Artists to be activist essay

 

Alan Llugcha

Professor Cacoilo

Acts of Activism  

3/13/2024

                                             Artists to be Activist   

 Part 1 

   Sometimes, artists want to be activists to show how they can be featured and spread a message to viewers to see what the artists want to tell people and show how they can be activists. There can be solutions, according to the articles "This is what I know about art" by Kimberly Drew and the essay "Towards Curatorial Activism" by Dr Marua Riley. It shows how these authors explain their own ways and how they became activists, which shows the importance of being an activist and showing a message. However, there can also be solutions for artists who can bring messages into an exhibition. Cultural activists have been doing this by showing messages in exhibitions. However, there can be more to see of how artists can be activists, in which some ways will be shown. Also, there are more explanations about how Drew tried to do her Activism as a college student. The quotes that mostly inspired her to be an activist and showing what she did was necessary for herself and her artworks brought audiences and also messages from viewers about her artwork, which she had a rough time trying to give a message to her professors and her classmates when she was in college.

 

           Drew tried to do things to be an activist, and she used essential tools to get attention from audiences and see what she was providing for artists to see how they could become activists. Drew does show her techniques, but looking at it. It shows how important it is for her to see what she is doing is getting attention to show how she can bring her message to audiences but most importantly, seeing what she has been through being the only person of color working in an exhibition and showing her technique of being an activist. "What do museums even do? I'd been working so diligently to get black people into museums that I had never stopped to think about what would happen if we did not want to be here" (38) (This is what I know about Art) This is something that brings interest which during Drew's time it was more difficult for her to see all of this information which she was the only black person working in a museum and seeing when she brought her mother to the museum, and she was the audience. Also, she is trying to say that it was tough for her. It is understandable to see this because she wants not to be the only person of skin color to work in a museum, and it was tough to get the audience's attention because she only had her mother as her support for the museum. I also had a chance to see an exhibition in a museum in Los Angeles, which I wanted to hope to see if she sees anyone of her color going to the museum and looking at her artwork, which she collaborated on in other locations, and see her message to the people of her color. "How might that gesture be performed digitally? Social media could be so cold, and I wanted to make it warmer for our prospective guests." This was a tool that Drew decided to use and used it to bring attention to her artwork, mainly using Instagram to post her artwork and try to bring Black art so people can see what is more important to her. Plus, social media is also a power that artists can use to post a message and their artwork to see what artists are trying to tell viewers what they are saying and delivering a message. This can bring attention to companies to see if it can be featured in an exhibition.

           Curatorial Activism shows how artists can bring their part of art, like Latin American art or Western Art, into the exhibition. But most importantly, seeing how different art is featured defines sexism and racism. Mostly, this happened during the times, and this is still being affected today. This is how some Curatorial Activists show how they are trying to bring their art with messages. Some quotes support Curatorial Activism, and that can be affected by racism and sexism from the author. The author shows how Curatorial Activism can work in anything for men and women. "After even a cursory glance at art world statistics such as these, which are (sadly) almost identical in every mainstream museum throughout the world, it is evident that sexism and racism have become so insidiously woven into the institutional fabric, language and logic of the mainstream art world that the inequities in representation often go undetected" (10). This quote tells us how this can be affected because it shows how it can be suitable to add something that includes sex and race into galleries, which has been affected as of today. However, some different types of art are also being approved by other galleries, such as Latin art and Euro-American art. But also use narratives as another definition that Curatorial activists use for their art to spread their messages for an exhibition. "An exhibition that could show the universality of racist power structures, as one focusing on Bell most certainly would, seemed like the perfect follow-up. Besides, Bell's protest work has tremendous cross-cultural relevance" (16). This is something interesting that Richard Bell has done with his protest artwork. Still, it also shows the important ways to post his artworks around North America and get attention from people, which he has done since college and posted in the exhibition.   

Part 2       

Ben Jones's Shrine of the Spirit 1975

    You can see how Ben Jones brings his own message into his artwork and shows what his artwork really defines and shows the interaction of what he is expressing into his artwork, showing his own message with colors and explaining why he made these artworks. This is one exciting artwork that I saw, which is the Shrine of the Spirit, which shows something vital that he learned in Cuba, which he learned Santeria. He uses this artwork to bring his own physical spaces into a gallery, which also shows more traditional artwork he defines artwork as a African American artwork. But making it cultural is also the definition of what he is doing.  But the mention that mainly interested me is that Ben Jones mentioned that this artwork was a contemporary style, which shows that this is something from the past of one of his artworks. 

 

Ben Jones's Huey Newton Incarcerated 1970 

    

            This is one very interesting work that Ben Jones really made and looking at this it reminds of a innocent person that is in prison because of the person's expression that looks very innocent. Which Ben Jones Explains about this is that where this artwork talks about the leader of the black panthers which the black panthers was a organization to help for the black community with any needs. But this is also interesting which Ben Jones did mention about Martin Luther King Jr which Martin Luther King was a activist for Civil Rights. Which Jones   was around during his time and Ben Jones did saw how he saw the white community and black community and having seperate things at that time. But also what is interesting is that this artwork is related to American History and using it for message for his own artwork. 

 Ben Jones Benin Images 1970 

This is one great artwork that Ben Jones really made but also made it more interesting into his own artwork and looking that Ben Jones decided to make this as a African American Art and American Art and also showing more cultural design. But this is true how Ben Jones decided to make this culturall which looking at this picture does show more historical design and showing his own ways and making this more tradional and making some interesting people to pose in this artwork and showing a lot of interesting colors which shows how Ben Jones really brings more interesting colors into other artworks and show his own expressions to other artworks too.