"The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create."
–President Barack Obama
–President Barack Obama
Art is a Political Act
Art and Politics / Exploring Your Medium
Political art is the way through which social and political life is reflected.
Art and Politics / Exploring Your Medium
Political art is the way through which social and political life is reflected.
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
–Albert Einstein
“I must study politics and war, that my sons may study mathematics and philosophy…in order to give their children the right to study painting, poetry, music and architecture.”
–John Q. Adams, 2nd U.S. President
–John Q. Adams, 2nd U.S. President
Thematic objectives:
This semester will explore a specific theme while providing an opportunity to pursue individual passions. I want to encourage you to find and utilize your medium of choice. Together with Eli’s American Government course, we will thematically explore the relationship between art and politics. A portion of the semester will focus on election and campaign issues, while also giving time to broaden and build on our personal artistic strengths.
This class of 2013 has produced a variety projects in the past two years and this third year of fine art will give us the occasion to respond to assignments while keeping our personal strengths and interests at heart.
Students who have found their artistic voice and medium of choice,will be encouraged to further explore and develop these talents. For instance, if there ever is an occasion where a student feels like the project could be addressed as a video, collage, sculpture, musical composition, fashion design, etc…, I want to encourage each student to propose an alternative means to confront the topic. Not all assignments will allow for this opportunity, but my hope is that each student will think about how they might approach the proposed theme with their own voice and medium in mind. Though it is ordinarily my desire to keep a commonality and cohesiveness within each project, I understand that seniors should have the option to work in a medium where they are able to speak most confidently and clearly.
Artistic expression has an unlimited amount of avenues to exploit, and it is important that students find artistic outlets through whichever discipline or medium they are most drawn to.
-Jeremy Farson, 2012
This semester will explore a specific theme while providing an opportunity to pursue individual passions. I want to encourage you to find and utilize your medium of choice. Together with Eli’s American Government course, we will thematically explore the relationship between art and politics. A portion of the semester will focus on election and campaign issues, while also giving time to broaden and build on our personal artistic strengths.
This class of 2013 has produced a variety projects in the past two years and this third year of fine art will give us the occasion to respond to assignments while keeping our personal strengths and interests at heart.
Students who have found their artistic voice and medium of choice,will be encouraged to further explore and develop these talents. For instance, if there ever is an occasion where a student feels like the project could be addressed as a video, collage, sculpture, musical composition, fashion design, etc…, I want to encourage each student to propose an alternative means to confront the topic. Not all assignments will allow for this opportunity, but my hope is that each student will think about how they might approach the proposed theme with their own voice and medium in mind. Though it is ordinarily my desire to keep a commonality and cohesiveness within each project, I understand that seniors should have the option to work in a medium where they are able to speak most confidently and clearly.
Artistic expression has an unlimited amount of avenues to exploit, and it is important that students find artistic outlets through whichever discipline or medium they are most drawn to.
-Jeremy Farson, 2012
“Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves and to others the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish.”
–Lyndon Johnson, on signing into existence the National Endowment on the Arts
–Lyndon Johnson, on signing into existence the National Endowment on the Arts
"I don't think artists can avoid being political. Artists are the proverbial canaries in the coalmine. When we stop singing, it's a sure sign of repressive times ahead."
-Theresa Bayer
-Theresa Bayer
The world of politics is always twenty years behind the world of thought.
-John Jay Chapman
-John Jay Chapman
"A man younger than 30 who's not a liberal has no heart and a man older than 30 who's not a conservative has no brain."
-Winston Churchill
-Winston Churchill
“The arts significantly boost student achievement, reduce discipline problems, and increase the odds students will go on to graduate from college. As First Lady Michelle Obama sums up, both she and the President believe ‘strongly that arts education is essential for building innovative thinkers who will be our nation’s leaders for tomorrow.”
-Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education
-Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education
"Politicians don't bring people together. Artists do."
–Richard Daley, Former Mayor of Chicago
–Richard Daley, Former Mayor of Chicago
DefiningPolitical Art:
- Sociopolitical art: is used to help people understand political and social issues. It is a way to express certain concerns that we may have on certain political problems.
- The role of artists: to express in their art certain points of view, even if it is not their own. It is the way they are able to see and interpret social and political life.
- Propaganda: Even if artists do not present their own personal views on politics, they can use art as propaganda to promote a certain cause. We have numerous examples to support this. For example, during the world war II both the nazi and the Americans used propaganda to gather support from their respective citizens.
- Protest: political art has also been used as a way of protesting, to let the politicians and the public know that they are not pleased with certain decisions. A good example is the protest in the 80s organized by AIDS activists who wanted to let the politicians and the government know that they are not happy with the way they are treated.
- Satire: it is hard to imagine humor in serious problems related to politics. But satire is the only political art that aims to expose the underbelly of politics in a humorous way.
Politically based collage
Create a collage from newspapers and other media sources. This collage should have political significance and a concept behind it. I want to see the art configured like the image here, with a large boarder of clean white paper surrounding the collage.
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