I left a comment on Bethany's post that turned into a three page paper... more of a rant rather, does anyone agree with anything I say or am I a blathering blatherskyte?
Culture Jamming brings new functionality to old ideas, like a cultural I.E.D.
BOOM! Visual imagery explodes through the internal world of the viewer, causing massive acculturation or slices through an individual's perceptual filters like a surgeon's knife, to insert new ideas, new values. Either way, art is a weapon!
Check out these links.
internal revolution engines, check them out
nice links. the wooster collective has been responsible for some really great projects.
ReplyDeleteand nice essay-like post; i do agree (obviously) with your sentiment that the visual arts can be used as a powerful tool to "catalyze social reform and cultural change." i am a strong believer in this, and that art should be accessible, affordable, and should promote the betterment of humanity. as bread & puppet's cheap art manifesto states, "art is food."
i also agree that using visual media, and thus symbolism, to convey meaning could result in a disconnect when viewed by different cultures, and in different contexts. i like your theory on globalistic art as well, btw. however, i also have strong feelings that the visual arts are one medium that have the potential to transcend language and other barriers. sure, different cultures have attached different meanings to certain imagery and symbols, but there are symbols that speak in a much wider "human" language. aren't there? perhaps, for example, the apple (red, round fruit)? it does carry strong christian symbolism, but you will find, that most cultures around the world and throughout history have attached similar meanings to the fruit (life, fertility, youth, etc).
all very interesting.
..have to go to class; to be continued...