Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Protest Art is Liberty's Ally

It's almost impossible to establish a history for protest art because many variations can be found throughout the world since the dawn of time.

Many cases of protest art can be found in the early 1900s, like Picasso's Guernica in 1937. The photo above show's a recently discovered Picasso piece titled, "The Eye of the Serpent" which mocked Hitler.

The thing about protest art is that it's an important tool to form consciousness, create social networks, and its cost-effective.

It's the common man's way of communicating powerful messages.

Protest art is not limited to signs, banners, posters, paintings, and other printed materials. It can also include performance art, site-specific installations, graffiti, and the media. 

In addition, protest art can be ongoing or community oriented. For example, the Read Opera the Charter of the Forest. The site is updated every two weeks and has a following of activists. It rejects the manipulative practices of art-for-profit and takes as a given that culture is a right, not a privilege.

I remember the street protests in the 60s and 70s over the nation's involvement with Vietnam.

I was in the Army and went to Vietnam and Cambodia. I was not gung ho. I hated it there and when I got out of the Army in 1971, I joined other ex-Vietnam vets in protesting that senseless war.

If you're interested here's a link to the largest collection (over 85 thousand posters) of post-World War social posters in the United States and the second largest in the world.

As it stands, protest art is liberty's ally.

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