Jake of 8bitjoystick.comActually graphics design and art have been a major part of all the lasting revolutions of the last century. To quote Max Ernst a dadaist who had to leave Europe after Hitler came to power, "Art is politcal. Art is dangerous."
The manufactured image as a contributing factor to the cult of personalty of a political leader should not be ignored.
Can you think of Mao and not think of the state sponsored art, How about Che? How about George Washington and not think about the official portraits that became burned into our culture.
Gods Gift to WomenDoes anyone else think that its at least a little creepy having Obey's Marxist/propaganda imagery for Obama with words like "Change" and "Progress"? I mean its funny and ironic and all when its Biggie or whatever, but when a presidential candidates face pops up on the street looking like that, it freaks me out a little...
jakedobkinAll of the foregoing examples are good. But they all seem to work the same way: the art raises awareness of a situation (war/atrocity/injustice) and contributes to a societal desire to act. Or the inverse example-- art is used as propaganda to prevent a society from acting.
Can anyone thing of an example where art acts in a more direct way to create change? I can't.
wageorge@ Gods Gift to Women - It's funny you say that. Obama is a Marxist, so it is fitting that his face shows up like that. Obama says "What the American people are looking for is somebody who can solve their problems." No ... I'm certainly not suggesting that Obama is wrong here. That is exactly what the American people are looking for. They want their mommy .. they want a government that steps in every time they face a little difficulty in their lives. Why in the hell should they work, learn, suffer and sacrifice to solve their own problems? That's the government's job!
No. 3 KillerUncle Tom's Cabin. Might not be good art, but it still fundamentally changed the US (and thus world history as well).
Gods Gift to WomenIm just saying that artwork traditionally utilized for manipulative totalitarian leaders might be a bit misguided, no matter how many sell at Urban Outfitters, especially in conjunction with Obama's grandiose speeches.
Gods Gift to WomenUm, Jake of 8bit, Im pretty sure he's mocking fascism...Let's hold off on the cliche "fascist" outrage, deal?
Anyway, I tend to think that most art is a mirror. It allows us to put ourselves and our culture on canvas, board, or wall and critique it- see where we are going and who we really are. I think art has the potential to be the impetus of political change, but it would have to be something far more substantial than the Obey posters. For example, I could imagine a war-torn dictatorship filled with a repressed population finding hope in a particularly talented graffiti artist's works of hope and rebellion. I dont know of any specific examples, though.
Still, I doubt that any considerable political change was caused by just one thing. A song may raise a question about race, but without people backing it up, what good is it?
filmwolfLet's look at it this way...what we see in this photo is an image of a politician, and isn't that what's it's all about these days, the "image" that they're trying to present and sell to the public?
I do find the style of poster used here somewhat troubling, in that it's evocative of the Marxist posters one would find in Cuba or South America...
amolho4i think this gets you a little closer to what you are looking for:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_People_of_the_Universe
also, if you think of nelson mandela's imprisonment as performance art (althought he would probably not), then this led to political change in south africa.
i'm going to think about this more.
No. 3 KillerSo basically fascism is whatever political viewpoint you (you being anyone) disagree with.
Jake of 8bitjoystick.comNo if you refer to Democrats as "Marxists", Commies, Communists, pinkos, Reds or Socialists you forfeit all civility since you yourself are being a dick by the McCarthyism.
Gods Gift to WomenAnd obviously the way to combat said fascism is by posting a slew of annoying images on a street art pool in Flickr. Stay strong!
amolho4i'm going to add:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ
(changed and created new political attitudes and structures toward government sponsored art)
and
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_c...
(created and changed political attitudes and structures concerning free speech, immigration, religious blasphemy in both islamic and western countries.)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submission_%28movie%29
(theo van gogh was murdered because of the broadcast of this film that he created. is his murder in reaction to this art a political act, trying to change the political dynamic in the netherlands?)
and in a slightly less direct way:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Spring
(this book helped launch the environmental movement and changed farm-pesticide laws)
Gaia ArtI cant believe they buffed that wall. how strange
guiltymeateaterwhere was this picture taken? Art can only helped people change they way they feel...negative or positive.
guy_on_the_streetsdid you notice they covered the copy of Guernica at the UN when Colin Powell gave his speech from the UN before the start of the Gulf War
Adam Lawrenceseriously?
wow, nope, that escaped my notice.
cahbasmnart can only act as propaganda which can change but really i dont know. if you called your art firebombing fucked up companys and destroying infastructure then yes art eventually can make a change.
Gods Gift to WomenSeriously, If i had the resources Shepard has right now I would fuckin use them more thoroughly. "Oh Shit, another 2 color screenprint...and oh dear jesus it plays off the dollar bill motif...*gasp* with the same old message! Christ, have mercy on my unworthy soul!!!"
bet your life oh shit. miss 17 deep creepin.