Arts and Politics

Whenever you turn on your TV, you have to watch many commercials. Everyone understands that they are trying to make us like whatever product they advertise. In my opinion, politicians are like those products and try to advertise themselves.
In modern day it might not be obvious but a politician is an artist. They are rhetoric masters, but words aren’t enough anymore: they have to control their image. However, just like it is explained in our book, non-politician artist too can express their opinion with art. Among other examples, there is Guillermo Gomez-Pena. He is a performance artist, activist and writer. How strong is the value of art in politics today? I will try answer this question by analyzing different artworks from ancient Greece to today.


How art made the world: the art of persuasion



In this documentary it is explained how Alexander the Great made use of his image to create a large-scale promotion campaign. His face was on coins that were used in his territories. Indeed, at the time money was in everyone's reach and could travel very fast. People were able to have the image of their ruler everyday within their hands.
This reference helps us see the difference between then and now. Alexander used coins; but today with the advancement of technology, a politician can reach us almost all the time and everywhere we are.

Stalin

Today everybody knows how Stalin's regime was harsh and dictatorial. You may wonder why they didn't rebel. Well besides an effective punishment system, Stalin used propaganda to keep the majority of the population in his side.

On this painting you see Stalin and Lenin talking in a dreamlike place. Lenin was the symbol of the Bolshevik revolution, he represented freedom for many Russians. Seeing him discussing with Stalin may suggest that the hero acknowledged him.

On this other painting, in a very bright and joyful background, Stalin receives flowers from children.

You can see his fatherly side. The emphasis on white suggests he is as pure as those children.

Although TV and radio was invented by then, people couldn't afford it and be aware of the real situation. Even if they did, the news was filtered. Paintings and pictures were the easiest way to affect the population. \

Obama's Pop Art poster

Here is a popular Pop Art Obama campaign poster. Obama's pose is the same as JFK's. The former US president had great impact in US history; many consider he brought a positive change to the US.

This poster was made by an artist in support for Obama. It became an instant success. In this article, it is explained why it worked.In this case, the artist successfully shows his support for a politician.

The News Puppets (Les Guignols de l’Info)

In France, there is a very popular TV show starring many puppets that portray mostly politicians but also people in the news. This is an example of how the media view politics in a satirical way.

This show has a democratic ("gauchiste") point of view. Here is the puppet of president Sarkozy. His facial features and height is exaggerated, but that is the case for every puppet. The key here is his Emperor like stature and he's sitting on a throne. In fact many criticize Sarkozy for his "bling-bling" and overactive style of working.

While Sarkozy is an "Emperor", Obama's puppet is the archetype of the lade back, easy going and cool guy. However, they replaced Obama's eloquence by a more "rapper-like" speech.

In this PBS documentary you will find more explanation. However, I think that the title (The Anti-Americans) is very exaggerated, because they are satirical with everyone and particularly with themselves.



Guillermo Gómez-Peña

In the book, this subject is approached in an educational way. They used the example of Guillermo Gomez-Pena, who is an artist who protests and expresses his opinions with art.

He wrote many books, including Dangerous border crossers: the artist talks back.

I chose Pena as my example for artist activism because his works affect people more than I taught it would. You can refer to the book on pages 50 to 54 to find more detailed information.

Artwork

The text means: "And what if I invaded Russia! Me no stupid!"

Among all the artworks that I found, I would like to respond to this satirical drawing of a certain someone.

I chose this one because I can relate to it. I will make 2 drawings using crayons (both wax and chalk) because it is easier for me.

My question is about the value of art in politics, and I think that today the strongest and most widely used political art is satire. However my artwork didn't turn out to be a satire but an illustration of a situation. My drawing didn't have exaggerations or any humorous factor, which is the basis for a satire.

In our book, political art is treated from an activist view. Their examples are focused on artworks that influenced or attempted to make a change in society. Pena expressed his disapproval of a political issue; and Wodiczko used his artistic skills to help people.

I, on the other hand, tried to have examples on different areas that use art to have a say on politics.

"Public art as been associated with sculptural work" is how the book starts its political art section. I agree with this statement because the most relevant and most common public/political arts that archeologist found were sculptures. But I think the book doesn't show enough of political art. The examples are about activist, it would have been more interesting to have other perspectives. For example a recent political campaign with strong artistic influence, or examples from the Renaissance or Baroque years and etc.

How strong is the value of art in politics today? It is very strong compared to Alexander's time. When you look back you realize that his subjects only had to see his face on their money. Today if you turn on your TV, read the newspaper, or just walk on the streets, you will probably come across politics. You can see a poster, an advertisement.
To answer my question, I choose Pena's Cruci-fiction Project because it is an activist work that has a strong political meaning. I mostly read about it in the book, and what amazed me is how the spectators responded to it. It was a street performance, people didn't pay to see it but still they were drawn to it. I think this political art peace was a complete success. The artist wanted to make his point and be heard. Here is Pena's explanation and justification of his performance.
All around the world there are activist that use art to express a political opinion. I believe that sometimes when you say things as they are to people it doesn't work. Or you may be oppressed and don't have the freedom to say what you think. You may use art to implicitly make your point.

If the Cruci-fiction Project was a pill, it would be a truth serum, something that would make us realize our deepest thoughts; and hopefully reflect on them.In my opinion, the fact that it was a crucifixion made people react. Besides being a self inflected torture, it comes with a strong religious background that many spectators can relate to. Also, the form of art chosen was the right one. He could have used satire or romanticism. But I think his point was too dramatic and tragic to be funny or heroic.

Key Words

• Image: a representation of the external form of a person or a thing
• Art: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form
  
• Politics: the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power
• Pop Art: art based on modern popular culture and the mass media, especially as a critical or ironic comment on traditional fine art values
• Propaganda: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view (or the campaign of the enemy)
• Satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues
• Value: the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance or preciousness of something
• Romanticism: a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual
  

Different definitions will not necessarily change the meaning of these key words except for art and value.

In this subject, for me art is a way of expressing one’s opinion through artistic metaphors.

Value is also the relative degree of lightness or darkness of a particular color.