How Artist Express Anger and Protest Through Their Art Essay Example

to achieving gender equality, equal opportunity and social status while many other artists raised issues relating the environment and global warming and some touched upon the issues faced by indigenous people and many more.

Some of these artists have made a great impact on society and have made major statements, expressing their anger and protest through art, Shirin Neshat, Barbara Kruger, Fiona Foley and Vicki Varvaressos are good examples to name a few. Shirin Neshat, an internationally renowned photographer, videographer and film maker is a perfect example of an artist who uses art to express her anger towards the social perceptions about women specifically in Islamic societies.

She raises this issue through art and questions the past ideas and traditions and protests against those wrong social perceptions which epress the freedom of women and require only silence from them. Her work provides a reflection of the status of women in traditional Islamic societies. She was born in Iran but having been raised in a modernised and educated family, was sent to The United States to pursue her education but upon her return, the Islamic revolution had overtook her homeland and she was exiled and couldn’t return until 11 years later, when she realised the country that she returned to bore little resemblance to the one she left.

She tried to deal with her sense of displacement and anger by addressing issues that Iranian women faced through art. She used art to help her reconnect herself to people. The result was ‘Women of Allah’ photographs which reflects on the status and the character of the women in traditional Islamic cultures, by using the

basic elements of black veil, modern weapons and written text. Each photograph pictures Neshat dressed in black, facing the camera and holding a weapon. Some of the photographs only a part of her body is shown such as hand or foots with Persian text as part of the photographed imagery.

The images are intimate, deep and objective. While reflecting the status of women in Iran and their power as women they demand the audience to ponder about this issue and question the traditions. They depict the anger of Neshat in being caught between two cultures– her native Persian background and the American culture in which she lives. – She is caught between a freedom of expression and the complex demands of her Islamic heritage which represses dimensions of her individuality and creativity.

Women of Allah’ shows Neshat’s anger at the traditional suppressions towards females and her willingness to express this anger through art. She also expresses her anger towards attitudes towards artists and their work in some societies. The film ‘The Last Words’ produced in 2004 is one of her most political works which depicts the scene of a trial of an artist facing the “moral judge” being an authority and religious representative. This work raises a universal issue, the story of any artist whose work of art is considered a crime and their freedom of expression in any form is taken away.

She speaks about the political themes in her works in these words: “The reason that I dive into political themes is not because I have some strategy or interest to make political statements. My work is a cry for

help, a resolution, and a spirituality that would help us to transcend our problems. ” Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist whose work of art is also seen as a protest against social and political issues. She was born in 1945, in Newark, New Jersey and studied arts and design in Parsons School of Design and practiced as a graphic designer for Mademoiselle Magazine.

Her background in advertising helped her to use her techniques to publicise her cause. Kruger’s work consists of black and white found photographs with over-laid captions set in white on red; "I shop therefore I am"; "It's a small world but not if you have to clean it"; "Your body is a battleground". These captions usually make bold statements and use commonly used pronouns such as I, you, your, we and they.

She describes herself as “an artist who works with pictures and words. and words play a crucial role in her art and she believes that words are a powerful form of communication that people use every moment therefore she uses that as a medium to communicate her anger and concerns about social issues in her country, America and to engage her audience which is the general public in questioning the effect of advertisement on their life. Kruger’s work is criticising sexism, misogyny and cultural power and structure and much of her texts question the audience about feminism, classicism, consumerism and individual autonomy and desire.

She addresses notions of power and how they make us look and feel. How they affect our lives and dictate our future and our past. Her work is a response to

political and social situations in the contemporary society such as the extent of domestic violence, abuse, prostitution and general exploitation of women. In one of her installation works, ‘All violence is an illustration of a pathetic stereotype’, the artist transforms the texts and imagery directly on the surface of the art gallery.

The white font on the red background, reads: “All that seemed beneath you is speaking to you now. All that seemed deaf hears you. All that seemed dumb knows what's on your mind. All that seemed blind sees through you. All that seemed silent is putting the words right into your mouth. ” In this installation the audience is engulfed by the physicality of the artwork. The floor, walls and ceiling are covered in images and texts. At the same time the viewer is confronted by the cruel slang terms which contribute to the creation of stereotypes.

The text addresses the audience in a direct manner bringing them to the realisation of how important the issue of violence against women is and requiring them to respond to it. Kruger has successfully used her art to express her anger towards society and make the viewers think about such serious issues and has also helped the society to think about the way advertisements effect our life by raising public awareness. Fiona Foley is another example of an artist who uses art to communicate anger and protest.

She is an indigenous contemporary artist born in 1964, Fraser Island, Queensland. Fiona Foley like many other artists cannot separate her personal life from political issues because as an indigenous women growing up in Queensland in

a community that has a vivid memory of their colonisation by the English, her life was intertwined with political issues. Foley’s discourse on history and culture is a personal matter to her because it has impacted her family and her community and it has built her identity.

Foley’s art can be described as historical art because it is based on the events that she witnessed happening to her nation and to her community. Strong examples of Foleys historical works can be seen in The Survival Series (1988), The Badtjala severed hair (1991), Native Blood (1994), and The Land Deal (1995). Her work is a remake of materials from her native land Fraser Island as a form of cultural memory and a way of reclaiming the history of her people and their land.

Her work is an expression of the pain of indigenous Australians and their refusal to remain silence. Foley’s work cries out to the world what had befallen aboriginal people and that yet they had survived. She speaks about the historical sense of her work in these words: “My drawings are event-oriented, it may be a place where I've been or something that has taken place and it could be difficult to ascertain the meaning of these symbols in my art unless you speak to me. ” Foley’s work is intense and it deals with issues such as racism, sexism and history.

Her work includes photography, painting, printmaking, installation, sculpture, film and public art. While her work has been described as political, it also addresses issues of identity, race and history in a slightly humorous way. One of her most astonishing

works is the ‘HHH’, a photograph of few people wearing traditional indigenous clothes and wearing masks, made in New York which stands for Hedonistic Honky Haters. She describes the artwork in these words: "I was inverting symbols familiar from the Ku Klux Klan, so instead of white hoods there are black oods and the people behind the robes are African Americans wearing colourful clothes. ” Foley’s artworks explore the cultural frame as she uses her art to reveal hidden truths and she touches on issues that others are afraid to confront. Vicki Varvaressos, born in Sydney 1949 is an Australian artist whose work critiques the portrayal of women in the mass media. She expresses her anger towards the attitudes towards women and the roles of females in society through her paintings.

She attended the National Art School, during the time when as she says “women weren’t treated all that seriously. Art school was just seen as filling in time before marriage. ” As a resident of Kings Cross in Sydney, Varvaressos was involved in a few female movements and was seen as a radical feminist at the time. Her paintings are concerned with the day to day feelings and human experiences. The dominant colours used in her paintings are mauve, mustard, green, grey and black which create a relaxed and doubtful character.

Her paintings usually consist of portraits of mask liked women, children and couples. Her artworks explore the subjective and cultural frame by expressing her personal emotions as well as raising social issues involving women. In conclusion, it is evident that many artists have used their art making as a statement of

anger and protest. Art being used as a tool of communication has helped many artists to explore the world in which they live and to creatively identify its issues and by expressing them, seek for a resolution and help.

In the history of mankind artists have always been an influential part of society who has had the power of manipulating the mind of the public for both positive and negative intentions. For example propaganda posters being a work of art have always been an important feature of political and social movements. By raising many social issues such as inequality, social status, domestic violence, stereotypes, environmental issues, and many more, artists have contributed in taking effective steps toward the betterment of society and will always continue to do so.