Eye-Dee-Ahs
My idea for the hybrid project centers around a concept sometimes called “protest art.” I started to get interested in this idea while I was studying in Prague, where an artist named David Cerny has been stirring things up with his artwork since the Soviet regime, and continues to shock people (including myself) with his politically charged installations. Since I’m involved with an activist group on campus, I’d like to do more research about how art can protest, question, probe, and be a conduit for activism, since oftentimes when there’s so much political dialogue, words can get washed out if they’re not accompanied by a meaningful message-maker or vessel. This project would culminate in an activist art piece that will hopefully make people think about issues on campus and worldwide more closely (I promise I won’t vandalize things).
Working Bibliography:
Burns, Tracy A. “David Cerny: The Defiant and Controversial Czech Artist.”Private Prague Guide. Custom Travel Services, Web.
Groys, Boris. “On Art Activism.” E-Flux. 2014. Web.
http://culturalpolitics.net/social_movements/art (This isn’t an article or anything, just a list of websites and references about protest art and activism in artwork that I think might be helpful)
Graham, this post immediately grabbed my attention, and I think you’ve picked a very interesting topic. You’re personally involved and interested from your time in Prague and from your campus involvement, and I think you’ll bring a lot of energy and curiosity into your analysis. Protest art is a big topic since there are so many things that people protest. Perhaps focusing on one cause you are personally attached to? Environmental issues? Gender inequality? Racial injustice? Or focus on specific Czech artists? Perhaps you could analyze examples of successful/powerful protest art and compare these to examples of unsuccessful/ineffective art. Are you focusing on protest art that have words in/on them? Or on visual images and their relation to the words that define these movements? Very, very interesting! I’m excited to see where this takes you.
Hi Graham!!!
This idea really excites me having also encountered and studied David Cerny’s work last semester. I even saw him one time at a clothing sale at the Meet Factory!! I got pretty nervous and sweaty. You should also look into, if you don’t already know them, the art of Ztohoven. Ztohoven is a group of anonymous Czech guerrilla/protest artists that all go by these crazy pseudonyms. They do anti-government stuff and just generally shocking things. They have done some really really insane and cool stuff over the years. They were the ones that flew the giant pair of red boxers over Prague castle while we were there last September to protest their president who “is ashamed of nothing at all.” Heres their website
http://www.ztohoven.com/?lang=en
I also think it would be cool to focus on Czech artists specifically. The nation has such a turbulent past.. clearly still playing into their art today. It’s also a story that isn’t often told that I think, and I’m sure you do too, deserves to be heard. Maybe (i/we’re) just biased after spending so much time there, but I’m really excited about your project!