Open Culture: “I’m tired of politics, I just want to talk about my art,” I sometimes hear artists—and musicians, actors, writers, etc.—say. And I sometimes see their fans say, “you should shut up about politics and just talk about your art.” Given the current onslaught of political news, commentary, scandal, and alarm, these are both understandable sentiments. But anyone who thinks that art and politics once occupied separate spheres harbors a historically naïve belief.
5 comments:
It’s so cool that some of these 20th century journals are being published online! I recognized a few of the cover illustrations from an art history class I took last semester. It’s true that the arts have a history of taking on political subjects. However, that talk is not always helpful. The early futurists were extremely political, expressing Italian nationalism and pro-war beliefs in their art, journals, and manifestos. But they also gained attention through inflammatory words, like declaring in the first futurist manifesto that they were against moralism, feminism, and libraries, if I remember correctly. Marinetti wrote the first manifesto with language that implied there was already a futurist movement as a (successful) marketing tool. So the author of this article was correct in saying that these artists expressed “radical sentiments,” but I think they are implying an impact on politics that wasn’t there. Marinetti did envision a hypermodern futurist world, touching everything from politics to vest designs, but his grand claims didn’t mean there was actually that much momentum. Futurism, Dadaism, and surrealism were all really interesting movements and artists should talk about politics, but the argument in this article is based on first paragraph of Wikipedia deep research about the movements.
This is so exciting! As an avid lover of history, it was disappointing to not being able to take classes like the history of fashion until later in my college career, but this is such a great tool for learning more about art history. What's so great about these magazines being published is the fact that they're a primary source, which I find it best when it comes to learning anything about history considering the information is coming directly from the source, and then it leaves nothing up to interpretation or inference and observation. I find that new things like these are a great way of integrating history and art with modern technology, two things who's coexistence is very often debated over. I also think that tools like this are extremely beneficial for the spreading of information and knowledge to people and places that may not have the opportunity to seek out on their own, or who may not posses the resources to gain this knowledge otherwise.
This is a really intriguing look into the arts culture of the early 20th century. These magazines really offered a safe space for these artists to display and talk about their work. Not only did these serve as places to display art but i feel these played a crucial role in helping artists communicate their works to each other. The really served as a way to keep those like minded individuals connected with each other. Interestingly enough i would compare this to today's social media. Artists utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as a method of communicating both their artistic and political statements. When people are a part of a minority like anarchists and other politically charged artists they seek out those who share their beliefs because together they become stronger. I feel these magazines may have been essential for many artists to discover these topics and genres, and i feel that really served an important propose.
YES YES YES! Thank you, Open Culture, for explaining what has been the biggest frustration of my existence for the past year or so. It constantly amazes me how many people assume art and politics are separate entities, and that it is only recently that artists have begun to foray into political commentary. I’m even more shocked by the number of people HERE, people at CMU and in the School of Drama, who think art and politics should stay separate. But the whole point of art, the reason for its continued existence, it that it is a social commentary. Even if you try to make your art stay non-political, that itself is a political statement. This archive the article talks about is only one of many examples where art had an important impact on history. If I have time, I will definitely look into this archive, especially since avant-gaurde is such an interesting era in art.
The evolution of art is a direct reflection of the time that art was created, so asking an artist to stop talking about politics can in many cases be asking them to stop fueling their work. Any source of inspiration, passion, or emotion cannot be stifled. These art magazines from history really show this process well. We can see and almost feel what the world felt like for those artists who created these works. This is such a great resource for artistic inspiration. So much of history's events and artwork can be seen reflected in our modern world, so it's essential that theatre artists have varied historical points of reference. A lot of the elements, styles, and tactics used in this art from the 20th century can be used within our contemporary works. It's this fusion of old and new that I believe creates valuable and inventive pieces of art.
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