On Politics and Art…

On Politics & Art…

Throughout history many changes to the status quo have been initiated or supported by artists. It’s kind of natural as artists have free spirits and inquisitive minds. In our recent past, the 60’s was an effervescent time where singers and performers such at Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan infused a whole generation with strong feelings and demands against the Viet Nam war and the military industry. Further back, there is a plethora of artists who have used their art to alert people to important social causes.

Have you heard of the “Peace Arch” concert of 1952 here in Vancouver? Paul Robeson, a brave actor and singer with a long history of social involvement in the U.S., was invited to attend a meeting of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers. When the U.S. government seized his passport to impede his crossing, an ingenious plan was hatched. Robeson sang and spoke fearlessly about peace and decent conditions for all people on a mike which allowed his voice to be heard across the two sides of the border. How daring is this! Would something similar be allowed today? I wonder…

In the last 20 or so years, we have been experiencing complicated issues throughout the world. Probably the most troublesome have been our invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan which have spawned larger dilemmas that it seems our leaders do not know how to solve. Of the top, I remember great demonstrations against the invasions but don’t recall major artists leading the opposition. Do you?  Has apathy entered the art world? Hope not. What do you think?

This manipulated photograph, Woman in Burka & La Rielera, is one of my responses opposing the wars. It is from the series ‘What If?’ in which I insert the image of this unknown woman from the time of the Mexican Revolution into world events; she acts as witness to our actions. You can see this work at:  http://www.delacajiga.com/what-if-3/,