Controversial Art and Censorship
Although social justice art is not a topic exclusive to the 20th and 21st centuries, the distribution of information regarding controversial art with gender, race, sexual, and/or environmental themes has increased with the proliferation of media. Choose an example of a social justice work of art from the 20th or 21st centuries from any discipline of the humanities (music, literature, sculpture, film, television, etc.). Then, address the following:
Identify the work and the medium.
Based on your example, to what extent does this work of art make a social contribution?
What aesthetic value does the work have? How does it reflect the human condition? How does it relate to your life?
Has this work ever been censored? If so, explain the circumstances.
Are governments ever justified in censoring art? Why or why not?
Examine some of the influences of this work of art. What was the public reaction to this work? Does it effectively portray its message?
Argue whether or not this work should be considered art. Explain why using terms learned in this course.
Include an accompanying statement from the artist(s) and a statement from a critic to support your points.
Sample Solution
Art has massive power to move people to social change. By using their art as an innovative medium for awareness, artists become advocates, challenging the biggest issues of our time. Public art, then, capitalizes on the power of socially-aware works, reaching people in their everyday environments and confronting them with social injustice that is otherwise easily ignored. From sculptures addressing systematic racism to murals celebrating Indigenous communities, public art is making a real-world social impact that deserves to the celebrated. An example of Ethnicities. Created for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, this mural depicts five Indigenous people from five countries – a concept based on the five Olympic rings. The bold, geometric mural, created by Brazilian graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra – is meant to show how “we are all connected,” according to the artist.
