Art activism is the combination of the emotion we get from artworks with the change that comes along with activism. This is done to address and criticize political or social issues in hope to create a different outcome or to get people more involved in a certain issue. For example in the text, “The 25 Most Influential Works of American Protest Art Since World War II The New York Times Style Magazine”, the protest art “Robert E. Lee Statue in Richmond, VA”, a statue for a Confederate general was transformed by activists into a public gathering space, and is marked with thousands of “protest chants, calls for compassion, revolutionary symbols and anti-police slogans in dozens of colors.” This work is important because it has been reclaimed and is now a symbol of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Kind of serving as an interactive art piece, giving protestors a canvas to show their disapproval of injustice as well as a memorial for those who were lost to said injustice. It also serves as a reminder of America’s disturbing past, and a reminder to never go back.
The 25 Most Influential Works of American Protest Art Since World War II The New York Times Style Magazine
“People who once avoided the statue now make pilgrimages to see what has become an emblem of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as a newly diverse public gathering space.”
Out of all the art activism works that were discussed in this article, the one that most stuck out to me was Robert Lee Statue being turned into an art activism piece. It reminded me of the “A Dallas Drinking Fountain” in our Art Activism book. I think these reminders are types of reminders of the horrible times of our country. They also serve as a consistent reminder to never go back to those times. I think using the statue of Lee as a place to gather, to protest and commemorate is such a beautiful outcome to a statue of such a disgusting person and time period.
“It’s incredible that artists — our creative peers and our community — are coming together for mutual aid. But we are doing services that we have every right to expect our government to do. It’s insane that they don’t have clean water in Flint at this point. It’s insane that people are going hungry in the richest country in the history of the world. And it’s insane that artists — who have no health insurance and who have no job security and are in an even more precarious situation now than they were six months ago — are leading the charge, you know?”
Especially in recent years, I think we have become more and more aware of how much our government just does not care about the people of this country. We have become more dependent on our communities or organizations for help when the actual people who are supposed to help just look the other way
An Introduction to Activist Art | The Collector | by Stefanie Graf
“The artist once said that her biggest inspiration was injustice in the world.”
Personally, with all the stuff that has been happening since a specific day in January, I have left so much more inspiration to make artworks addressing these topics than I have ever before. It's definitely a time for people to use their voice and stand up for what's right.
“Ai Weiwei’s Soleil Levant, 2017, publicly discussed the dangerous journey of refugees trying to reach Europe. The installation consisted of 3500 lifejackets worn by refugees who had to cross the sea. While they prevented many people from drowning, others were provided with fake lifejackets and died on their way to Europe. Ai Weiwei’s work makes the dangers of these journeys and the suffering of these people tangible in the center of European cities.”
This art installation spoke to me the most since the message also applies to what’s happening here in America, where people are seeing the deportations of the many members of the Latino community and not having any ounce of empathy or care for these people who are being treated like animals. I think if people were to hear the stories of survival that these people went through in order to just get the country and survive in a country that has so much hatred towards them for just wanting a better life then change will happen.
WHY ARTISTIC ACTIVISM? | Center for Artistic Activism
“The boundary slippage of artistic activism works equally well in repressive regimes where overt political protest is prohibited, yet artistic practices are tolerated.”
The first thing that I thought of when reading this was the recent Super Bowl halftime show with Kendrick Lamar. Personally, I would categorize his performance as a form of art activism, he used his music, and the overall stage setup and dancers as means to send a message to the American people. I think his words at the beginning, “The revolution about to be televised, you picked the right time but the wrong guy” sums up his message.
“Creating and sustaining lasting change demands a change in values, beliefs and patterns of behavior, that is: cultural change. While changing laws and policies are essential, laws will not be followed nor policies enacted unless people have internalized the values that lie behind them.”
I think this can go both ways, laws and policies changing and heading towards less progressive sides will not be tolerated or even followed if people don’t want to be less inclusive and less progressive.
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