Expressionist Art
The roll of Art in politics
Is Art political? What roll has art in politics ? Are artists just journalist of life? Or are we duty bound to challenge what we are told and what we see?
From the first time a man spat pigment over his hand onto a cave wall Art has been recording and shaping mans evolution & documenting our changing history. The oldest surviving works of art are hand-prints, produced by pressure of blown pigment a dramatic token of direct impress on nature. Later in the Upper Palaeolithic era, about 30,000 years ago, commenced the rather sudden appearance of the cave art associated with names like Altamira and Lascaux. As the Palaeolithic Age gave way to the Neolithic arrival of agriculture and civilization – production, private property, written language, government and religion – culture could be seen more fully as spiritual decline via division of labour, though global specialization and a mechanistic technology did not prevail until the late Iron Age.
The vivid representation of late hunter-gatherer art was replaced by a formalistic, geometric style, reducing pictures of animals and humans to symbolic shapes. Warfare in the form of combat scenes makes its first appearance in art.
The primary function of art is to objectify feeling, by which one’s own motivations and identity are transformed into symbol and metaphor. All art, as symbolization, is rooted in the creation of substitutes, surrogates for something else; by its very nature therefore, it is falsification. Under the guise of “enriching the quality of human experience,” we accept vicarious, symbolic descriptions of how we should feel, trained to need such public images of sentiment that ritual art and myth provide for our psychic security.
Art should be considered by some as a religious activity in fact for hundreds of years it was preserve of the Church.However Art was banned by the Jewist faith. Hegel determined that art and religion also have “this in common, namely, having entirely universal matters as content.” This feature of generality, of meaning without concrete reference, serves to introduce the notion that ambiguity is a distinctive sign of art.
It is not surprising then that art has such a powerful influence in modern politics its not surprising that, governments ,empires ,religions & dictators have seized on it potential and have exploited Art, from the Ancient Romans to Nazi Germany
There are many examples of the manipulation as well as a fear of Art its potential for protest, polarization & an expression of Freedom. And state suppression of Art in all its forms. Under the Dictatorship of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, art became an important tool, not just as propaganda, but as a way of creating a new German people. For Hitler art was linked to health, hard work, family life and racial purity. However Art forms that did not support these ideas as happened throughout history were viewed as ‘degenerate’. This was especially true of the Expressionist and Surrealist movements. In 1937 German museums and art galleries were stripped of any works of art that were seen as ‘degenerate’. 650 of them were shown at a special exhibition in Munich called Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art).
Many of the artists shown at this exhibition are now regarded as some of the greatest artists of the last century. They included Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky
At the same time the House of German Art was opened in Munich. This held an annual show of works of art that met with the approval of the Nazi authorities.
“Ulster troubles”
History tells us censorship in a free society must be challenged And most worrying for this author is the fact that in modern Britain their are forces at work who have attempted to ban books, and have banned words, suppressing the freedom of speech and expression and continue to do so in the name of “political correctness is it our “(Entartete Kunst) .Something only expected in communist states or dictatorships. Not Great Britain!
Political Cartoons & Satire
Political Satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly forbidden.
Political Cartoons styles, technique or viewpoints may differ, editorial cartoonists draw attention to important social and political issues. Political cartoons are an effective way for artists to express their thoughts about the events in a certain period in a comical manner.
All have recognised the power and influence Art can make on a people; the naive might protest Arts neutrality from politics. But Art and artists have a duty to challenge institutions and ideas at every opportunity.
At Patriot Art we have always believed that it’s our responsibility & duty to do exactly that by producing work that carries a message both political and spiritual in defence of our Christian and British culture. And to recruit and promote other British Nationalistic Artists to continue the quest.
Political Cartoons styles, technique or viewpoints may differ, editorial cartoonists draw attention to important social and political issues. Political cartoons are an effective way for artists to express their thoughts about the events in a certain period in a comical manner.
All have recognised the power and influence Art can make on a people; the naive might protest Arts neutrality from politics. But Art and artists have a duty to challenge institutions and ideas at every opportunity.
At Patriot Art we have always believed that it’s our responsibility & duty to do exactly that by producing work that carries a message both political and spiritual in defence of our Christian and British culture. And to recruit and promote other British Nationalistic Artists to continue the quest.
About the Author
Expressionist Artists in Vienna : Egon Schiele in Vienna
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Old Masters Night Light – The Scream $14.99 This is a very fun night light, especially around Halloween. The painting is by famous painter Edward Munch and was painted in 1893. The colors on this night light are amazing and really jump out in a darkened room. This light makes a very unique gift and perfect as a stocking stuffer, office gift, or grab bag gift. This photographic image is printed in the USA using high quality inks. **PLEASE NO… |
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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Restored Kino Edition) $2.99 … |
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