Art is a powerful driving force in nearly every modern culture. Through its vast mediums people are always finding ways to express their thoughts and feelings through art. It is often through art that the wants and needs of “the people” are first exposed in the “mainstream”. People have presented and made art in such provocative ways that caused our societies to change and shift to new social, political, and cultural norms. In our modern world to be an artist is to be an activist. Not all activism is art, but all art involves activism. In a society that consistently seeks to dehumanize, commodify, and deflate us as human beings to be alive in your expression, say no to the industrial ways of work, and freely be your deepest human self is to defy the plight of the human condition. Art also makes the radical more palatable. Whether the idea is far right or left when given to the world through art it’s easily digested, pondered, and sometimes even acted upon. Today I explore those ways in which art has helped change our society.
I want to bring us to the year 2004. Facebook is launching, Lance Armstrong wins his 6th straight Tour De France, US President George W. Bush is re-elected, The Incredibles is fresh on the scene, and the average national price for gas was $1.88. In the midst of all of this, a hip-hop group from Atlanta, Georgia commandeers the ear of the nation with a song that would grip the fashion culture of America’s youth. “White Tee”, by Dem Franchize Boyz exploded as one of the hottest songs in 2004. Hitting number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In an era, and culture, the opposite of minimalism DFB made the statement that less is more when it came to their clothes, speaking in their video about the affordability of the new style, “5 for $10?…Great news, I just saved a ton on my wardrobe by switching to white tees” the faux news anchor says in their video for the single. As the song’s hook goes, “Fuck a throwback I look clean, in my white tee” DFB denounces even wearing the jerseys of cultural sports icons of past and present for their favored modest and clean look. Think about fashion today, specifically in hip-hop culture (which is now pop culture), designer brands and their logos are flaunted, the biggest price tag is praised, and honestly if it’s not name brand it’s probably considered to be lame. 17 years ago this group took a stance on fashion that said they’re not concerned with what’s popular or what’s expensive, defying consumerism. No more dollars were going to big fashion corporations that thrived on minorities' ability to make them popular with no return to their communities. And instead of money going to say a Ralph Lauren or Gucci, it was being spent locally at beauty shops and gas stations that supplied the shirts for the “White Tee Extravaganza”. They were comfortable in their own skin and didn’t need the social protection of logos and price tags to be considered stylish.
NINETEEN EIGHTY-NINE! (In my Flava Flav voice). Artists are consistently sending messages through their work. No matter what the content, there’s always a message. As an artist you hope your message reaches its target audience. So when George Bush Sr. called Dread Scott’s art installation “What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag?”, “Disgraceful”, Scott thought it to be, “a tremendous honor” during his Ted Talk (yes, a real Ted Talk). The art installation, at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, was for patrons to participate in themselves. It featured a collage poster with the title of the installation, a book for participants to write their feelings in, and an American Flag on the ground directly below the book, where people had to stand. Way too often the change seen and experienced through and by art is intangible. This piece was able to stir the social pot so much it had to be addressed in court in the capitol of our country; it inspired a Flag Protection Bill to be proposed in the same year. Ultimately going unsigned. Beyond the near change of legislation also lied the surreal experience participants were faced with analyzing the oppressive systemic issues we have in America and abroad due to foreign policy and ambitions. Americans often sit upon a high horse because we are indoctrinated to believe we are the best in the world at everything and in every way. This attitude makes us ignorant to our own issues and reluctant to learn we have issues in the first place and then docile to act upon the fixing of said issues. Art of this kind poses a special kind of problem for our government and so-called “American Way of Life”, because the curse of knowledge is that once one is made aware one is also faced with the desire and need to act upon what is now known. That feeling and need to act on what is now known is the actual first step in change in any arena.
Our country is no stranger to police shootings. On average around 3 people are killed daily by police in America. And in most cases officers are not charged with any crimes, receive paid leave, and then just return back to work like nothing happened after a couple of weeks. It was rare for these shootings, and non convictions, to be met with any resistance or change to police policy. That is until 2014 when a kid named Michael Brown was murdered by a policeman in Ferguson, MO. This murder sparked an active resistance in the streets of Ferguson, and for the first time in my lifetime I saw people stand up for what we all knew to be a terrible tragedy. Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Robert Cohen, one of six photographers from the Pulitzer Prize winning St. Louis Dispatch who covered the Ferguson uprisings. Personally, I think it’s more beneficial no matter what the circumstance is to get first hand accounts from people who lived the moments we are curious about. Which is why I reached out to Robert to ask him specifically about his photo of Edward Crawford, the image that captivated not only Ferguson residents leading it to become a sign of resistance itself, but the entire nation as we watched the events unfold. The image shows Mr. Crawford dressed in an american flag tank top, blue jeans, eating a bag of chips, and throwing back tear gas towards the police which had been used against the civilians that night. Robert has been a photojournalist for over 30 years covering the St. Louis area. He explained to me that protests were normal, but the events of Ferguson were very rare. The biggest thing that made this event different, aside from the military like quickness and overall response from police, was that normally police were observers of protests which usually involved them just watching and not being active participants. During the events of Ferguson police became active because they were now the targets of the protest. The Pulitzer Prize brought a sense of validity to work of the St. Louis Dispatch and to the protests themselves. When attention, especially from national mainstream outlets, is given to major issues and events the attention itself can often become an instrument of change. The Ferguson protest brought about a lot of change in the area. Police budgets, quotas, and legislation surrounding bail were altered on a local level after the protests. As we know today in 2021 the struggle between the public and police is still not over and we will never get those lives back, but resistance to our circumstances is proving to be beneficial in the marginalized people’s struggle for their human and civil rights to be recognized in America.
As capitalism demands the commodification of everything under the sun it is important to remember the impact of these things are real and are in direct defiance of the demands of our capitalist society. Art is the messenger of the people. Art will tell you what is happening in this world better than Fox News or CNN. Art and artists will be at the forefront of all revolutionary thinking and action, like they have always been. Look to these examples whenever you’re in doubt of the power of artistic expression and its lasting effects on our world.