‘Since Plotinus’, writes Joseph Tanke (2019, p. 486), ‘Western art has been consecrated to beauty, and beautiful art has been understood as the achievement of good form’. But alongside this interest in beauty and form, art has been committed to politics and perspectives, equity and rights. Consequently, and particularly since the start of the modern era, artists frequently initiate or participate in ‘difficult conversations’.
Syrian Journey: Choose your own escape route
The Syrian conflict has torn the country apart, leaving thousands dead and driving millions to flee their homes. Many seek refuge in neighboring countries but others pay traffickers to take them to Europe - risking death, capture and deportation.
A popular theme throughout media is the relationship between technology and art. While art is often bolstered and disseminated through technology, discussions arise of how technology both positively and negatively affects content. Caroline Sinders’ exhibition Within the Terms and Conditions explores the way content has been spread online.
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th, 1989, the cement segments that remain have stood as something more symbolic than just a wall. With installations in every continent, except for Antarctica, the East Side Gallery is the most authentic existing part of the Berlin Wall.
By David Gonzalez
Leslie Thomas wants to shock you. She wants to anger you. And above all, she wants you to do something.
She’s not talking about run-of-the-mill, “Hey buddy, watch your step” angry or TMZ sleaze shock. She’s talking about the great humanitarian and social crises of our time, like in Darfur, Afghanistan or Myanmar. And yes, she’s talking to you.
Over 1100 black “body bags” fanned out over a section of grass on the National Mall in Washington D.C. on March 24 in a plea for sanity. Each represented roughly 150 individuals who have died from gun violence since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Feb. 14, 2018 which left 17 people dead and 17 more injured – most of the victims in their teens.
As Denmark moves to deter refugees from crossing its borders, a new theater production dramatizing their plight seeks to change how many in the country perceive their new neighbors. Uropa: An Asylum-Seeker’s Ballet, [is] a dance piece performed in part by refugees portraying themselves.
Born in Nigeria in 1975, Péju Alatise, is a multimedia artist focusing on the experience of women and girls, particularly in her native country but with resonance across the world.
In a dark nod to International Women's Day, artist aleXsandro Palombo has turned to the world of cartoon characters to shed light on the horrors of domestic violence. His series, "No Violence Against Women," transforms iconic animated women into victims of abuse, resulting in a familiar yet ultimately disturbing collection of illustrations.
The installation consists on providing postcards to gallery visitors that they can use to mail their Elected Officials to advocate for gun control. The front of the postcard shows the photograph “Mommy, what is this?” (2018), which is the hand of Ileana's son, Lucca, holding a toy bullet while making the peace sign. The back of the postcard contains a short letter with the phrase “No more children should die from gun violence.
Spanish organization the ANAR Foundation (Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk) releases a campaign that takes advantage of the process of lenticular printing to send an offer of help to abused children without alerting their abusers, even if they’re walking together.
Lenticular printing is a process that allows for different photos to be seen depending on the angle the image is viewed from.
Aaron Hughes, an artist-activist and Iraq War veteran walked into the middle of a busy intersection in Champaign, Il. where he was then going to college, and propped up a signboard that read:
“I am an Iraq War Veteran.
I am guilty. I am alone.
I am drawing for peace.”
About us
"Path to Peace" - is a joint mosaic creation, by thousands of people, towards hope, love, and happiness among all people. The creation is placed upon the border wall that divides the Gaza Strip and Israel, adjacent to the homes of Moshav Netiv HaAsara.
The creation is seen from both sides of the wall, spreads on the gray security wall and completely changes the place's atmosphere.
These thirteen life-like sculptures resemble familiar politicians, admirals, generals, bishops, and dictators. Portrayed as frail seniors, they sit dozing off and drooling in electric wheelchairs. They roll on a slow collision course, crashing into each other like bumper cars.
An erroneous tip called into law enforcement authorities in 2002 subjected Hasan Elahi to an intensive investigation by the FBI and after undergoing months of interrogations, he was finally cleared of suspicions. After this harrowing experience, Elahi conceived “Tracking Transience” and opened just about every aspect of his life to the public.
Last night I attended an Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault
Speak Out, where people across campus from the LGBT community and
coalitions of color came together in one sacred space to share their
stories with strangers. For many, including me, it was the first time we
spoke out publicly. It was empowering. It was liberating. Rarely do I
let myself shed tears over my repressed memories, yet I cried over every
Photo taken on Oct. 15, 2020 shows a "comfort women" statue in Berlin, capital of Germany. The statue was built to commemorate the more than 200,000 girls and women from 14 countries and regions, so-called "comfort women," who were sexually enslaved by the Japanese military during World War II. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
The video DON’T COVER UP, STEP UP is a public service announcement raising the issue of gender-based violence. In the video, a vlogger teaches her fans how to cover up bruises with makeup after she has been beaten by her husband. There is a twist in the story as the husband enters the scene at the end of the video.
The prints exhibited June 2013 at Firestorm in Asheville NC, will comprise two separate bodies of work; Chelsea Ragan’s combination screen print / woodblock print / painting / drawings graphically detail police shootings of young black males from across the country, and Adam Void’s hand-painted screen prints state the facts of important national news stories that have been swept under the rug of mainstream corporate media.
Media artist Joseph DeLappe announces the completion of “The Drone Project: A Participatory Memorial” on the campus of Fresno State University in California.
Video of Mary Perry Stone's social protest art created in the 1960s . Civil Rights, and the Vietnam War were her subjects. Mary never stopped being an activist and a few of her later works are also in the video.
The Peace Piece was conceived by artist Adelle Lutz as a reaction to the declaration of the American war with Iraq in the Spring of 2003. Lutz combined her talents as a costume designer and artist to create a project that would remind the Americna public that the majority of war victims suffering in Iraq were women and children.
Michelle Obama tweeted her own portrait holding a sign reading #BringBackOurGirls and soon countless celebrities echoed this meme online. Throughout a week, this trending hashtag had been turned into a social-media supernova. The #BringBackOurGirls campaign spurred by online sharing brought the outrage against Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping to the global stage.