Art & Agenda

I’ve recently read a few books on using art for political good. One of the books is Art & Agenda: Political Art and Activism which I found really interesting, as it included examples of artists that have used their creative platform to send powerful messages, sometimes in shocking ways, something that relates back to the punk movement I’ve been looking into. Below are some quotations I found useful/informative that could of use to me for my dissertation:

• “For a long time paining was the central medium for politically motivated art. However, today it has been replaced by photography and video.” (pg 8) This quote applies to my work as a fashion communicator, as I work in some of the most useful mediums for projecting messages to the modern day audience.
• “When Albert Camus accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, he said, ‘Probably every generation sees itself as charged with remaking the world. Mine, however, knows that it will now remake the world. But it’s task is perhaps even greater, for it consists of keeping the world from destroying itself. Heir to a corrupt history, in which are mingled fallen revelations, technology gone mad, dead gods, and worn out ideologies, where mediocre powers can destroy all, yet no longer know how to convince, where intelligence has debased itself to become the servant of hatred and oppression…'” (pg 51) This speaks to those of my generation and the feeling most of us have of being thrown into the role none of us asked for, to fix what’s been broken by past generations. It is arguably the most important thing any of us can try to do with the short amount of time we have, but it is why I choose to use my artistic ability in the way I do.
• “They produce works that are specifically designed to help bring about change in prevailing social, political, or cultural circumstances. Since these artists aim to tackle socio-political short-comings, they want their art and campaigns to show how art an influence reality.” This quote inspired me to change my essay question to, “How can art be used to alter reality for the political good?” and although it has changed again as I realised those who support what I consider bad (such as pro-lifers) may consider what they are doing as “political good.” However it still raised an interesting point that art can be so powerful as to alter those who view its’ reality.
• NOTE: Look into Conceptual Art. (pg 3)
• “Political art is increasingly appearing in countries and regions plagued by injustice and/or ruled by totalitarian regimes.” (pg 145) Northern Irelands murals can be used as an example of this!!
• “In the twentieth century, artists began using history painting in a new way – to cast a critical eye on very recent events… While history paintings of centuries past has clear messages that aimed to strengthen national identity, today’s worlds often call this approach into question… Works dealing with history in relation to the present day are dominated by issues that address the co-existence of different ethnic groups and the hierarchies between them that, despite crumbling long ago, continue to make themselves felt to this day… Artists frequently avoid adopting a clear position choosing instead to encourage viewers to unravel the structures, whose roots are often buried deep in the past.” (pg 227) This quote can also be applied to Northern Ireland’s murals referring to the co-existence of Catholic and Protestant communities. I think it’s important to instead just say, ‘what you believe is wrong’ you should guide the viewer to challenge their own beliefs and come to the conclusion on their own.