Socio-political commentary

[william]

Thanks peihatt and BAReam. I will check it out, just got back from vacation and I'm still catching up.....

Feel like I missed alot.
Be good all....william

[pehiatt]

I have just received an invitation to exhibit in an important local show. I will exhibit 2 pieces. If you wonder why I paint a lot of the stuff I do check out this quote from the prospectus. This is not uncommon including web galleries.

"Artwork must be appropriate for family viewing, free of political, religious or sexual messages and content disparaging of third parties. The [gallery] reserves the right to deny any submission to be put on public display for any reason…"

I also got a comment from a visitor to my booth at a local sale that my small painting "Disciples of Pan" was a little bit to risque for today's taste.

We walk a fine line.

There are galleries in the area that are much more tolerant but few.

[Erika Takacs]

Wow, that's surprising. Is this an American thing? I don't see it here in Canada.

[pehiatt]

Its very much an American thing. Despite what anyone might say We are still bound by strong puritan ethics. Most Americans have ultra conservative taste in art. They are especially offended by nudes. I live in one of the only 2 counties in Maryland that went McCain. 57 to 49 percent.

Very few people visit galleries anyway. Turnout for shows is very small and I have been told by many that they have no interest whatever in the visual arts.


Makes things interesting.....

[Erika Takacs]

That explains it. I saw a picutre of a museum somewhere, I think North Carolina it was, where you could see replicas of famous sculptures, mostly nudes, all the genitalia had to be covered to satisfy public taste. I found it revolting. The problem is this kind of prudishness is false.

[upfromsumdirt]

hey now... great discussion!

i think socio-politico artwork was mostly a tool for the various
agents of propaganda; that in the past, it was always the artist
his or herself that was political and that those ideals seldom
appeared in their artistic creations. SoPo artwork seems to be
mostly a mainstream movement that reached its height during
the civil rights era and now exists either as editorial cartooning
or graffiti art.

i think artists resist creating such pieces these days because
SoPo art seems to have a short shelf life built around the cause
its struggling for. once those conditions change what is an artist
to do with those pieces? if its message isnt universal on some level
then i think the fear is that financial values will decrease even if
it maintains some level of social value.

[BAReam]

"Artwork must be appropriate for family viewing, free of political, religious or sexual messages and content disparaging of third parties. The [gallery] reserves the right to deny any submission to be put on public display for any reason…"

.

Hi Pehiatt... congrats!

I personally have not encountered this type of criteria but I'm sure it is out there. I tend to approach galleries that tend more toward the abstract genre and therefore are probably much more liberal in their content, even though not overtly stated as such.

Good luck with your submissions!

[BAReam]

That explains it. I saw a picutre of a museum somewhere, I think North Carolina it was, where you could see replicas of famous sculptures, mostly nudes, all the genitalia had to be covered to satisfy public taste. I found it revolting. The problem is this kind of prudishness is false.

Hi Ericka.... "this kind of prudishness is false" absolutely right... just look at current film and TV which is so popular. Frankly, I thick the public in general would like to suppress and hide their voyeuristic tendencies. A sad state of affairs I think and quite schizophrenic by definition.

Be well...
uce

[BAReam]

hey now... great discussion!

i think socio-politico artwork was mostly a tool for the various
agents of propaganda; that in the past, it was always the artist
his or herself that was political and that those ideals seldom
appeared in their artistic creations. SoPo artwork seems to be
mostly a mainstream movement that reached its height during
the civil rights era and now exists either as editorial cartooning
or graffiti art.

i think artists resist creating such pieces these days because
SoPo art seems to have a short shelf life built around the cause
its struggling for. once those conditions change what is an artist
to do with those pieces? if its message isnt universal on some level
then i think the fear is that financial values will decrease even if
it maintains some level of social value.

Agendas... absolutely!! Political-religious and social. However; I might have to disagree somewhat with the limitations you've placed on the PREVALENCE of this type of commentary. For a few examples... Goya, Piccaso, Brancuzzi, Du Champ, Dali and so on. Of course these are historical references but address somewhat the "shelf life" of SoPo art. Current art trends and viewpoints are almost always better understood in hindsight