On Practice?
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Visual Arts Exhibitionary Complex Mapping
Renowned Art Historian and Writer Terry Smith on Mapping the Global Art World & Activism
An Aesthetic Thought Experiment: The Art of Politics
For the sake of discussion, let's perform a short easy thought experiment by creating a set of given assumptions. First let's assume Picasso's Guernica is an ideal example of political art that represents the most compelling argument against war. And, virtue signaling aside, let's all agree that war is so bad that the argument is sufficient to change a person's mind. And, at least by contemporary standards, it is a example of great art by a recognized great artist. The thought experiment is this. Can you name a single potential war that was stopped because humanity reveres this painting? What about violent conflicts? Anything come to mind? Now if you've gotten this far and you still can't think of anything significant and true, the question becomes what if the painting was not an abstract image but just the words 'Stop War'? Here it's a bit more speculative. Do you think that message, clear as day, would stop an act of violence anywhere in the...