Power of visual communication through history
Mysticism/spiritualism:
The earliest discovered form of image making is the Lascaux Caves in France which are 20,000 years old. The interpretation of these is speculative however the prominent theory is that the images are trying to connect with a higher power!
Richard Long controversially created an aboriginal sand and mud exhibition named 'Red Earth Circle'which made the point that modern art is similar to aboriginal art, that within these two cultures there is something strongly uniting between them.
Mark Rothko has an exhibition in Tate Modern, London of his work. His intentions are for the viewer to get lost into the "abis" and experience a spiritual and emotional discovery through his sombre coloured painting. I have viewed these and was hooked however I did not have the popular reaction of crying... is it a real reaction or is it just the way it is expected to behave?
Authority of the buildings.
Do institutions create the power of the image?
Any Chapel, Monastery, Church, Cathedral requires the intention and travel of visiting. In these"temples of culture" people behave in a very respectful way which is the same as when in art galleries. Is this due to how overwhelming and powerful these institutions are?
Capitalist phenomena
The Mona Lisa in exhibited in Louvre, Paris behind bullet proof glass! It is an image which is pretty much worshiped however is it worshiped due to the craftsmanship of Leonardo da Vinci or has it just blown into a spectacle and something important to see?
Nowadays nothings seems to be experienced until it is digitally documented through photographs and then social media. This is definitely so with the amount of people who queue up to see the Mona Lisa.
Banksy pointed out that at the end of any gallery or museum you have to "exit through the gift shop" which illustrates the extent of our consumer society. There is so much collectable merchandise, does it degrade the authority of art? To be bringing the art to the house hold it whatever forms it may be, yes the art becomes more accessible and known but does it make the respect for the art itself less important?
Abstract expressionism
Jackson Pollocks work is very controversial however he does not merely fling paint around. He paints to jazz music and its almost as if his soul is exploding out and he is communicating his feelings visually but without rational decision making. Furthermore the CIA funded Pollock to make work, promoting the cultural expression and freedom allowed in the USA through the conflicts of the time-especially with Communism. Hereby the government understood and used this as a method of propaganda.
Roy Liechtenstein created an attack towards abstract expressionists through his 1965 'Red Paint' portraying that nothing is THAT meaningful and that this art form isn't emotive and moving.
Again Andy Warhol attacked the abstract expressionist art form but specifically Jackson Pollock. He replicated Pollocks visual expression through pissing over a page, therefore literally pissing on abstract expressionism.
Protest art
In the 20th Century Russia was the most progressive art movement. They were only allowed to paint in the form of Social Realism-there was a ban on modern art. Stalin believed that modern art was Capitalist and no-one actually understands it. Therefore Social Realism was the art for the people-not the art of oppression. To some extent it is patronising, stereotyping civilians intelligence and limiting their appreciation.
The Guerrilla Girls are a women rights group and in 1989 they very cleverly placed their posters and billboards on the walls of art galleries stating that 'Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum' stating that there are 5% of female artworks in galleries and 85% female nudes. This is objecting to the aesthetic that women are 'sex objects'. Here they are very clever using art as a weapon against art, therefore art as a vehicle of expression.
Symbols
Symbols have become an important power to communicate. Such a small image can represent so many things. Jean Jullian created a very simple image in response to the 2014 Paris attacks 'Peace for Paris'. This symbol is very evocative. It is very quickly drawn mark making and rough but that represents the surprise of the attacks.
Similarly the 'Enso' symbol has spiritual connection to it and the satisfaction that comes with creative a perfect circle which is meaningful in Japan.
Also the Anti Nuclear Power (CND) was created by Gerald Haltom but this symbol has also become to represent peace, freedom and love. Again it is a very basic symbol but originating from flag body language instructions.
Impact of Photographs
Photographs are extremely impacting because they capture a real moment in time.
An example of this is the Napalm photo taken in Vietnam during the USA/Vietnam war. Once this image got back to the American public, any support that was left for the war vanished. Protests kicked off and shortly after Vietnamization occurred.
Controversially Robert Haeberle in 1969 was the official war photographer during the My Lai Massacre. He stoped to take photographs of people just before they are about to die. This is very powerful because he captures their last moment and relays the horror of the war. He can't do anything to stop them dying but he can capture it so their position is recognised by a very large amount of people.
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