EL SOULEIMANEYA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

ANGLAIS MONDE CONTEMPORAIN

CLASSES DE TERMINALES A& B

Axe 2 /

Art and Power

B. Denouncing injustices

An artist can choose to create art aimed at overtly criticizing some aspects of society or the
institutions that they feel are behaving in a way that is hurtful or potentially dangerous. To do so,
artists can use protest songs, social novels, protest art or movies.

1. Protest songs

When thinking about engaged or politically committed art, one cannot help but think about the very
powerful medium of music and more specifically, the art of protest songs. While the genre itself is not
new, it became widely popular in the 20th Century, especially during the 1960s in the USA.

From Bob Dylan to Joan Baez, in the 1960s in the USA were filled with folk artists expressing their
disapproval of the Vietnam War and the conformist nature of post- World War II American society.

Some of those songs openly criticized the Vietnam War and the politicians that waged it, some called for
peace or respect for the lives being wasted in a war that made no sense. The 1960’s were an incredibly
rich time for protest music and artists found new ways to criticize society through powerful lyrics.

While art of protest music has evolved over time and means of distribution, there is no denying that, to
this day singers and musicians still play a role in voicing political concerns through their music and lyrics.

2. Social novels

From the 19th Century on, a new literary genre emerged that aimed at criticizing society through a work of
fiction in which a social issue such as gender, race, or class prejudice is dramatized through its effect on
the characters of a novel. By using this genre, the artists manage to make the personal plight of one or
several characters a more universal reflection on a social problem that the artist wants to denounce.

The work of Charles Dickens is social, the writer describes the poverty, crime, and terrible living
conditions of workers. In Oliver Twist 91839), we follow the story of an orphan named Oliver, raised in
terrible poverty, hungry, mistreated and used and abused by everyone he meets. The reader cannot help,
but feel compassion for the young character and anger at a society that allows him to be mistreated in
such a callous way.
More recently, the young author Angie Thomas has tackled the theme of police brutality and the Black
Lives Matter movement through her novel, The Hate U Give published in 2017.

Illustration

The Hate U Give

The novel tells the story of a young black girl who witnesses the shooting of one of her oldest friends by a
police officer. This tragedy sets in motion a series of events that will force to take a side and decide what
she wants to fight for. By using a realistic tone, describing events that are dramatized yet still ring true
and by naming all the recent victims of police brutality at the end of her novel, that author manages to
offer her opinion on a burning social issue in a way that will encourage people to think and maybe
question their own implicit biases and previously held opinions.

3. Protest art

Visual media are a powerful way for artists to express their revolt, anger or desire for social change. It is
called protest art.

We have already mentioned the revolution that pop art was in the artistic landscape, making consumerism
and the desire for fame a subject of artistic creation, but many other works of art have acted as a way to
question or criticize society.

B. Subversive forms of art

While it can be the artists’ expressed intent to resist, question, criticize or protest through their creations
and their content or meaning, some works of art are also subversive in their very essence. They don’t
necessarily aim at protesting, but their very existence and format can still be thought- provoking or
rebellious.

1. Street Art

As a result of its very nature, street art has been a game changer for the “industry” of art. Art was
traditionally something to be created and shared through traditional means of distribution: auctions, sales,
museums, exhibitions, but street art, on the contrary is directly made for public viewing since it is created
in the public space where everyone can have access to it for free: on building s, on streets, on train, etc.

Originally, street art was a means for the artists to express themselves, to voice or embody their angst or
revolt against a system. It has evolved quite a bit and is now recognized as a legitimate form of art, but it
remains associated with protest or guerilla art because its very nature goes against established
boundaries.

2. New forms of art

New forms of art are always seen as subversive. New movements, new dance style, new genre of music
have always been met with resistance even when their aim wasn’t overtly political. New artistic styles and
forms of expression appear threatening or subversive.
This was the case when Jazz music first appeared and people associated it with a lifestyle of excess. This
was again the case when Rock and Roll hit the airwaves.