Every human usually has a functioning brain. Every human has a soul (if you believe in that). Every human has his/her own distinct personality. Every human lives in different environments and conditions. Every human, thus, is molded from every experience in his/her current lifetime into the current person that they are and with that is the person’s opinions. When a person has his/her own opinion then they would stand by it, listen to other people’s reasons, or ignore what everyone else has to say. When an idea is brought into the public which strikes their inner core then those people will react differently to that idea. Sometimes it is more than one idea that bombards the public. Or sometimes it’s the fact that they can’t find the idea in the artist’s work. Either way the artist’s work is in the open to interpretation.
Now when the artist becomes involved in politics it somehow strikes a deep nerve. Why? Well, maybe because politics govern our lives in a subtle manner? I guess that’s why people are rooted into politics in one way or another. When something has to deal with the way we live, it might have a deeper connection with the people and they people would want to stand for their ideals in order to have a better lifestyle, like religion. (I still question wonder about the idea of the separation of church and state because it seems to be irrelevant to most people even though it was essential. I don’t know what happened – people happened.) Anyway, when an artist puts his/her opinion pertaining to politics, it can become widespread. Take Poster Boy for example. He cuts up posters in MTA subways and creates political statements when he re-pastes different poster pieces together to create a new image. People become aware when artists expose political ideas in the open and sparks conversations. As we said in one of our earlier classes, every art piece is open to criticism because it becomes exposed.
Then politics affects everyone because it concerns the government. Every person has had to deal with the government in one way or another. Each person had his/her own experiences and memories. Michael Moore cuts deep into the political and emotional wound of people affect by 9/11 when he created his documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11. That was a politically and emotionally charged movie because it happened to document a terrorist attack on American soil and the political events that happened prior and will happen after the disaster. This obviously would open people’s eyes or make them angry – depends on their perspective of the government and the event.
Because the artists dip their feet into the field of politics, people may question why they do that. It’s fine to question actions – actually, it can be good. Anyway, there will be people who say that art is to express the artists feelings or to paint “pretty” things or to create pieces that are different and inspiring. There are people who like portraits of the past, but those pieces were politically charged. Why? There are hidden messages within the paintings. The artists embed their views and opinions onto their artworks without the notice of their subjects. That was the great art of finesse centuries ago. Even going toward the current time, a lot of art was political. People don’t always see it. Not everything can be seen with our sight. A person can look and not see. It happens. Also, people may feel that they relate to the piece or they reject. As stated before, people will react differently to the pieces: negatively, neutrally, or positively. This can easily spark conversations with other people or arguments. Every person is opinionated and will stand by their ideas unless they are open or persuaded. But there are a lot of stubborn people who can be ignorant. I know a good amount of people. Sometimes I can be ignorant myself until the other person is able to convince me. Afterwards, I would ask myself about the artwork.
Always the artist. They have different visions and ideas. Their expression should be free without limit or else it isn’t art. Having freedom of expression does have its limits because we can’t yell, “Bomb!” in a crowded area for the heck of it or for a political purpose because it can hurt or even kill people. Because they have the ability to get their opinions out, maybe that’s the reason why it’s controversial when it’s political. People themselves aren’t able to get their own opinions out as well as they do and they can strongly agree or disagree with the message.
I guess it’s the freedom the artist has with the artwork and expression that becomes controversial. Politics becomes embedded in it.
