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"My work is a game,
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HEARTFELT DOLLS: A POLITICAL VOICE?
The root of the word 'political" means of, for or relating to the citizens.
When did it become hijacked to mean 'governmental'?
When did we, the people, lose our voice, our power?
Or have we simply abdicated our right to influence our society,
to protect those who dwell in the margins,
to conserve our precious resources,
to acknowledge and re-instate the inherent dignity of every human being?
Have we become so focused on 'self' that we have forgotten the common good?
When did we stop building on the work of those who have gone before,
who shaped and created the world we live in?
As artists and artisans and craftspeople,
what responsibility do we have to speak up about
the injustices we see around us?
This isn't a modern issue.
Pablo Picasso commented on atrocities in 'Guernica'.
JMW Turner protested against slavery in 'The Slave Ship'.
Artists need to make a stand.
We need to accept that art is the mirror that reflects the world
and the hammer that shapes it.
Victor Hugo said,
"Music reflects that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."
We can substitute 'music' with any art form.
We can let our art shout from the rooftops and rattle the sabre.
Our art must cause a visceral reaction in those who encounter it.
It must provoke and stimulate and invigorate people to action.
When did it become hijacked to mean 'governmental'?
When did we, the people, lose our voice, our power?
Or have we simply abdicated our right to influence our society,
to protect those who dwell in the margins,
to conserve our precious resources,
to acknowledge and re-instate the inherent dignity of every human being?
Have we become so focused on 'self' that we have forgotten the common good?
When did we stop building on the work of those who have gone before,
who shaped and created the world we live in?
As artists and artisans and craftspeople,
what responsibility do we have to speak up about
the injustices we see around us?
This isn't a modern issue.
Pablo Picasso commented on atrocities in 'Guernica'.
JMW Turner protested against slavery in 'The Slave Ship'.
Artists need to make a stand.
We need to accept that art is the mirror that reflects the world
and the hammer that shapes it.
Victor Hugo said,
"Music reflects that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."
We can substitute 'music' with any art form.
We can let our art shout from the rooftops and rattle the sabre.
Our art must cause a visceral reaction in those who encounter it.
It must provoke and stimulate and invigorate people to action.
Ben Sollee, American cellist and political activist writes,
"The idea of making 'art for art's sake' makes no sense to me.
Each area of my life,
all the roles I play,
influence the others."
I am a woman,
who can become educated to tertiary level,
work as I choose,
buy a house,
run a company or a country ...
because of the influence of others.
Their art, their actions, their creativity, influence me.
My art is influenced by the other roles in my life:
unemployed, depressed, bullied, textile lover, recycling advocate, spiritual seeker, cancer activist.
In turn, these areas are influenced by my art:
pushing boundaries and understandings;
demanding action and reaction.
A Chinese leader, Mao Zedong, said,
"There is no such thing as art for art's sake,
art that stands above classes,
art that is detached from or independent of politics."
"The idea of making 'art for art's sake' makes no sense to me.
Each area of my life,
all the roles I play,
influence the others."
I am a woman,
who can become educated to tertiary level,
work as I choose,
buy a house,
run a company or a country ...
because of the influence of others.
Their art, their actions, their creativity, influence me.
My art is influenced by the other roles in my life:
unemployed, depressed, bullied, textile lover, recycling advocate, spiritual seeker, cancer activist.
In turn, these areas are influenced by my art:
pushing boundaries and understandings;
demanding action and reaction.
A Chinese leader, Mao Zedong, said,
"There is no such thing as art for art's sake,
art that stands above classes,
art that is detached from or independent of politics."
"Art is useful,"
says Cuban installation artist, Tania Bruguera.
"Through art we can build a world that works differently."
I agree.
Art draws attention to issues,
invites conversation and debate,
affirms and condemns,
prepares and destroys.
In my series, "It Takes A Village", I sought to challenge:
the sometimes impenetrable rights of nuclear family or extended whanau;
intervention of the state versus the right of the individual;
demanding responsibility as opposed to individual freedom.
I sought to champion difference and acceptance,
collaboration and co-operation, and
take the blinkers off narrow, limiting models of family.
says Cuban installation artist, Tania Bruguera.
"Through art we can build a world that works differently."
I agree.
Art draws attention to issues,
invites conversation and debate,
affirms and condemns,
prepares and destroys.
In my series, "It Takes A Village", I sought to challenge:
the sometimes impenetrable rights of nuclear family or extended whanau;
intervention of the state versus the right of the individual;
demanding responsibility as opposed to individual freedom.
I sought to champion difference and acceptance,
collaboration and co-operation, and
take the blinkers off narrow, limiting models of family.
192 knitted breast prosthetics were useful on several levels.
They challenged conventional wisdom about breast replacement after a mastectomy.
They demanded we consider how women create their own self-image.
They asked the question, "Am I more than my body parts?"
En masse, as a labyrinth installation,
these same breasts prepared people for loss;
invited compassion and grew awareness;
asked us to walk in another's shoes.
They challenged conventional wisdom about breast replacement after a mastectomy.
They demanded we consider how women create their own self-image.
They asked the question, "Am I more than my body parts?"
En masse, as a labyrinth installation,
these same breasts prepared people for loss;
invited compassion and grew awareness;
asked us to walk in another's shoes.
"Every artistic expression is either influenced by or adds to politics."
Dario Fo, Italian actor, Nobel Peace prize winner, 1940
Probably both, I think
The Unemployment Blues expresses the destructiveness of long-term unemployment.
Governments, strategy makers, employers, those tasked with creating jobs,
and those who are charged with matching jobs with job seekers,
unequivocally shift the blame for unemployment onto the unemployed.
They manipulate statistics;
fail to tell the whole story;
deny prejudices against women, the educated and uneducated alike, the mature;
fail to inform that there are fewer jobs than job seekers; and
try to put a positive spin on increasing job losses.
Recently I read,
"...the only barriers to not getting the job of your dreams
is confidence and the right attitude."
Talk about shifting the blame onto the job seeker:(
Dario Fo, Italian actor, Nobel Peace prize winner, 1940
Probably both, I think
The Unemployment Blues expresses the destructiveness of long-term unemployment.
Governments, strategy makers, employers, those tasked with creating jobs,
and those who are charged with matching jobs with job seekers,
unequivocally shift the blame for unemployment onto the unemployed.
They manipulate statistics;
fail to tell the whole story;
deny prejudices against women, the educated and uneducated alike, the mature;
fail to inform that there are fewer jobs than job seekers; and
try to put a positive spin on increasing job losses.
Recently I read,
"...the only barriers to not getting the job of your dreams
is confidence and the right attitude."
Talk about shifting the blame onto the job seeker:(
Workplace bullying is ingrained in our workplaces;
institutionalised;
destructive to bully, victim, and business;
and VERY, VERY hard to prove.
It is enshrined in legislation and tradition,
which gives all power to employers.
It is dogmatised and ritualised in institutional church,
which strip women and children of basic human rights.
This work of art was strongly influenced by politics.
Hopefully, it will add to the body of work which condemns,
and eradicates bullying from our families, schools and work places.
institutionalised;
destructive to bully, victim, and business;
and VERY, VERY hard to prove.
It is enshrined in legislation and tradition,
which gives all power to employers.
It is dogmatised and ritualised in institutional church,
which strip women and children of basic human rights.
This work of art was strongly influenced by politics.
Hopefully, it will add to the body of work which condemns,
and eradicates bullying from our families, schools and work places.
Seth Godin, American author, says,
"An artist is someone who uses
bravery, insight, creativity and boldness,
to challenge the status quo..
And an artist takes it personally."
The Bag Lady is a piece which challenges the perniciousness of a social policy,
at a global, national or local level,
which causes homelessness,
denies its presence in our communities,
and fails to ease the burdens of the homeless.
There is a conscious disempowerment
of those who seek to alleviate the pain of those without
shelter, food and employment.
"An artist is someone who uses
bravery, insight, creativity and boldness,
to challenge the status quo..
And an artist takes it personally."
The Bag Lady is a piece which challenges the perniciousness of a social policy,
at a global, national or local level,
which causes homelessness,
denies its presence in our communities,
and fails to ease the burdens of the homeless.
There is a conscious disempowerment
of those who seek to alleviate the pain of those without
shelter, food and employment.
"Man and Woman Godde Made Them"
challenges societal and individual prejudices about sexuality.
How do we treat transgender, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and heterosexual people?
How do we react to challenges to our religious beliefs?
challenges societal and individual prejudices about sexuality.
How do we treat transgender, lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and heterosexual people?
How do we react to challenges to our religious beliefs?
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist and activist.
He maintains that everything is art and everything is politics.
"If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow,
what is 'art' for?"
Children are severely neglected throughout the world.
Even in my small city,
children are abused and killed;
go to school hungry;
are bullied and maltreated by those in authority;
sleep in squalid conditions;
join gangs;
and truant school.
We must nurture and treasure our children.
We must fight for their basic rights.
He maintains that everything is art and everything is politics.
"If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow,
what is 'art' for?"
Children are severely neglected throughout the world.
Even in my small city,
children are abused and killed;
go to school hungry;
are bullied and maltreated by those in authority;
sleep in squalid conditions;
join gangs;
and truant school.
We must nurture and treasure our children.
We must fight for their basic rights.
Viewers relate immediately to Emotions.
We relate to the signs made by the hands.
Straight away we recollect instances where we have felt this way.
It encourages discussion of appropriate and inappropriate body language.
It brings out the censor in each of us - but who developed this censor?
I agree with Naum Gabo, Russian sculptor and pioneer of kinetic art, when he says,
"The force of art lies in its immediate influence on human psychology,
and its active contagiousness."
Feathers Over Hamurana
hints at our dependence and interdependence on the natural world,
and our apparent determination to destroy it.
Can we live without trees?
We are invited to look into our lives and ask:
how does my life style encourage the destruction of forests world wide?
how am I complicit in the destruction of rain forests?
who am I to ignore indigenous ecological beliefs?
what can I do?
We relate to the signs made by the hands.
Straight away we recollect instances where we have felt this way.
It encourages discussion of appropriate and inappropriate body language.
It brings out the censor in each of us - but who developed this censor?
I agree with Naum Gabo, Russian sculptor and pioneer of kinetic art, when he says,
"The force of art lies in its immediate influence on human psychology,
and its active contagiousness."
Feathers Over Hamurana
hints at our dependence and interdependence on the natural world,
and our apparent determination to destroy it.
Can we live without trees?
We are invited to look into our lives and ask:
how does my life style encourage the destruction of forests world wide?
how am I complicit in the destruction of rain forests?
who am I to ignore indigenous ecological beliefs?
what can I do?
"Though some may think there should be a separation
between art/music and politics,
it should be reinforced that art can be
a form of non-violent protest."
Eddie Vedder, singer/song writer
What a powerful suggestion!
Art that conveys the insidiousness of domestic violence.
Art that confronts and condemns and challenges.
Art that asks us to review the shackles that bind us.
Let's put such art on our airwaves and internet bands.
Let's grace walls and subways with this non-violent protest.
Let's fill our galleries and empty shop fronts with art that demands we SEE.
between art/music and politics,
it should be reinforced that art can be
a form of non-violent protest."
Eddie Vedder, singer/song writer
What a powerful suggestion!
Art that conveys the insidiousness of domestic violence.
Art that confronts and condemns and challenges.
Art that asks us to review the shackles that bind us.
Let's put such art on our airwaves and internet bands.
Let's grace walls and subways with this non-violent protest.
Let's fill our galleries and empty shop fronts with art that demands we SEE.
Let's hold fast to the words of Victor Pinchuk, a Ukranian businessman and philanthropist,
"Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics."
and
Edgar Degas when he says,
"Art is not what you see,
but what you make others see."
Let's continue to make the art that makes our hearts sing.
Let's continue to create that which challenges and provokes.
Let's continue to make art that liberates ideas.
Let's continue to create that which speaks to people's pain and sorrow.
Let's continue to take things personally.
Let's continue to challenge the status quo.
Let's continue to to create a different world; a just world.
Let's continue to make others see.
"Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics."
and
Edgar Degas when he says,
"Art is not what you see,
but what you make others see."
Let's continue to make the art that makes our hearts sing.
Let's continue to create that which challenges and provokes.
Let's continue to make art that liberates ideas.
Let's continue to create that which speaks to people's pain and sorrow.
Let's continue to take things personally.
Let's continue to challenge the status quo.
Let's continue to to create a different world; a just world.
Let's continue to make others see.
CREATING AWARENESS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF BREAST CANCER IN OUR COMMUNITY
Labyrinth pattern by Lisa Gidlow Moriarty
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TEDX TALKS ABOUT ART AND POLITICS AND CHANGE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FCihq5n-hE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PAy1zBtTbw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YS3gGpnPe8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVnH8ou3Kd4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o6kbRBFLdI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLg8LMK_Ct4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytRjLZ48glw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HjpZoYMw_E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCFWesHw1mI |