Ever since the Paleolithic time period, art has always played an important and diverse role as it has evolved from cave paintings to the contemporary art that adorns walls in museums. Regretfully, the general community tends to overlook the impact of art even though it has consistently been involved in highlighting the social issues of the time through beautiful moving imagery. Throughout history, art has been a multi-faceted fundamental instrument used to highlight injustice and through its visual nature, artists like Kathe Kollwitz, are able to make a resounding call to all people from all classes to advocate for positive change. Art and its purpose have evolved greatly from the cave paintings and fertility Venus figurines to the varied …show more content…
Having experienced the atrocity of war firsthand after losing her son in the Great War, Kollwitz incorporated many figures of the working class to exemplify the pain and devastation wrought on them by war and used them to promote social change. Kathe Kollwitz artwork can be considered as expressionist art, as the Expressionism art movement emerged in Germany and strove to establish art as coming from within the artists and convey their feelings about the chaos in the world instead of just depicting the visual world. Kathe Kollwitz’s Survivors exemplifies her mission to convey the degradation of war through beautifully haunting imagery of the working class and civilian life. In Survivors, the main subject is the mother figure at the center of the print holding a couple of children in her arms. She is surrounded by other survivors of the war that consist of gaunt figures of blind men and old men at each side of her shoulders. Kollwitz’s use of a black and white color scheme helps accentuate the pain and fear felt at the time that is portrayed through the children’s frightened eyes and darkness the envelops the woman’s eyes and the negative space around them. Kollwitz covers the men’s eyes with blindfolds to convey the blindness of the leaders and blind ignorance of the young men who went to war unaware of what they were fighting for. One of the main focal points of the print is the woman’s face in the center. Her face is haunting as the strong use of black is used to accentuate her gauntness and give her a dead and bony look. The complete darkness that covers her eyes conveys the utter hopelessness that many, like Kollwitz, felt during this time. Another focal point is the woman’s enlarged hands. The woman’s large hands envelops three children which can possibly show how Kollwitz is trying to convey how no matter the horror
The idea that art can be a service to people- most importantly a service to poor and disenfranchised people is one that may be disputed by some. However, Elizabeth Catlett and other artists at the taller de Graffica Popular have proved that art could be made to service the poor. Catlett in particular is someone who has always used her art to advocate for the poor and fight injustices. While her activism and political views were very impactful, they were also very controversial. Catlett`s art and activism influenced African American and Latin American art by changing the narratives of Black and Brown working class women. In their books titled Gumbo Ya Ya, The Art of Elizabeth Catlett, African American Art: The Long Struggle, and Elizabeth Catlett: Works on Paper authors Leslie King-Hammond, Samella S. Lewis, Crystal Britton, Elizabeth Catlett, and Jeanne Zeidler speak of the work of Catlett. In a paper titled -----, ---- also speaks of the work of Elizabeth Catlett and her legacy as an activist.
Historically artist have been rebellious with their work, testing the boundaries of what the viewer can feel and think. Titus Kaphar is one of those rebels. As an artist, Kaphar visually test the boundaries of how history has proven challenges to some and become beneficial to others. In his piece being discussed “The Cost of Removal”, Kaphar challenges the view to feel and think in depth about our leader and the injustices that came with them. Barack Obama once said “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek”. Change only occurs when find our voice that's why the purpose of this essay is then to prove that learning from the past
On September 26, our class had the opportunity to visit the Stockton Art Gallery to observe Manfred Bockelmann’s exhibit, Drawing Against Oblivion. This exhibit is composed of charcoal drawings depicting some of the youngest Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust. These unsettling black and white portraits, ultimately serve a goal of remembering the lives that were lost and acknowledging the lack of basic humanity and dignity these children were denied of. This paper strives to analyze Bockelmann’s stylistic choices and how they affect viewers, and connect Holocaust victim, Sidonia Adlersburg (a foster child), to current foster care issues in America.
The works of art from the Archaic Period, Classical Period, and Hellenic Period developed physically and mentally, and the study of their aesthetic differences from period to period allow for a decided contrast and comparability. This interpretation has had a profound effect on the art world and that continues even in today’s world. The importance of Greek sculptures is evident in the storytelling of the gods, the people, and the culture. We use these sculptures as a tool to go back into the past of the Greek people, letting us admire how far mankind has truly come, whether it is in art or intelligence. Generation after generation has been and will continue to be able to see for themselves the society, culture and uniqueness of these periods through the wonderful sculptures that came out of ancient
Before talking about her artwork it is best to know where Kollwitz’s fascination with death originated. The infant mortality rate was much higher back then so it was not uncommon for women to give birth to five or six kids and only three of them live past the age of three. Kollwitz’s mother was no exception. Mrs. Schmidt gave birth to five children and only three survived. Kollwitz distinctly remembers her younger brother, Benjamin’s, death and its impact on her mother. The death of her baby brother caused a distance between her and her mother. Death was always walking beside her in her thoughts from then on.
middle of paper ... ... Grosz is using this art to convey a feeling, and to bring us into World War I, not by showing what it actually looked like, but rather how it felt to be there. Modern art serves to immerse us more thoroughly in a scene by touching on more than just our sight. Artists such as Grosz, and Duchamp try to get us to feel, instead of just see. It seems that this concept has come about largely as a way to regain identity after shedding the concepts of the Enlightenment.
There seems to be the overarching idea of whether an artist should focus on creating their own work, or if they should use their work to aid their surrounding community in some way. At times, using art for social activism can cause controversy. It may be that the artist could never depict perfect activism in their art, and that it may never please every viewer. However, it may not be that all art as activism should be avoided. If there were none of these works, critical conversations may have never begun. In fact, it might be good that this style of art does not please everyone. If this is the case, then those who view the art are more likely to talk about the subject at hand instead of going about their day and ignoring the problem at
Shirin Neshat, Faith Ringgold, and Zhang Hongtu are three of the many artists who capture the humanities of various societies and cultures in the world through their artwork. Those three artists had excellent pieces of art that all symbolized something different but connected them to the world and how society is portrayed: Neshat with her artwork called, “Rebellious Silence,” Ringgold with hers called, “God Bless America, 1964,” and finally, Hongtu’s work, “Bird’s Nest.” The three artworks all display a message of some sort to society, symbols, and even history behind it.
Upper Paleolithic art can be put into two major categories; figurative arts such as cave painting that clearly depict images of animals or animals; and non-figurative, arts which consist of symbols and shapes. The paintings were a form of magic designed to ensure successful kill during hunting. Symbols like images and unique symbolic patterns are also common in this age that might have been trademarked to represent different ethnic groups Venus figurines have been described as a representation of gods, pornographic imagery, apotropaic, amulets used for sympathetic magic. Also, a variety of lower quality art and figurine has also been identified that shows a wide range of skills and ages among the artist of the Upper Paleolithic age. The main themes in the paintings and other artifacts such as powerful beasts, dangerous hunting scenes, and over-sexual representation women are also expected in the fantasies of an adolescent. Such images associated with upper Paleolithic age have been discovered in Bradshaw archeological site in
Art is used as a form of expression, conveying opinions and views about political and societal states through satirical symbolism. Through their work, artists use explicit and subversive messages to make comment, targeting the anonymous masses and the privileged elite1, ‘opening our eyes’ to a more abstract or visual representation of a societal issue. These representations often have an equal or opposite reaction from an audience, establishing awareness and creating controversy for the issue. Such artworks include, Patricia Piccinini’s (1965) The Young Family (2002), Fiona Foley’s (1964) Black Velvet (1996) and Gordon Bennett’s (1955-2014), Jackson Pollock and his other (2001).
Furthermore, the art piece is only in shades of black and white, which really intensifies the sadness and darkness. The expressions on the faces, the quality of the lines, the texture, and the absence of color capture the deep emotion of the figures in such a compelling way. During the period in which the piece was created, it was popular to paint in a socialistic style. Kollwitz accurately did this in all of her pieces by depicting social movements, peasant uprisings, the impact of war, and the life of the worker. Her style can be categorized even further by saying that it was a form of German expressionism. This
The Lascaux Cave in Dordogne, France is important to scientists because it explains the civilization’s culture and history in painting and the people’s artistic talents and use of paints. Further, the quality and bright paintings show animals, bison, deer, bears [Fig.1-4] and large mammoth animals. The cave and the paintings are significant because there are generations of paintings amongst one another. For instance [Fig.5] shows a horse that was painted over of the bull and then some smaller horses that were painted over that. Therefore, the paintings were done over a long period of time with many different painters and represents different time periods; archeologists saw that the people lived in a cave beside this one, so this cave could have been more spiritual and if there was many animals painted in the cave the people would believe that there would be enough food for them in the forests (Bolman, n.d.) It also supports animism, which is the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls (Animism, 2014). The paintings reflect the development...
Evolution is a process that has taken billions of years, and will continue for billions more.It takes hundreds of generations for an evolutionary change to occur, or an impending extinction to become evident. Humans find it difficult to see themselves evolving due to their longer life span, and fewer generations over time compared to other species. It has become a common misconception that humans are finished evolving, and that they have reached the best and most efficient beings possible. The same misconception can be carried over to art. The main questions being posed in this paper are: can evolution be viewed as a creative process like the art world? Can there be anything new in both art and evolution?
Witherbee, A. (2013). Counterpoint: Education, the Masses, and Art. Points Of View: Arts Funding, 6. Retrieved April 19,2014 , from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=12421040&site=pov-live
Art has a more powerful impact in the pursuit of social justice because it conveys emotions that no book, article, or study could ever convey. Using art in social work formulates a deeper understanding of the issue at hand, provides a stronger method of communication amongst those involved, and creates a longer-lasting, more powerful impact.