Art as Political Expression Essay
In our previous essays and class discussions, we’ve examined how our personal circumstances
(age, race, sex, socioeconomic status, etc) all affect how we view the world around us. Similarly,
the way in which we view the world, which we might generally refer to as our personal ideology,
influences how we interact with the world, which in turn changes the world, albeit usually in
relatively small ways; thus, our subjective view of reality and objective reality are interactive in
nature, each altering the other in sometimes hard to predict ways.
Artistic creations like poems, books, and movies are, in many respects, products of their creators’
circumstances. Artists’ beliefs and values are often reflected in their works; for example, world-
renowned anti-consumerist street artist Banksy’s works are both artistic expressions of Banksy’s
creative genius as well as political statements. Interestingly, artistic expression of political
dogma is often more palatable than traditional, overt expressions of the very same principles.
People who might refuse to have so much as a conversation about consumer culture might still
contemplate the “truth value” of the most recent Banksy street art.
Keeping our readings/discussions from this semester and the preceding paragraphs on the
interactive relationship between objective/subjective realities and on art as a medium of political
expression in mind, respond to the following prompt:
In a well-developed, argumentative essay of at least 4 full pages, examine the use of art as
political expression. Why do you think art—understood broadly to include traditional
modes like painting and sculpture as well as contemporary modes like movies, memes,
etc—is so effective a medium for political speech? Are there any drawbacks to using art in
this manner? Explain.
Requirements:
Your argument must feature at least two of our readings from this semester
o
You may substitute outside sources for one or both required assigned sources
You must include at least 1 outside source
MLA style throughout
Paragraphs organized around your own ideas
