Controversial Art and Censorship
Please answer each question below with minimum 2-3 full paragraphs to cover the sub-points as well. APA citations and references required.
Answers should be commentary—not exposition.
Please be attentive to the 80/20 rule regarding the use of outside sources. (No more than 20% of any post may be comprised of outside source material—this includes material that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.)
1-Although controversial art is not a topic exclusive to the 20th century, the distribution of information regarding controversial art has increased with the proliferation of media. Please discuss an example of a 20th century controversial work of art from any discipline of the humanities (music, literature, sculpture, film, etc.) and an accompanying statement from the artist(s)
- Based on your example, to what extent does controversial art make a social contribution?
- Are governments ever justified in censoring art?
2-Consider that many of history’s most renowned and prolific artists were essentially tradesmen doing work for pay. While being an “artist” is a conceit in today’s society and carries with it a certain implied intellectualism, artists as famed as as Michelangelo were, to a certain extent, simply painting and sculpting commissioned work for which they hoped to be paid.
Now, the above facts do not negate or diminish the idea of art with a purpose and there is nothing to suggest that even work for hire artists did not attempt to impart a purpose and agenda in their work; however, it does seem that art can be divided into two camps: art that is produced in the hope of monetary recompense and art that is produced for “art’s sake”.
- With this in mind, where do we (class) stand on the question of purpose in art?
- Should art have a purpose?
- What responsibility does the artist have to create work that is more than merely decorative or intended to reap some sort of reward or recompense?
Answer Preview
The 20th century was be marked by the various controversial arts which are recalled from different disciplines ranging from the field of music, film, and sculpture. Although they made social contributions, they couldn’t avoid being censored by the governments. One of these controversial arts is the sculpture by David Cerny who painted a Soviet tank pink…
(692 Words)