Artwork
The reason that I chose this piece is because of how strongly I feel about this topic as it is something that women are dealing with today. I am a pro-choice girl, and I feel that women need to do whatever they feel is going to be best for their situations and their health. This is a conversation that I have every now and again with a few of my friends or even with my boyfriend. Things happen in life that are far beyond our control and every body is different. Some women need to be able to have the option of abortion so they don't lose their lives in the process of trying to create another. In the article it states that Paula Rego's paintings highlighted the fear, the pain, and the danger of illegal abortions and this series caused people to change their minds and be in favor of abortions. Women are going to do what they need to do in order to survive and with abortion bans going into effect these women are going to seek under the table treatment which becomes more dangerous and many more women could lose their lives by trying to find the people who will perform this surgery for them in an underground/unsanitary environment.
Why Artistic Activism
"Slipping under the radar, artistic activism is not identified as "politics" to authorities while still being able to communicate a social message to the public."
I never thought of artistic activism to be political either, but because of social media and lived memories, the artwork can spread like wildfire and gain traction and attention. I never thought of it as political because politics aren't necessarily in the forefront of my mind. I always thought that it could be a good message or an inspiring one that could cause others to create more renditions of the piece to continue spreading awareness.
"Free to experiment, we may identify and solve problems we didn't set out to solve, end-running the commonplace framing of politics to open up new possibilities for interpretation and reaction. Artistic activism, as an art form, is forever doing things and creating reactions that are unintended..."
I think this is something that is even dealt with when it comes to normal, everyday life. There are problems that require solutions, but some problems can have multiple solutions. With human error- and the way things can be taken out of context or perceived by others, it can cause an outrage or cause a new problem that also needs a solution. There are things we don't expect to be a part of or things we don't expect to solve and whether these problems are solved or not it creates a whole new ball game with new attitudes. There are things that we don't intend on happening or doing, but when it happens there is a shift and we have to do our best to figure out what to do when the shift happens.
An Introduction to Activist Art
"When the public is looking away from suffering that could be prevented or does not want to be confronted with it, activist art often creates a dialogue and forces people to think about these problems."
I think this is another thing that people face on an average day. There are problems in our lives that we don't wish to acknowledge or that we wish to avoid as best as we can. It becomes very difficult when we have to acknowledge what is going on and that can be a very hard pill to swallow. When issues are in front of your face, the best thing to do is speak up about it and think about it and challenge these problems head on rather than ignore it. We are in a society where minding your own business and looking away from the big problems at hand is very standard. It is important for peoples voices to be heard and to have these issues and problems brought out into the light instead of staying in the shadows.
"With the help of these horses, they use different crowd control techniques that they learned at the police academy such as making people move in certain directions or separating people into groups. The Cuban artist said that it was important to her that the audience was unaware of the fact that the policemen's actions were part of the work of art."
I think that this is a really interesting concept, especially for the fact of the horses and policemen being in an exhibition space and being a part of the performance. I think that could cause confusion and possibly be intimidating for the audience especially since they are trying to control the crowd. I know that it would make me wonder why policemen are there and why they are using crowd control techniques.
The 25 Most Influential Works of American Protest Art Since World War II
"Robert Mapplethorpe "Self Portrait"
But he was also an uncompromising formalist, so there might have been another reason he was drawn to skulls: Their voluptuous polished surfaces and shadowy recesses provide an unparalleled purity. Mapplethorpe was determined to find beauty in even the grotesque and macabre."
I feel like I can relate to this as I am a person who looks for beauty in many things, including in death. I am an all things horror fan and absolutely love the spookiness around things. I have gone to cemeteries and learned the history of some of the people that now permanently reside within them. There is an inner peace and a calm that I feel. To know that there are others who feel similar to the way I feel is comforting.
"Yoko Ono's Cut Piece-
The charged atmosphere of the live performance is apparent even in videos: The crowd at one 1965 performance was timid at first...but their participation soon becomes more audacious and predatory."
I genuinely have so much that I can say about this piece but will stick to the basics. I don't know why I wasn't expecting to see this piece on this list but when I did I knew I had to respond to it. I had the privilege of watching this piece in my time-based art class last semester with Professor Jack. When she introduced this piece I wasn't sure what to expect but as we watched it I grew more and more uncomfortable but also incredibly angry. So many people, including myself, have dealt with situations that could get out of hand very quickly. This video to me describes that so perfectly and I feel this quote sums it up very well of just how quickly things can turn. My blood was boiling and I had a hard time watching the entire piece as I started to fear for her safety when the audience started escalating in their actions with cutting her clothes. I thought it was going to become violent and I feared that when she had no more articles of clothing to cut, they were going to harm her body.
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