Political Art – Does it make a Difference?

For an artist, it isn’t enough to envision, create, and wallow in paint up to your elbows. You have to read about art. Indulge your muse. Suspend your free time thumbing through art magazines to expand your knowledge. You have to scour what’s out there for knowledge and inspiration.

I’ve been doing just that by reading B.A. Shapiro’s latest novel “The Muralist.” Now I can see her in person on Tuesday, January 12 at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers. Shapiro will be there in person to sign her new book and discuss its plot and characters with attendees.

"From the author of the New York Times bestseller The Art Forger comes a thrilling new novel of art, history, love, and politics that traces the life and mysterious disappearance of a brilliant young artist on the eve of World War II."

The book keeps me turning pages. Of course, it’s about a time period that has always intrigued me, and about the horrors that engulfed the entire world; but especially the Jewish people. Hitler and his minions hated, pursued, and incinerated millions of Jewish victims.


Shapiro not only covers the history well, but she knows art which makes the book that much more important on your lists of “must read.”

Many artists through the centuries have made political statements through their art, but most have avoided it as being too “in your face” or detrimental to their personal success. Some brave pioneers used art as a platform to voice their own strong feelings and to influence their audiences.

"Vik Muniz Photographer and mixed-media artist best known for repurposing everyday materials for intricate and heavily layered re-creations of canonical artworks. Muniz works in a range of media, from trash to peanut butter and jelly, the latter used to recreate Warhol’s famous Double Mona Lisa. 

"Layered appropriation is a consistent theme in Muniz’s work: in 2008, he undertook a large-scale project in Brazil, photographing trash-pickers as figures from emblematic   paintings, such as Jacques-Louis David’s “Neoclassical Death of Marat, and then recreating the photographs in large-scale arrangements of trash. The project was documented in the 2010 film Waste Land in an attempt to raise awareness for urban poverty. Muniz explained the work as a “step away from the realm of fine art,” wanting instead to “change the lives of people with the same materials they deal with every day.”

Others, like Thomas Hart Benton, passionately document history. War correspondents and artists fall into this category. This is why some people become angry when others in later generations wish to discredit or discard offensive images that were an actual part of history. Once we destroy history, we chip away at our own identities. History should stand, whether we like it or not.

Slavery is abhorrent to us now. It is a part of our history that we’re ashamed of and wish hadn't happened. But we can learn from our mistakes and vow never to make the same ones again. We can learn from the horrors of Hitler. The German people would like to bury this part of their past, but they haven’t. We and they must keep even the horrors of our past so that later generations will remember and perhaps be saved from repeating the same mistakes.

Our country seems intent on following in Europe’s footsteps. But, instead, we should learn from them:

Socialism has brought financial ruin. A flood of refugees has changed the face of many major cities across the globe.

The whole world is teetering on the brink of disaster. We would be fools to ignore what has happened and think we know best, that it can’t happen here because we’re just too damn smart.

All it takes is a few concessions here, a blind eye there, a white lie behind closed doors, and a willingness to ignore the obvious right in front of our collective noses.


If an artist or a writer can awaken us to the truth, all the better.

(Charles McNaughton, artist -- and below)

A Maelstrom over Political and Religious Art

"Prayer Circles" 18x24 acrylic canvas

 The Middle East is ablaze with hatred, anger and revenge. Their beloved Osama Bin Laden is dead, the perpetrators of 9/11 are hailed as heroes, and an evil plan which began in Benghazi and spread, destroyed an American Embassy and murdered four people including the Ambassador who was sodomized and brutally beaten before his death.

After discovering, via our own Presidency, that an amateur video was produced in July, the violence increased and spread like a cancer. The video gave them another excuse to burn the American Flag and continue their religious tantrum.

The flip side of that coin shows the contrast between a democratic society and a theocratic one. According to “The Gothamist” (see link below): “The Controversial representation of religious figures and objects has been inciting all the rage these days, and New York-born artist Andres Serrano's work "Piss Christ," which will be on view as part of an exhibition of the artist's work in Midtown next week, is no exception. The piece—a photograph of a crucifix soaked in the artist's urine—was condemned by Staten Island Representative Michael Grimm yesterday, who compared it to Innocence of Muslims, the anti-Islam film that has set off a rash of rioting and violence in the Arab world over the past few weeks.

"India Rising--the Found" 18x24 mixed media canvas

"As a Catholic, I find 'Piss Christ' to be vulgar and offensive, just as many in the Islamic world found 'Innocence of Muslims' to be highly offensive," Grimm said on Friday, according to the SIlive.com. Grimm also railed at the Obama administration (surprise!) for not stopping the (private) Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art gallery on W. 57th Street from displaying the work. "The Obama administration's hypocrisy and utter lack of respect for the religious beliefs of Americans has reached an all-time high," he said. "I call on President Obama to stand up for Americans' values and beliefs and denounce 'Piss Christ' that has offended Christians at home and abroad."

And, though Times columnist Nicholas Kristof pointed out in an op-ed piece today that "Piss Christ" did not incite rioting like Innocence of Muslims did because the Arab world is on the brink of revolution, other Christian groups have also compared Serrano's work to the film, and are shaking their fists at Obama for not being more outraged. "It seems like we have a protected class for Muslims as well as some other segments of our population," Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, told Fox News. "But when it comes to Christians, it's an all-out war." 

Hasn't Stephen Colbert been pointing that out for years? 

"Inset Kirke" 16x20 oil on canvas (original SOLD) Prints available

If you would like to read more of this article, go to the following link: http://gothamist.com/2012/09/22/piss_christ_photograph_coming_to_ne.php

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said the two incidents show a clear contrast between Islam and Christianity.

“You won’t have to worry about a mob of people storming the gallery after Sunday school lets out,” Perkins told Fox News. “Christ has been the subject of attacks for 2,000 years – as have his followers. As Christians, we have learned to turn the other cheek.”

Perkins said the lack of response from the White House over the “Piss Christ” display provide an unintentional recognition. “It’s recognition of the contrast between Christianity and Islam,” he said. “You don’t have to plead with Christians not to riot and burn and storm buildings simply because they are offended. That’s the difference. That’s why Christianity moves nations forward and Islam moves nations backwards.”

As for the display – Perkins said it’s being held in a private gallery – without taxpayer funding.

“They have their freedom to do what’s wrong,” he said. “That’s what’s great about America.”   http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/wh-silent-over-demands-to-denounce-piss-christ-artwork.html

How do you feel about religious art? Political art? Your comments and opinions are welcome!

Featured Artist
Ron DiCianni, whose painting “Spiritual Warfare” has sold the most prints of any of his paintings; in fact, tens of millions globally. Featured is a video of DiCianni’s commissioned work featuring the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

http://youtu.be/-yABivU-AKQ

Holding your own in a Competitive World

"Dainty Diva" 20x24 oil on canvas

 I’m currently reading “Turning Pro” by Steven Pressfield; a quick entertaining read that helps an artist confront his demons. I’m reading it partly for inspiration and partly for needed motivation.

The premise of the book is that most of us find every excuse under the sun to avoid pursuing what we really love. Why? Because of fear: fear of success, fear of work, fear that we’re inadequate and doubts in our own abilities. We “pull the plug” whenever we get close to our dreams, sabotaging our own efforts to achieve success.

Failure becomes a mindset. Negative thinking becomes our mantra: “we’re not good enough, talented enough, smart enough, or hardworking enough to succeed.” When we receive criticism, we fold. When other activities, voices, the “rat pack” of our lives dumps on us, we “pull the plug.” 

"Home at Last" 16x20 acrylic on canvas

We follow after the crowd. We want to fit in. We want to appear normal when actually we’re not. We’re driven by the beat of a different drummer. It calls to us from time to time, but we put it off; feeling guilty that we’re different or that we want something more than just keeping busy and being swallowed up by insignificant trivia.

I’ve been putting off a new painting. I had images and visions in my mind, but I just couldn’t find the right composition to pull things together. I put it off. I didn’t even tone the canvas. I had feelings, but no loud voice telling me what to do. The painting was inspired by a photo of a woman praying in a war torn area of the world. She represented the horrors of war.

"War Torn" 18x24 work-in-progress

A work-in-progress is posted today, but I’m not finished with it yet. I haven’t captured the feeling of pain I want in her eyes or face. Her skin color is not defined and her hands blend in with the background. There is much work left to do.

What propelled me to finally begin? I simply forced myself to put brush and paint to canvas and lay on some color. I wanted texture, and I wanted words. Although we all want peace, we continually involve ourselves or others in confrontation, arguments, war. “History repeats itself” became my theme. Sometimes all you need is action.

Steven Pressfield listed the qualities “that the professional possesses that the amateur doesn’t:

1. The professional shows up every day
2. The professional stays on the job all day
3. The professional is committed over the long haul
4. For the professional, the stakes are high and real”

There were other qualities he listed and countless suggestions and advice. I recommend the book to artists of every stripe.

Featured Artist
Jon McNaughton is probably best known for his political art. As a skilled muralist and painter, Jon began turning political when he saw what he felt was a “downward slide in the American Way of Life, a disregard for the Constitution which has made America great, and a blatant disregard for the rule of law.” You may not agree with McNaughton’s political POV, but it is hard to argue with his skill as an artist.

Love it or leave it, political art is here to stay.