15/2/2016 0 Comments To Engage or Not to EngageEssay on Social Engagement in Art with regards to my PracticeFrom early paintings such as Gustav Courbet’s ‘Stonebreakers’ 1849, to interactive works of Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) or the modern day graffiti of Banksy; creatives have been using art to give unappreciated sectors of society a public voice and sense of worth for a substantial share of art history. A theme that’s exponential growth can be proved simply by overviewing last year’s Venice Biennale (2015) which contributed it’s most socially engaged collection yet. Ascertaining that this genre in its many forms not only holds an important place in the current art world, but can be expected to continue expanding in the way that we view and value art. Many reasons can be connected to this increased production such as freedom of speech and equality or increased awareness of world-wide issues. Socially engaged art can do many things including fighting for essential political or social debates. However, it is this hope as seen in Courbet’s painting, caused by publicised support and instilled on an individual level that interests me the most.
“It is a kind of teasing rebellion; it is not a violent revolution.” –Grayson Perry More specifically my work currently centres on text art: Intelligent hand-lettering that spreads the positive opinions of the general public in attractive and symbolic ways. Visualising the opinions of the community to give them heightened worth on a public platform is a common method of social art. Similar can be seen in the ‘Lelystad Handboek’ a project hosted by De Barak, ‘an artist initiative exploring the geographical and city planning elements of Lelystad’. In this project the local government was persuaded to entitle each pupil of a local primary school as ‘temporary adviser’ for a period of six weeks throughout which they would meet and question those working for the government and write or draw their advice that eventually compiled to become a full handbook professionally designed by studio Roosje Klap. Like asking the children what the important things in life are, my current project ‘Half-full of Wonder’ involves asking the public what they believe are the wonders of the world and creating a clear and attractive visual of their quotes to publicise this positivity to others.
“Den Hartog Jager finds– artists that put forward questions evoked via aesthetic appealing works which eventually lead to reflection and contemplation, giving the spectator a new perceptive on reality, more interesting than artists that take a clear moral, political or social stand in their work.” This comment may be an oversimplified version of the true standing of socially engaged art. However, as previously mentioned, I aim to make approachable art. To quote artist Mike Kelley, “With my work I not only want to reach the most educated viewer, but the most lazy viewer as well” and I achieve this by maintaining an aesthetic outcome that can invite people to view and discuss my concept despite being shy of contributing directly with quotes. An artist who combines directly gathered quotes with his own creative outcome is Steve Rosenfield. “The “What I Be Project” is a social experiment turned into, what is now, a global movement about honesty and empowerment--I started this project in hopes to open up the lines of communication, and to help everyone accept diversity with an open mind & heart and empower those who feel they suffer for something they may see as a flaw.” - www.whatibeproject.com
Research References
Essay on Courbet’s ‘Stonebreaker’s’ https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/realism/a/courbet-the-stonebreakers Joseph Beuys Artist profile – Tate http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/joseph-beuys-747 Banksy Website http://banksy.co.uk/in.asp Bristol Street Art Map Record https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zcCjnw22e8cw.kkW_eEprGAM8&hl=en Venice Biennale Review – The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/10/venice-biennale-2015-review-56th-sarah-lucas-xu-bing-chiharu-shiota Grayson Perry Exhibition Page –Turner Contemporary Gallery https://www.turnercontemporary.org/exhibitions/grayson-perry Grayson Perry Artwork Page https://www.artsy.net/artwork/grayson-perry-comfort-blanket Grayson Perry Artist Profile on Saatchi Website http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/grayson_perry.htm Jantine Wijnja Website – ‘Lelystad Handboek’ project page http://www.jantinewijnja.nl/works/lelystad-handboek/ DesignArbeid Website (Kolenkit caravan project) http://designarbeid.nl/contact/ What I be - Project website (Steve Rosenfield) http://www.whatibeproject.com/pages/project-info/ Interview with Ana Stumpf on ‘Re.Cover’ http://www.urbancottageindustries.com/blog/ana-strumpf-interview-recover/ The History of Beauty - Essay
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