Activist Art
“We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves” – Banksy
Social justice is an expression and action that comes in many forms, art being one that is often overlooked. This month we highlight some artists whose work is a comment on some current social justice and sociological issues.
One of the richest forms of social comment in the world today is the activist art and anti media movement that looks to highlight the huge amount of advertising we are exposed to everyday. Research tends to say that we are exposed to anywhere from 600-3000 individual adverts in a day. Activist art has given a voice to the constant imagery of consumption and logo’s that bombard our world. Artists such as Banksy have used images to protest against issues such as the Israeli West Bank ‘Barrier’ and the massive implementation of CCTV in modern cities. Art has had a rich history of comment on social issues such as the Vietnam War, Gay Rights Movement, Materialism and Spirituality/Religion.
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Every year the Governments of the world elect to spend $900 billion on military yet only 6.5% of that amount on aid. The driving of military development and loose controls on the arms trade lead to the inevitable involvement of child soldiers in places such as the Congo and pandemic levels of gun violence in Guatemala and Haiti.