About Modern Protest
Art
Modern protest artists concern themselves with provoke and engage the attention of the masses. Using a variety of visual and performance media, they share insights regarding politics, social issues and personal experiences. The content of their art is typically shocking or subversive, intending to garner an emotional response. Although diverse in their chosen medium and their messages, protest artists share the common goal of creating works to be agents of change.
History of
While protest art has been around as long as people have engaged in self-expression, the modern protest art movement was borne of the political events of the 1960s. Demonstrations, marches, gatherings and art happenings utilized signs, banners, performance art and other media to deliver messages to the people without the barriers of curators, galleries or the world of commerce. Many protest artists consider the streets their galleries.
Evolution
From the realm of marches, protest art has become a podium for all manner of concerns, be they political or personal. Artist Carrie Mae Weems addresses race and identity in her disturbing photographs and mixed-media pieces. The internationally famous Banksy relies on stencils to spread his satirical messages about pop culture and social issues. Dr. Goddess (also known as Kim Hill) employs spoken word and poetry to weave tales of addiction and social malaise that resonate with theater audiences.
Geography
Modern protest art transcends language, countries and even physical place, thanks to virtual galleries. However, urban centers are typically prime locales for protest art. Anywhere that people gather, such as public squares or busy streets, and places near transit lines, are more likely to have telephone poles plastered with posters, buildings decorated with purposeful graffiti, and contemporary murals depicting people questioning the status quo. Areas rife with dissent and uprisings provide the ideal canvas for a public artist desiring to share a message of social relevance.
Significance
Art historians and social scientists pose the question: Is protest art reflective of a current societal ill, or can it also be an agent of change? History provides some examples of both possibilities. Pablo Picasso's "Guernica", specifically created to explore the horrors of the 1937 Nazi bombing of Guernica, Spain, continues to be a damning critique of the atrocities of war. Richard Serra's poster of a hooded Abu Ghraib prisoner, entitled "Stop Bush", was made in multiples and originally offered as a free Internet download. Photographer and self-proclaimed experimental geographer Trevor Paglen attempts to unveil issues concerning government secrecy in his photographs of officially non-existent spy satellites.
Misconceptions
One of the key misconceptions about protest artists is that they must be schooled artists. Indeed, the outsider and visionary artist movements, made famous in "Raw Vision" magazine, stress the power of the self-taught creatives. Unhindered by the rules and traditions of the art establishment, outsider artists frequently emphasize the potential of one person's story and experience. The artistic depiction of an individual's voice can reverberate to the masses and, eventually, provoke change.
