Art and Politics: A Small History of Art for Social Change Since 1945

by Claudia Mesch

Contemporary art is increasingly concerned with swaying the opinions of its viewer. To do so, the art employs various strategies to convey a political message. This book provides readers with the tools to decode and appreciate political art, a crucial and understudied direction in post-war art.

From the postwar works of Pablo Picasso and Alexander Deineka to the Border Film Project and web-based works of Beatriz da Costa, Art and a Small History of Art for Social Change since 1945 considers how artists visual or otherwise have engaged with major political and grassroots movements, particularly after 1960.

With its broad definition of the political, this book features chapters on post colonialism, feminism, the anti-war movement, environmentalism, gay rights and anti-globalization. It charts how individual artworks reverberated with enormous ideological shifts. While emphasizing the West, Art and Politics takes global developments into account as well - looking at art production practiced by postcolonial African, Latin American and Middle Eastern artists. Its case-study approach to the subject provides the reader with an overview of a most complex subject. This book will also challenge its readers to consider often devalued and marginalized political artworks as properly part of the history of modern and contemporary art.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

How often do you see Icelandic and Angolan art referenced, never mind both in the same book?...This gives us an idea of the scope and depth of this work from Post-colonial art throughout Africa to Cold War propaganda right up to the Occupy Wall Street movement, we get a nice overview without lapsing into the turgid, self-indulgence, that so many academics fall prey to.

There were many interesting areas covered in here, the fear of US imperialism and expansionism, and its cultural infiltration and intrusion in Post War France, was well-done, this was the era when the Americans were filtering funds to the French to support their military in Vietnam before the Americans steamed in and got mired in the region.

Unfortunately like any book that reproduces images of colourful art in black white, some impact and conviction is lost with some of the images, but nevertheless Mesch does a good job of giving exposure to alternative art scenes which are traditionally overlooked by the Western world and I learned about so many other conceptual artists that I had never come across before.

Some of the highlights include Edward Kienholz’s “The Portable War Memorial” (as shown on the cover), and Martha Rosler’s “Red Stripe Kitchen” which manages to be both shocking and eerie (especially when viewed in colour). Lennon and Ono’s Bagism and then there was the Land art done by the likes of Joseph Beuys’ 7000 oaks project in Germany in 1982, which bridged the gap between environmentalism and the Situationists.

Other memorable examples from the Anti-Globalization movement like Thomas Hirschhorn’s “World Airport” and Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ “Touch Sanitation Performance” work really well, but perhaps my favourite was the stunt pulled by The Yes Men on Dow Chemicals. Back in 2004 on the 20th anniversary of Bhopal disaster which killed 3,787, they appeared on BBC World, triggering the banner “BREAKING NEWS DOW ACCEPTS FULL RESPONSIBILITY”. Dow were then forced into the humiliating admission that it was a hoax, which brought the spotlight on them and their shameful conduct during the aftermath of Bhopal and the news also forced a 4.2% drop in their share price.

So overall I think that Mesch has done a really good job, and I got a lot out of this book, particularly from the sections on Land Art and Anti-Globalization and I think this would impress or please most people with an interest in political art, there are many refreshing and provocative jumping off points to make this really worthwhile.

[Chidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book as a teenager and it really helped radicalise me. This book takes a holistic view of art work and the author isn’t afraid to offer their own critiques. Great way to learn more about modern political movements as well as look at how art is a tool for social change. I wish the book went into more detail at times but the author covers so much breath that it’s not a real problem.