‘Most artists have critical and productive relationships with their culture’. The statement above can be considered through the art of Jean Michel Basquiat and Ai Wei Wei as they attempt to depict their own cultures. Both artists demonstrate this in a critical light in response to world events and issues through their art. This is reflected expressively through Jean Michel Basquiat’s “Per Capita” and Ai Wei Wei’s “A study in perspective”.
The presence of social commentary to provoke thought is present through Basquiat’s works especially through his famous artwork “Per Capita” in 1981. Productive and critical relationships are clearly evident through Basquiat’s use of suggestive dichotomies such as ‘wealth vs poverty’ and ‘Equality vs Inequality”
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The corporate logo within ‘Per Capita’ especially present on the boxing shorts of the black boxing figure presents the injustice within Basquiat’s world/context. Basquiat identifies this idea through presenting the manipulation of the major companies on the black figure. With this manipulation of African Americans, it reflects the greed of the major companies such as ‘Everlast’ to incorporate the injustice and inequality as a result of the actions of those companies towards black people in his context. Through conveying a darker side to his social context, Basquiat uses these symbols to outlines the adverse effects of personal/corporal greed at the expense of others suffering and wishes for the end of such actions acceptable by others at the …show more content…
The photograph presented in a grainy black and white signifies historical value of capturing an important moment to the artist providing an opinion based on the subject matter and also as evidence of this event. The photograph also becomes subversive and removes power from the significant location through the middle finger gesture providing a symbol of defiance. Ai Wei Wei’s defiance present through his art acts to depict a critical relationship to the Chinese government and provide a productive relationship to the rest of the world by bringing awareness to the world stage once again on the issue of violation of human
The book deals with several sociological issues. It focuses on poverty, as well as s...
The lenses of capitalism and communism influence how Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei’s art are seen as political critiques. The celebrity persona of Andy Warhol differs greatly from that of Ai Weiwei, however “Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei share an Iconoclastic spirit” (Delaney, M, 2016 p.27). More so their artistic practices both stem from Marcel Duchamp’s, ‘ready-mades’. This essay will consider the extents to which both artists’ can be considered activists. If there were a binary in place to understand the political effects and various ways activism is preformed, Weiwei and Warhol would undoubtedly be on opposite sides of the spectrum. Ai Weiwei would take on the overtly active and outspoken side, while Warhol’s passivity and projected indifference
His execution of imagery, diction, and dialogue throughout the text were very prominent regarding these three factors. The authors use of pathos, sickly diction, and humanistic dialogue were very important agents to bring this piece altogether and alive. Especially with the subject of poverty and how it effects not only Flavio’s family, but as the text says “Pockets of poverty in New York's Harlem, on Chicago's south side, in Puerto Rico's infamous El Fungito seemed pale by comparison. None of them had prepared me for this one in the favela o[ Catacumba.” Poverty effects a lot of people, and awareness needs to be brought up through messages like
In the Enseigne, art is also shown to serve a function that it has always fulfilled in every society founded on class differences. As a luxury commodity it is an index of social status. It marks the distinction between those who have the leisure and wealth to know about art and posses it, and those who do not. In Gersaint’s signboard, art is presented in a context where its social function is openly and self-consciously declared. In summary, Watteau reveals art to be a product of society, nevertheless he refashions past artistic traditions. Other than other contemporary painters however, his relationship to the past is not presented as a revolt, but rather like the appreciative, attentive commentary of a conversational partner.
Much of Ai Weiwei’s activism and artwork has been influenced by his experiences growing up. Ai Weiwei lived through a tumultuous time in Chinese history, with the Cultural Revolution, the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the Opening Up of China by Deng Xiaoping. Ai Weiwei’s father, Ai Qing was a famous poet during the Cultural Revolution. However, he was targeted in the Anti-Rightist campaig...
Power seems to reside outside or beyond the bounds of humanity. Rather than dipping into a world of universal forms or expressing a subjective interior, artists and their work are determined by the web of power relations in which they exist; literature is thus inescapably tethered to a continuum of socio-political concerns. Hegemony is the term most often used by Marxist critics to describe this continually renegotiat...
In conclusion we can see that even worlds apart artists can still find inspiration from unlikely subject matter. Watteau’s from the theater. Picasso’s from the street. Both artists not only showed their era in their art but also themselves and others. Even when it comes to entertainment it seems that not artist can escape the idea of shaping their own worlds into their piece of art. As well, both also showed not only the similarities but also differences of their era and how art was viewed.
Esteban’s case represents that of the oppressed, poor class that is constantly struggling to survive. This struggle for survival becomes so pressing that they start thinking how, if they got the chance, could make things better. They usually fight a lot, but finally, when they reach the position of helping, power becomes their obsession...
These cultural strictures come in a number of forms. First, the artist attacks intellectual conformity, choosing art over all other means of self-expression even though it is not widespread in his or her society. Though it is not explicitly stated - and is perhaps even subconscious - the artist chooses art over either academe or high society. The artist questions society's customs, making this choice explicit in their daily actions. The artist rejects ostentatious displays of wealth and the cultural emphasis on money, replacing it with a frugal simplicity more conducive to authentic experience. Finally, the artist calls into question the cultural construct most important to any understanding of human interaction - the binary conception of gender.
Art is said to be the expression of the soul; however, quite often, one is unable to truly know the artist by his or her works alone. So is the case of the postimpressionist painter Paul Gauguin. while the paintings of Paul Gauguin do not reveal all of his life, the paintings are very much so a reflection of Gauguin’s views on life.
Basquiat began to expand his work by attending art festivals and events in other states and countries than just New York. One of his favorite places to visit was Africa. “This expansive work of the 1980’s compresses together the relationship of Egypt to Africa, with reference to more local centers of African-American music within southern culture (www.theartstory.org). Instead of displaying his work on the streets of New York, he exhibited his artwork in various places throughout the world, especially at the Kestner-Gesellschaft Gallery in Hanover, Germany. “His work and style received critical acclaim for the fusion of words, symbols, stick figures, and animals.
...p from the world they live in, a world of separation and indicate themselves with their own realities. Art is handed over into society’s hands, as in one movement it is suggested - to fixate what is real, live like you create and create like you live; in other – abandon media’s proposed ideas and take the leadership of life in our own hands.
WRITE A COHERENT ESSAY IN WHICH YOU ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THE USE OF BLACK ICONIC IMAGES (AND OTHER ETHNIC IMAGES) TO SELL PRODUCTS AS THE ECONOMY OF MASS CONSUMPTION EXPANDED IN THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY. YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO INCLUDE IMAGES IN YOUR PAPER.
“The various disciplines that make up the arts and sciences are the cultural frames in terms of which attitudes are formed and lives conducted. The interpretive study of culture represents an attempt to come to terms with the diversity of the ways human beings construct their lives in the act of leading them.”
...t is Impressionism. We see that without Paris and its artists there would have been be no break from the traditions and regulations laid down by the L’École des Beaux-Arts and Le Salon. Without Paris the movement would not have gained the recognition that it did. It was aided by the industrial revolution, the Haussmann project, the growth of le café and the revenue from trade by Parisian art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel. We also note how Paris was highly influential in the subjects of impressionist paintings. We see how the camera and colour theory influenced their work as well as how the modern cityscape and social interactions consumed their creations. Even today Paris plays a role in Impressionism. Its museums house some of the greatest examples of period impressionist work on view, showing that nearly two centuries later Paris is still at the heart of Impressionism.