referral research
Activist Art
Feminist Art
GUERRILLA Girls
Guerrilla Girls
Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum? 1989
Tate
Formed in New York in the mid 1980s, Guerrilla Girls' members protect their identities by wearing gorilla masks in public and by assuming pseudonyms taken from deceased female figures.
Review on art :
They're engaging because they're fast-talking and reactive and witty, but most of all because they are making a very clear, unarguable point - that women are under-represented in the art world. The Guerrilla Girls have been pointing this out since 1985, when they picketed the Museum of Modern Art in New York. At the time it was running a show that purported to be the definitive survey of contemporary painting and sculpture, and only 13 of the 169 artists featured were women. But nobody really paid any attention to them, which is why they put on the masks - and they haven't taken them off since (except, perhaps, for baths).
My opinion:
I believe that this work sets its self apart from others as it takes a humorous approach on feminism. Although this work is tackling serious issues inside of the art world, galleries that have been around for such a long time, it seems that they don't want to keep the situation serious and want to show that you can still enjoy the art you create even though you chose to create it around something important.
Performance art
Mona Hatoum
Performance Still 1985, 1995
Tate
© Mona Hatoum
DISPLAY CAPTION
Mona Hatoum first became known in the early 1980s for a series of performance and video pieces which used her own body as a site for exploring the fragility and strength of the human condition under duress. Performance Still 1985 records one of three street performances which Hatoum carried out in Brixton for the Roadworks exhibition organised in 1985 by the Brixton Artists Collective. The performance consisted of the artist walking barefoot through the streets of Brixton for nearly an hour, with Doc Marten boots, usually worn by both police and skinheads, attached to her ankles by their laces. Performance Still, printed and published ten years later turns the original documentary photograph of the performance into a work in its own right, and has therefore come to identify this aspect of Hatoum’s practice.
Artists words about work :
“Each person is free to understand what I do in the light of who they are and where they stand,” she says. “I can talk about the origin of my works, but no more. I don’t want to pin a single meaning on each one.” Indeed, the claim that her work is monotone, inspired by the tragedy of exile and warfare, overlooks the tension she creates between opposing polarities – banal and dreamy, anxious and carefree, serious and playful – which is what makes her art so remarkable.
my opinion :
although this work isn't described to be a piece of protest art, i believe that it easily could be. i feel that when considering to do a performance piece this is something that i had in mind as it allows you to interpret it in your own way. what i mean by this is when looking at this i see someone dragging behind past generations mistakes. an example of this would be like the slavery in certain places such as south Africa a lot of white families are now paying the price for what their fathers and families did before them. i feel that this type of art work is one of the most powerful as you never know how someone is going to relate to it.
what is art and social justice ?
Social justice art, and arts for social justice, encompasses a wide range of visual and performing art that aim to raise critical consciousness, build community, and motivate individuals to promote social change.
social justice art
FLIGHT
Maru Hoeber
review on work :
Sandra Fluke: The faceless refugees depicted in Flight by Maru Hoeber are anything but. Their features burst rapidly into focus as the sculpture’s kinetic energy captivates viewers, too many of whom have turned their minds away from the tragic realities of a crisis with no respite in sight, long forgotten by our 24-hour cable news cycle. The refugees’ heartbreak at leaving their homes behind, bittersweet relief at escaping their war torn country, and optimism that a better life awaits them on distant shores is palpable. This piece amplifies the voices of people who have been silenced for far, far too long. Snippets of their conversations rush through the minds of viewers, crackling with hopefully enough intensity that apathy is jostles away.
my opinion on work :
I believe this work to be very emotion and raw. I believe that the artist did not put faces on the bodies to represent the majority of people as it allows the audience to see themselves rather than having a face to look at. Although to me this work is obvious what it is about however I also believe that some people may interpret it differently which I believe makes this art strong as it allows the audience to have the freedom to create the work for a different perspective and purpose.
Greatest protest art- from PICASSO to BANKSY
Ai Weiwei - The Dissident
“I don’t see myself as a dissident artist…” — Ai Weiwei
“… I see them as a dissident government!”
"Sunflower Seeds” is a sculptural installation created to fit the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern, in London. Artwork’s meaning is to be found in creation of more than one hundred million handmade sunflower seeds made by local Chinese craftsmen. In a society where mass-production and standardisation comes together with the exploitation of low cost workers, the artwork shows the beauty of small porcelain pieces created by real artist coming from Jingdezhen area. This is the reason why it became a powerful commentary on the human condition and invites the public to reflect upon the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon.
sunflower seeds
2010
my opinion on work :
i believe this work shows th true detail of what he trying to get across this artist battles a topic that isn’t really talked about but is so clear to the public eye. He attacks a topic that should be talked about and that is why his work inspires mine as I want to tackle and get across the more controversial topics instead of the ones that are usually being brought up. Also his attention to detail to each seed inspires me to look and focus on certain parts of my work to make them more effective towards my audience.
Pyotr Pavlensky - A 'Living Pain' Artist
review on artist :
He sounds relaxed and confident, although there is a nervous intensity in his eyes. Escaping the long arm of Russian justice by going on the run was never an option for Pavlensky. "I think that would have discredited everything I'd done before, if at the first sign of danger I'd gone into hiding. So I decided to take a position of strength, because there is nothing to be afraid of. You can be afraid if you feel you are guilty of something and I don't. Anything the authorities do against me means discrediting themselves. The more they do with me, the worse they make it for themselves."
He says the same impulse informs his art: "Whenever I do a performance like this, I never leave the place. It's important for me that I stay there. The authorities are in a dead-end situation and don't know what to do. They can't ask the person to leave a square, because he's nailed to the square. And they can't do anything with a man inside barbed wire."
My opinion on artist :
This artist for me allows for his work to take control, he doesn’t seem to care about the consequences especially in the country he leaves in. You see he takes his work to a next level, with confidence and strength that no one not even authorities can stop what he is creating, I find this poetic as no one should be allowed to stop you from creating no matter how extreme or offensive it can come across as. As I believe you can never make everyone happy so you might as well create the work that you believe in and what will get you noticed or views that are so craved by certain artists to feel worth it, it should be about creating work that you have 100% confidence in.
Pussy Riot - A Provocative Punk Rock Protest Band
A Russian feminist punk rock group that has staged numerous unauthorized provocative guerrilla performances in various public locations, Pussy Riot has shook the world in 2012 with their protest performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior directed at Orthodox Church’s support for Vladimir Putin. They have dealt with various politically charged themes such as feminism, LGBT rights, democracy, freedom of speech and opposition to Vladimir Putin. The Pussy Riot trial after their ‘punk prayer’ and a jail sentence for their members presented an even more obscene performance of state power and became a symbol of the battle against Putin’s oppressive regime. Their political action through performance art is an example of how the power of the state and authoritarian policies can often produce some of the most provocative art practices.
My opinion :
although this group is very extreme it still shows the lengths they will go to, to show their work to the world. I believe that this work is more the extreme side to what I have been exploring however still shows the many sides to this arguement that is still very present.
Protest music
Protest music has been around for centuries: As long as people have been getting fed up with the status quo, they’ve been singing about it. And because music styles, human emotions, and social issues are so wide-ranging, protest songs are too.
These songs are usually written to be part of a movement for cultural or political change, and to galvanize that movement by drawing people together and inspiring them to take action or reflect.
Protest songs often skew liberal, and usually fall under two major categories: politically charged, topical songs taking issue with the government, or culturally focused songs aimed at injustices facing marginalized groups.
This broad categorization gives songwriters a lot of leeway to experiment — songs can be quiet and haunting, boisterous and biting, or simple and catchy. And even when no major political movement or cultural shift is happening, musicians can contribute to the canon with bold songs about smaller issues. WWW.vox.com/culture/2017/4/12/14462948/protest-music-history-trump-Beyoncé-Dylan-misty
Sound art
Sound is materially invisible but very visceral and emotive. It can define a space at the same time as it triggers a memory -Susan Philipsz
Protest music has been around for quite some time however recently it seems as though more 21st century more artists are realising this kind of music. However this music originally came from the early era of wars and slavery. Now artists such as Kendrick Lamar and lady gaga in recent years have also released music. I believe that artists still see this type of music to be relevant and use their high platform they have to their millions of fans to get across an important message that needs to be raised.
Gary Webb
Sound of the Blue Light
2002
Review on art :
The sound elements incorporated in some of Webb’s sculptures provide an empathetic point of entrance for the viewer, who is confronted with an unfamiliar mixture of forms and materials. Sound of the Blue Light actually evolved from its soundtrack, a live tape recording given to the artist by an American friend because of the singer’s coincidental dedication: ‘this one’s for Gary’. Emanating quietly from inside the asymmetrical marble cubicle, the song has a pathos which animates the sculpturagl form with a mood of bittersweet nostalgia.
My opinion :
when looking at this piece of work I was intrigued as not only does he play with sound but different shapes which I believe has effect on the sound and the way the audience views it. I believe that this sort of work could help me to develop the sensory tunnel I have been working on as it shows me the way you can manipulate sound and shape to change the point of view of the audience.
Sensory art
http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/art-for-the-senses
The Tate took on the idea and f adding more to their gallery but adding touch, taste, smell and sound to the art works. This inspired me as it allows the audience and view to look at the art work in a different light. It takes the quietness away and the norms of how you should behave in a gallery and completely changes that.
Installation art
Cornelia Parker
Artists view on work :
All kinds of connections and ideas can be traced through the arrangement of different objects. These familiar domestic items were transformed by the explosion. In their damaged state, they can be seen as symbols of transience and fragility.Shadows on the floor and on the wall are as much part of the work as the suspended objects. The real and the immaterial mingle and merge, turning the whole gallery space into a sculptural environment. I operate very often in these 'frozen moments' where there's been lots of action but this a sort of quiet corner of that.' Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View 1991 is composed of the ragged fragments of a garden shed, which was blown up by the British army for the artist Cornelia Parker
my my opinion on art/artist :
This work and artist I really find interesting as she talks about it in the moment and that every aspect around the art is art. She talks about the shadows being involved and how you include every part when you stand around it. The way she talks about her installation is why many times I chose to do a installation. I believe that installation capture the space and the moment around the art work it involves everything not just the work it’s almost as though you yourself become apart of the piece.
Animation and illustration art
William Kentridge
Felix in Exile
1994
Kentridge makes short animation films from large-scale drawings in charcoal and pastel on paper. Each drawing, which contains a single scene, is successively altered through erasing and redrawing and photographed in 16 or 35mm film at each stage of its evolution. Remnants of successive stages remain on the paper, and provide a metaphor for the layering of memory which is one of Kentridge's principal themes. The films in this series, titled Drawings for Projection (see Tate T07482-5 and T07480-81), are set in the devastated landscape south of Johannesburg where derelict mines and factories, mine dumps and slime dams have created a terrain of nostalgia and loss. Kentridge's repeated erasure and redrawing, which leave marks without completely transforming the image, together with the jerky movement of the animation, operate in parallel with his depiction of human processes, both physical and political, enacted on the landscape.
review on artist/art work :
Artist, William Kentridge: My name is William Kentridge. I'm an artist, and I live and work in Johannesburg, on the Southern edge of Africa.
The films that I make come out of the brutalized society that Apartheid has left in its wake. This film uses a lot of images, which are really forensic photographs of people who died months before South Africa's first Democratic election in 1994. There's a huge amount of violence just in the run-up to the election.
The film title "Felix in Exile" really came from the wordplay that exile and Felix are almost anagrams of each other.
The films start as drawing. Drawing is the heart of all the work. I start with an image that I feel I know, or want to work with. And hope that in the process of making that drawing, other ideas and other images will suggest themselves.
The woman in "Felix in Exile" started off as a very minor part in the film. And as I drew it, her role and importance grew and grew until she in fact became the heart of the narrative of the film. She uses a sextant and a theodolite. The sextant's really for fixing your position and the other is for actually mapping the terrain that you're standing on, and they're about fixing and drawing the landscape. Making a record of here we are now, in this place. The machine that turns and then that clicks is really an old-fashioned seismograph that is monitoring the rumbling and turning of the earth. And insofar as all the people who die in the film get absorbed into the earth, it's part of the history digesting its people, I suppose. And that has to stand in for kind of history in general in the film.
There's a question of people disappearing, of memory disappearing, and how do we hang on to things that we should feel so strongly, but which get weaker and weaker with time? I think that what artists say about the work, one has to take with a big pinch of salt, cause it's always kind of justification after the event.
my opinion :
when viewing this work you can see the raw content and context of what the artist is talking about. What really captured me was how he spoke about the work that the drawing was the heart of it and that all of his emotions and feelings base from there. This work inspired one of my outcomes as I was thinking about an illustration based animation which I believe really relates to this piece as they both rely on the drawings and underlying message that is being conveyed.
Protest in the news
These two articles only show the things that the government and media want you to see, the try yo avoid the real issue such as racism,sexism as they don’t want people to know that there is a real issue that is one of the main things I’m trying to get across in this project and theme. I want the more main and controversial issues to be brought up and talked about.