Politics and Identity

Throughout the course of humanity, art has been used to reflect the political and societal views of the time. They could be used as propaganda to both 'sides', promoting the political agendas, or showing the public how these agendas could damage and harm a society. There are many different aspects of Political art which I will try to cover at least a few.

Identity Politics

Identity politics describes the anti-authoritarian political and cultural movement in the mid 1980s in the USA and Europe. It promotes talking about identity, repression, inequality and injustice, and it often focuses on marginalised groups (think race, LGBTQ+ and disability). 

It emerged through the 1960s Black Civil Rights Movement, the second wave of feminism (1960s -1980s), and LGBTQ+ liberation. It was meant to be confrontational, forcing the public to ask questions about the societies views on who art was made for and its messages. It focused on re-writing the history of art to include a broader, less western-dominated perspective. 

Post-Colonial Art

Post-colonial art refers to art produced in response to the aftermath of colonial rule, addressing the issues of national and cultural identity, race and ethnicity.

The postcolonial theory (the basis of postcolonial art), analysis and responds to the cultural legacies that were forcibly removed from its society and the human consequences of controlling a country in order to exploit the native people and their land. In doing so, it also addresses how the society and culture of the land, were seen by the perspective of westerners and how this was used to dominate people into the culture of the 'mother county', and the resulting identities of 'coloniser' and 'colonised'.

Frantz Fanon was a West Indian psychoanalyst and philosopher became known for his theory that colonialism is a form of domination whose necessary goal for success was the reordering of native peoples, and that violence was the defining characteristic of colonialism. His theory influenced many generations of thinkers and activists, and subsequently (in my opinion) one of the founders of the postcolonial art movement.  

Donald G Rodney (1961-1998)

This is Rodney's piece 'Land of Milk and Honey 2'. It's a sealed wood and glass vitrine filled with copper coins and congealed milk. Over time the materials inside have reacted with each other and shifted over time to create a deep range of colour, texture and patterns, which he had intended to happen. 

This work is a eulogy to his father, whose death Rodney was unable to commemorate through the traditional Jamaican 'nine nights' tradition. The title itself is a direct reference to the biblical description of the promised land for the Israelites, and for Caribbean immigrants travelling during the mid 1900s (including Rodney's father), this is how Britain was imagined. The decay of the milk and coins depicts the spoiling of these dreams and the reality of life in Britain of these immigrants. By substituting honey for money, Rodney clearly shows how the British economy has benefited from the migration of these people, including his father. 

Feminist Art

Feminist art is art made by artists in the light of developments in feminist art theory in the early 1970s. In 1971 Linda Nochlin (art historian) published an essay 'Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?' where she investigated the social and economic factors that had prevented talented women from achieving the same status as their male counterparts. 

Artemisia Gentileschi

Gentileschi had a step up in the art world that many women in her time were not able to receive. She was the daughter of an artist (Orazio), and so was able to learn the skills it took to paint professionally in the baroque age. As she got older, Orazio hired an upcoming artist (Agostino Tassi) to give her lessons. In 1612 however, Tassi raped Gentileschi. Orazio however was not mad about this, instead chose to focus on how Tassi then did not want to marry her. This event changed the art Gentileschi produced, focusing on highlighting her desire to get revenge over the men and the male violence that dominated her society. 

This painting 'Susannah and the Elders' depicted how she felt during her life, always being watched by the men in power, and her life details being known to the masses. Usually in paintings depicting 'creepers', the men are shown hiding in bushes or across a street, but Gentileschi chose to portray these men so close, to the point of it being claustrophobic. They are hanging over her naked body trying to look further, and not trying to hide their actions. This directly correlates to how she felt in her everyday life, the court proceedings following her rape, and how her skills were constantly scrutinised by the public.

British Black Arts Movement

The British black arts movement was a radical political art movement founded in 1982 and was inspired by anti-racist discourse and feminist's critic. It sought out to highlight issues of race, gender and the politics of representation. 

The movement was founded around the same time as the First National Black Art Convection organised by the Blk Art Group. The group were highly influential and critical in de-imperialising the institutional mind and in changing the nature and perception of British culture.

Sonia Boyce

Boyce is a British Afro-Caribbean artist, living and working in London. She is a professor of Black Art and Design at the University of the Arts London.  Her research interests explore art as a social practice and the critical and contextual debates that arise. She describes her work to explore the 'relationship between sound and memory, the dynamics of space, and incorporating the spectator'. 

This piece ('The Audition') comprises of 394 photographic headshots of individuals alongside nameplates, usually recording their names. Some show the sitter with their natural hair, and others wear a synthetic, short curly Afro wig. She placed an advert to invite people over the Manchester area to attend and be photographed wearing a wig. Out of over 900 photos she took, 394 were chosen to complete the installation. 

In her advert, she did not state that the artist was black, and she believes that not as many people would have come if they had read the event as political. Instead, Boyce stated that 'it was really interesting that it was during the process of the project that its political dimension became clearer'.

The Audition brings together a number of complex issues surrounding the construction of identity and the fascination for 'the Other' that are connected to assumptions brought  by stereotypical representation. The Afro hairstyles is both one of the most politicised hairstyles of the century and a carrier of the parody and stereotyping of the black man as a clown. Many of the participants described the Afro as a statement of self-empowerment, as well as an 'explosion of the soul, funk and dance music and fashion in the 1970s'. The aim of asking a variety of people to perform by posing with a wig was to introduce an element of 'otherness' and therefore open up a space for discussion and the exploration of identity in order to question the stereotypical characterisation of Black identity and its ongoing and changing status.