained the need for their anonymity.

"Appreciation of art is entirely subjective — we don't want to make value judgements. We just want to bring the issues to light," one Guerilla Girl said.

After 16 years of activism, the highly praised and criticized group has encountered problems lately relaying their message.

"We are trying to think of new ways to get our message out there. Postering is getting more and more difficult in this day and age," the other Guerilla Girl said.

Many students were disappointed that they missed portions of the lecture or all of it because of the limited space.

"I was here at 6:45 and I still couldn't get in. I was really upset at first, but I was able to see the last 15 minutes of it," said Meghan McCracken (junior - English). "I major in English and I write poetry and I'm really concerned about women's representation in the poetry world."

Funded by the School of Visual Arts, the women's studies department and Womyn's Concerns, some members were upset by the limitations.

"The program was amazing, but I really think the Guerilla Girls could have filled up Eisenhower Auditorium," said Michelle Yates, Womyn's Concerns treasurer .

"But the Penn State bureaucracy makes it difficult for students to book large venues."