Aaron Gach, Center for Tactical Magic, “Ice Cream Man.” Image via www.tacticalmagic.org.
Read a few AFC thoughts on activist art over at Art21 today. Here’s a teaser from the post.
True story: I used to hate activist art. “Why so shrill?” I thought. “Can't we just talk about this rather than producing a bunch of bad art?” I don't always think I was wrong; a fair amount of unsuccessful activist projects tell a story we already know in a predictable fashion, but there was a time when I let my discomfort with the tone dictate how I evaluated the work. Once I allowed myself to engage and even become an active participant in these works, I became much more moved by the genre.
Certainly the work I've done as a blogger has forced me to engage in ways I wouldn't have considered otherwise; the web in and of itself almost demands action. I mention this because the way I came to appreciate work in this vein influences how I respond to art. Does the piece effectively communicate the problem? Does it incite action and demand engagement? Will it present alternative ways of thinking? If the answer to all these questions is yes, I'm interested. As such, I'm providing a write up of three activist artists worth watching.
To read the full piece, click here.
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