Social Commentary

Another function of art throughout history has been to comment on events occuring in society. Art often supports or denounces controversial events, such as war, and even goes as far as to criticize people for their actions. Again, this creates controversy. Social commentary has often highlighted believed flaws in certain cultures, insulting cultural groups and others.

Akhenaton - ca. 1300 BCE

For thousands of years, through Egypt's Old, Middle, and most of the New Kingdom, Egyptians had a strong polytheistic culture ruled by pharaohs. Pharaohs were thought to be divine, and after their death, their ka, or soul, would travel to the afterlife to be united with the gods. The Egyptian statues modeled this as well. Pharaohs, in art, were depicted as people with perfect form, muscular, lean, rigid, and fit, The Egyptians were obsessed with this idea of the afterlife and their ka, but with the arrival of Pharaoh Akhenaton, the entirety of Egyptian culture changed under his reign. Akhenaten changed the Egyptian religion into a monotheistic one, with the sole god being Aton. This started what was known as the Amarna Period in Egyptian history, and the statues, as seen here, were very feminine in form: curvy, not ideal, and thin. Akhenaton, unconventionally, is shown here with wide hips ,a prominent belly, and a thin, sallow face.

Vincent van Gogh, Dr. Paul Gatchet - 1890

Dr. Paul Gachet was an 1890 piece by post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh. Dr. Paul Gachet was van Gogh’s psychiatrist, but was a man very interested in the arts. At the time, van Gogh was suffering from heavy depression, and Dr. Paul Gachet was doing his best to improve van Gogh’s condition. In this piece, van Gogh is depicting Dr. Paul Gachet in a very sad and depressing demeanor. This is what drew a lot of controversy: van Gogh was the one suffering from depression, and Gachet was supposed to be treating van Gogh; however, van Gogh unusually decided to depict Gachet with depression. van Gogh traditional use of impasto (thick brush strokes) is seen in this piece.

Otto Dix, Trench Warfare - 1932

Otto Dix was a German artist known for his harshly realistic pieces about the Weimar German society. Dix was also a German soldier during WWI, but he was sent home after being wounded in a battle. After this injury, Dix began to paint pieces about the brutalities and horrors of war, and soon, he became an art teacher at the Dresden Academy in Germany. In 1932, Dix painted this piece, Trench Warfare, which is the center panel in a three paneled triptych. In 1933, when the Nazi party took over Germany, many of Dix’s paintings were destroyed because they were a “gruesome depiction of war”. He was soon forced to join the Nazi government’s Reich Chamber of Fine Arts and was heavily censored by the Nazis.

Salvador Dali, The Enigma of William Tell - 1933

In The Enigma of William Tell, surrealist Salvador Dali depicts Vladimir Lenin,a Russian communist revolutionary, politician, and ruler. This unusual portrayal of Lenin immediately created controversy - Lenin is shown nude from the waist down, and one part of his buttocks is exaggerated and elongated. Adding to the controversy was the fact that many other surrealist painters at the time were supportive of the rising Marxist and communist views. This sardonic portrayal of Lenin caused outrage among some of these artists, who reportedly attempted to destroy this piece. William Tell is a Swiss folk hero, and in legend, is a master marksman with a bow who assassinated a tyrant called Gessler. The inscription on the stone in the piece translates into the title, and the word enigma embodies the mystery behind this piece, furthering the debate over this artwork.

Gran Fury, Kissing Doesn't Kill - 1989

Kissing Doesn’t Kill was a piece created in 1989 by a group known as the Gran Fury. This group rose during the 1980s AIDS epidemic, angered by the lack of government care to the AIDS victims. To inspire change, the Gran Fury created many public artworks highlighting the prejudice towards those with AIDS. This piece, along with others created by Gran Fury, were featured on the sides of buses and trains as well as in transit station billboards in large metropolitan cities such as New York, Chicago, and Washington DC. This pieces stirred up controversy because of its somewhat scandalous nature, and also because it highlighted governmental discrepancies.

Marcus Harvey, Myra - 1995

Myra was a 1995 piece created by artist Marcus Harvey. It immediately created controversy because it depicts child murderer Myra Hindley and is done using the handprints of young children; this ironic method of creation exemplifies the stark contrast between youthful innocence and Myra Hindley’s atrocious crimes. Interestingly, when Hindley heard of this piece, she requested that this piece be taken out from public exhibits.

Ai Weiwei, Colored Vases - 2006

Ai Weiwei is a contemporary Chinese artist who often used his art to make a political or social statement. He used unusual mediums to make his point, and this often generated a lot of controversy. Colored Vases was created in 2010 by dipping earthenware vases into industrial paint buckets. The symbolism by covering the surfaces with new paint is that what is underneath, like history, is no longer visible, but still present. By creating this piece, Ai Weiwei is calling attention to the social issue of censorship and the hiding of information from people.