'One Term Is As Fatuous As Another'

As we shake of the political and economic remnants of the Victorian Era, we must doubly shake off its social mores. How much art was lost because of an artist’s fear of retribution from a society not willing to diverge from what was commonly accepted and understood to be good? How many others beside Oscar Wilde were unjustly imprisoned for peacefully seeking their own truths? But that is in the past now. As we are all gathered here today at Polly’s I can see the hunger for freedom in all of you. I the artistic potential of our country is brimming – and we, as Greenwich Village are but a microcosm of the entire nation! We will give the Victorian ideals their proper burial and move onward, free to explore and cultivate our

Having posted this on World-Post, which is a news and blog website created through a partnership between Liberal news aggregator Huffington Post and a nonpartisan powerhouse, the Berggruen Institute on Governance, allows for this essay to not get exposed to the pro STEM or anti-arts parties. Sparking up the discussion of reintroducing the arts back into everyday society’s curriculum, you need to direct this essay towards both the audience, and the individuals who have the power to make this change. If Ma bring up a primarily pro-art focused paper, and only shares this piece of writing with mostly fellow supports of the arts, Ma misses the “equilibrium” that he spoke so highly about. If we can’t have both sides of the spectrum be able to analyze and discuss the ideas presented in this paper, then it’s going to be close to impossible to enact any change within society to reintroduce more of the arts back into

Between the end of the First World War and Hitler's seizure of power a cultural explosion occurred in Paris that altered our notions of art and reality and shaped our way of viewing the world ever since. In the 1920's, Paris became the undisputed international capital of pleasure and was regarded as the cultural and artistic center of Europe with a reputation for staging one of its most glamorous eras, as well as some of the most spectacular revues in the world. Imagine for a moment, that it really is 1920's Paris. You are leisurely strolling through the gas lit promenades. World War I is over and the exuberance of jazz musicians, symbolist painters, and American expatriates

In the contemplation of art, or rather the conceptually intangible definition it currently possess, it is imperative to be mindful that “art” has been utilized as a promotional device, ceremonial item, aesthetically purposed article or perhaps none of these or all. It is because of this vague term that Carolyn Dean, in her text, “The Trouble with (The Term) Art”, makes a case for the consequences of applying the term “art” in societies that lacked such a notion which also accounts for the Western-centric lens the field intrinsically utilizes when viewing non-Western art. The claim is deftly supported by the utilization of expert accounts in the subject, alternative perspectives for what is considered the current norm, and self-examining questions,

The entire interview was intended to a specific audience – artists. Thus, ethos was a vital technique to establish the speakers’ credibility in their commentary about the art industry. Both Wiley and M.I.A are recognized artists in their particular fields. At the onset, their credibility as artists and thus, critics of the industry are well established throughout the interview. By narrating a wealth of experience in working with different artists from different countries, their thesis about the death of art in New York is strengthened. By reputation, both artists are multi-awarded. Wiley is a Yale educated portrait painter whose work has been cited for its unique fusion-style rendering of African-American men in heroic poses. He is recipient of the Artist of the Year Award from

One hundred and fifty years ago, Paris was the center of art culture in France. Back then, every artist had one goal: get into the Salon, which was a gallery for all the greatest art within France. There was one problem, the Salon forced artists to conform to what the Salon believed was real art (i.e. young men at war and fair maidens under trees). The artists were forced to become the little fish in the big pond. It got to the point where some artists got sick of conforming and decided to create there own Salon with paintings that probably wouldn’t have made it into the Salon.

We first listened to a guest speaker, Professor Peter Kwong from Hunter College, give a memorial speech on former LaGuardia Community College professor Bob Fitch. Professor Fitch wasn't really involved with the arts, but, like anti-war artists, Fitch was concerned with challenging the establishment, in order to remedy and prevent any injustices. Unfortunately, unlike much of the art community, academia often does not readily welcome radical ideas, and, as Professor Kwong explained, Fitch ended up alienating many people, which caused his ideas to not really gain much traction.

He started his article, “How African-American Artists Fought to Diversify Museums”, with an overview of the history of the issue. The article stated the importance of the initial attempts to mollify black artists and how the attempts sparked more outrage by displaying the blatant disproportion of diversity. It concluded that all of these events built up and provoked a movement to include more art as seen to this day. It focuses on how museums are still guilty of conforming to social and political views, as seen by the types of art displayed and who created them. The article then turns into an interview with author, Susan Cahan, to discuss political influences in museums throughout history and what effect it has on the art world today concerning black artists. Unlike the New York Times article, this story went into excessive detail of how the movement to include more African American artists started and the progress that has been achieved throughout the years. It granted the reader a more thorough understanding about the movement and why it has been (and still is) a serious issue today. The comparisons it brings up from the very first attempt to include black artists in an exhibit—“Harlem on My Mind”—to the exhibits today document the remarkable progress made as well as the excessive amount of protesting that accompanied it. Both articles were great sources of information for people looking into the history of black artists exhibition, but the critical difference between the two was the tone: the first article viewing the situation to be long-overdue but hopeful, while the second article spoke of the situation from the perspective of an author who felt the museums should be ashamed of their lack of effort throughout the

In examinations of women’s art and activism, researchers claim that the results of these activist groups' performances are almost always challenging the cultural assumptions about genders. In “Code Pink, Raging Grannies, and the Missile Dick Chicks: Feminist Performance Activism in the Contemporary Anti-War Movement,” Rachel V. Kutz-Flamebaum argues that feminist performance activist groups integrate a combination of gender norm-embracing and norm-challenging elements in their performances. By spreading their viewpoints as they attempt to gain public attention and legitimate results from mass media, these feminist demonstrations in both Emily Anderson’s “Treacherous Pin-ups, Politicized

Cultural historians often ask how the preoccupations of an era shape a society. And the best insights are revealed, not through the clarity of connection, the union of expression or the dominant ideology, but through the chaos and rupture caused by the dissenting voice. It is often when an artist is most at odds with his or her world, most subject to critical debate, that we glimpse the dominant values of society, giving way to the cultural conscience of the time. "One of the artist's and humanist's greatest value to a society is in the mirror of self-examination which they raise so that society can become aware of its short-comings as well as its strengths," stated the 1965 Senate Report on the establishment of the National

Even though the CIA and other forms of government tried to express and support the Abstract and Modern Expressionist movement, they were truly critical of it as they were fans of Regionalism pre-war art. The influence of funding modern art within America not only was used as a weapon in the Cold War, but it also ultimately opened up the art world and refined the concept of freedom within America. During the rise of the 1950s and 1960s, “the great majority of Americans disliked or even despised modern art.” Although the popularity of modern and Abstract Expression grew, there was much disapproval throughout the nation, especially within the government and among political figures. President Truman influenced the popular view when he said in 1947, “If that’s art, then I’m a Hottentot”. His displeasure was caused by a group of abstract, modern, and artistically creative paintings in which were a great contrast to the favored traditional and conservative Regionalist paintings at the

The history of mankind has often been captured in snapshots between the rise and fall of great leaders and civilizations, by artists all with a common dream of portraying what they saw during their times. Ideologies reflective of their societies were depicted through sculptures, frescoes, pottery, paintings, and many other methods. Many of these principals were created, celebrated, and popularized by constituents of societies where andocentric values were applied not only to social and political mores, but also to the various art forms as the male body was cherished and praised and the female body was hidden away from public view. The book Feminism and Art History: Questioning the Litany edited by Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrad, strives

In Highbrow, Lowbrow, Levine argues that a distinction between high and low culture that did not exist in the first half of the 19th century emerged by the turn of the century and solidified during the 20th century, and that despite a move in the last few decades toward a more ecumenical interpretation of “culture,” the distinction between high art and popular entertainment and the revering of a canon of sacred, inalterable cultural works persists. In the prologue Levine states that one of his central arguments is that concepts of cultural boundaries have changed over the period he treats. Throughout Highbrow, Lowbrow, Levine defines culture as a process rather than a fixed entity,

In order to discuss pop art I have chosen to examine the work and to some extent lives of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol who were two of the main forces behind the American movement. I intend to reflect the attitudes of the public and artists in America at this time, while examining the growing popularity of pop art from its rocky, abstract expressionist start in the 1950s through the height of consumer culture in the 60s and 70s to the present day.

At first glance, Pop Art might seem to glorify popular culture by elevating soup cans, comic strips and hamburgers to the status of fine art on the walls of museums. But, then again, a second look may suggest a critique of the mass marketing practices and consumer culture that emerged in the United States after World War II. Andy Warhol’s Gold Marilyn Monroe (1962) clearly reflects this inherent irony of Pop. The central image on a gold background evokes a religious tradition of painted icons, transforming the Hollywood starlet into a Byzantine Madonna that reflects our