The Impact of Political Views on Contemporary Art

What better place to begin a discussion of art and politics than with one of Alain Badiou’s modern art theses: “It is better to do nothing than to contribute to the development of formal techniques of making visible something which Empire already accepts as existing.”  Badiou offers a thoughtful justification for the aim of art in connection to contemporaneity in his succinct but impactful depiction of postulates of contemporary arts in respect to current frameworks of ordering, done in fifteen theses. Although he begins his explanations by mentioning the Roman Empire in particular, the empire he refers to is not some politically established sovereign domain similar to ancient empires.

Instead, it refers to a new way of structuring reality that is based on neoliberal, market capitalism. Artists should not be concerned with what this empire acknowledges or makes visible. The liberation of the so-called margins and their agential possibilities should be made apparent as a means of delivering politics of art, something that empire does not achieve.

What is the relationship between contemporary art and politics?

Any analysis of art and politics must take into account their historical development and connections throughout many eras. The aesthetic potential of art, as the foundation of its political participation, must also be noted, nevertheless. The so-called ethical and poetic regimes that once defined art are distinct from aesthetics, or more specifically, the “aesthetic regime”[2] as hypothesized by Jacques Rancière. Plato’s theory of the ethical regime of images reduces artworks to flimsy, unreliable representations, while the poetic regime views the portrayal of beauty and imitation as the primary functions of artworks. Rancière’s aesthetic regime, in contrast, invests and engages the arts with politics, society, and philosophy by bridging the gaps created by these two regimes between creative activities and these realms.

Our current understanding of politics and art is defined by such an approach to the arts and aesthetics. Following a brief historical overview of this relationship, examples of contemporary art will be examined, along with a look at the modern urban scene. There are international music and writing programs at the New York New Arts Center of Media History.

How does political views impact art?

It is not needed to look at a particular time period, style, or aesthetic movement to discover the relationship between these two factors. ShaperoModern noted that politics and the arts have always been linked, even in the days of l ‘art pour l ‘art. Art fulfilled its intended function and was impacted and formed by many societal settings and events, from mimetic to corrective tools. Real life was never the exclusive focus of artistic creation. Even throughout the Realism era, it had the function of displaying to audiences the harshness or beauty of daily life. Nazi and Soviet visual cultures were highly laden with extra meanings that supported their respective ideologies.

While some artists gave in to ideological pressure and produced works that extolled political regimes, alternative artistic practices emerged in opposition to such views, often confusing those with restricted access to the public domain. In the first half of the 20th century, historical avant-garde groups achieved an aesthetic breakthrough by consciously eschewing not just the prevailing visual trends but also the associated social and moral norms. Avant-garde phenomena countered established styles and popular culture by defying prevailing standards of the period. Avant-garde movements, which ranged from

Futurism, Fauvism, through Surrealism and Dadaism, heralded the start of the 20th century and produced some of the most well-known works of art. Following social revolutions were creative manifestations that supported their views. Feminist art emerged as a natural result of the feminist movements of the 20th century, whereas the Black Arts Movement was a subset of the larger social movement known as Black Power.

Each creative act is evaluated nowadays based on its emancipatory potential. The only purpose of art has never been to depict an artist’s isolation from the outside world. It was constantly conversational and muddled by a tangle of underlying meanings. According to Marc James Léger, the modern avant-garde serves as a counter-force that “rejects the inevitable integration of capitalism.”  His assertion is also readily applicable to more inclusive definitions of contemporary cultural products. The capitalist market system seems to be at the root of many contemporary concerns, as explained by Badiou and his use of the term “empire,” even if creative practices now address a variety of themes and socially involved attitudes, including environmental, racial, economic, and sexual.

Street art’s political and cultural aspects

The streets of metropolitan metropolises all over the globe are home to some of the most potent instances of political visual art. From the first complex graffiti created in the New York subways to the detailed murals of today, street visual culture has evolved and become an integral element of the modern creative landscape. Public building walls seem to be a new venue for voicing opposition to political, economic, and sexual abuses.

Compared to other types of art, street artists often use a much more direct strategy when it comes to conveying a message. Many street artists, beginning with celebrities like Banksy, focus on visual representations of today’s issues as their primary subject. In Stavanger, Norway, Fintan Magee’s painting examines the effects of falling oil prices on the local economy and working class, while Pixel Pancho’s graffiti in Florida, Against Monsanto, features two robots in a flower field and alludes to how people today are alienated from and mistreat nature.

Arts and political views in today’s world

These graffiti examples demonstrate how visual arts still have a political emancipation aim. This liberty is always being negotiated and has manifested itself in many historical eras, social contexts, and artistic mediums. From the avant-gardes to the feminist movement, it is clear that art is a potent political instrument and should help create a new kind of universality that is unique from the one that now exists.