What is Art Activism? - Scott Bram

 What is Art Activism?

     Art activism is a performance made or distributed in public as an act of defiance against or to bring attention to an ongoing social, economical, or political issue. These can take the form of dance, song, visual art, or demonstration.

War on Smog

     War on Smog is a performance made by an anonymous married couple in Chongqing, China. Made in 2014, the couple don gas masks and pose in front of a heavily polluted area, with poisonous smog engulfing skyscrapers like how fog would. This was made as a means of criticizing the Chinese government for failure to make any changes to battle air pollution. Since the Chinese government is infamous for censoring anything that criticizes its regime, this protest was made without words and thus not censored by police or the media. Not only were the photos made as criticism, these were their actual wedding photos. This further adds a sentimental value that tugs at people's emotions as this was the world they would have to spend the rest of their lives in. The monochrome black and white colors give an apocalyptic vibe, highlighting how the average Chinese person feels not being able to breathe where they live.

WHY ARTISTIC ACTIVISM? | Center for Artistic Activism

    "ARTISTIC ACTIVISM THRIVES IN THE CONTEMPORARY LANDSCAPE... Acknowledging that the political landscape is also a cultural landscape opens up new terrain to work upon. Whereas art tends to be limited to museums and galleries, and activism to street demonstrations and state houses, artistic activism is at home in town squares and shopping malls, on billboards or through social media…as well as galleries and state houses."

    Art moves wherever creatives go, seen best in eras where trends, laws, and policies shift and change. Due to the world constantly changing, artistic protest remains the most flexible and creative means of protest, with new ideas sprouting in artists' minds as the world continues to progress.

    "Artistic activism, as a cultural approach, is inherently non-violent. Although groups have used creative methods for violent ends (most infamously the Nazi Party) the tactic itself is peaceful. Artistic activism is aimed at hearts and minds, not bodies or buildings."

        Art cannot physically harm anyone, but the effect it can have on the human psyche is sometimes devastating.  As humans act and justify their actions on emotions, art which pokes and prods at feelings that are not the greatest to feel have the best chances of making viewers channel those negative emotions into action.

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An Introduction to Activist Art | The Collector | by Stefanie Graf 

    "When the public is looking away from suffering that could be prevented or does not want to be confronted with it, activist art often creates a dialogue and forces people to think about these problems."

    Many people tend to have a "it doesn't affect me, so why should I care?" mentality, but it's hard to keep that mentality up when the horrors and injustices of the world are broadcast in front of them. Art activism can showcase the cruelty fellow man face daily in a mind-bending way more memorable than a written report.

    "The interests, hardships, and experiences of marginalized groups are often underrepresented or not discussed at all. Activist art can make these specific experiences visible and include them in historical, social, and political discourse."

    History is often mistold or washed in a way that makes it more suitable and comfortable for people to read about, when that shouldn't be the case at all. Art is raw, uncensored, and tells history as it is. Every gradient and material used was applied as these events were happening, telling nothing but the truth and leaving the viewer to wonder what it would've been like to be there at that time in history.

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The 25 Most Influential Works of American Protest Art Since World War II 

    "The poster is exactly that, a sound bite, and vernacular to the core. The poster perfectly suits the American ear. It has a power. If you’ve ever stopped in front of one or turned your head for a second look, that power was at work.”

    Slogans, information, and definitions are usually best understood when they are short, simple, and to the point. While it's important to get into the nuanced parts of any given topic, that conversation is impossible to have unless an audience's attention is caught, and a catchy, short slogan proves to stay in people's minds longer than a speech. 

    "...So the idea of protest in a place where there is no freedom of expression — where public protest is against the law — is different than the idea of protest here."

    The media of art is sometimes all people have to express themselves, and even then, they must be careful about what they portray and how they do it. Art is a media of protest that helps people whose physical voices are suppressed, and thus it will be used forever.