2. Function of Art
 Rulers and governments use art to celebrate and
spread their earthly power. Art is also used in war,
either in creating weapons and armor for it or in
making images that promote it. It also gives us
images of peacemaking and monuments for peace.
 Art can be an equally strong voice of protest
against a government or against a social practice.
People who are not in power can use art to art to
affirm their ideas and to protest against warfare,
oppression, or political policy.

3. POWER, POLITICS, AND
GLORY
 Throughout human history, a vast amount of artwork
has promoted, popularized or propagandized
governments as well as those who lead them.
 Art has depicted war and helped shape our reaction
to war.
 Art has also celebrated peace.
 Artists use devices for this function.

4. THE GLORY OF THE
RULER
Artistic Devices
 The idealized image:
 the ruler’s face and/or
body are depicted
without flaw and often
includes a wise or
dignified demeanor.

5. THE GLORY OF THE
RULER
Artistic Devices
 Symbols:
 details are included that
indicate omnipotence,
authority, or divine
blessing: some symbols
show military or religious
power

6. THE GLORY OF THE
RULER
Artistic Devices
 Compositional devices:
 the ruler often occupies
the center of a picture
and may be shown
larger than attendants or
other figures; the ruler’s
clothing may attract
attention

7. WAR
War is part of the
history of most
civilizations and
cultures, and it is part
of the story of power,
politics, and glory.
War Scenes
 Art can present war as a
memorable, even glorious,
action-filled event. Or art
can document battles from
various points of view.
Finally art can emphasize
the horrors of war.

8. War Memorials
An entire book could be
devoted to monumental
art dedicated to war
victories, battles, and
the dying.
 Maya Lin designed the
Vietnam Veterans
Memorial in 1982.
 Names of the 58,000 men
and women who died in
the war are carved on the
black granite surface.

9. PEACE
Winged allegorical
figures, doves, women,
and pastoral
landscapes have
symbolized peace in
Western art. Gardens,
bells, and temples
serve as monuments to
peace in Asia, Europe,
and the Americas.

11. SOCIAL
PROTEST/AFFIRMATION
 Many artists protest injustice with their artwork.
 They identify villains, honor heroes, and promote
causes with emotional and visual impact unequaled
by the written word.
 Protest art is a form of affirmation, because it is
based on respect for human dignity and the belief
that change is possible.

12. FIGHTING FOR THE
OPPRESSED
Artists who fight for the
rights and affirm the
values of economically
or politically repressed
peoples use several
strategies to make their
points more forcefully.
These include beauty,
illustration, narrative,
humor and shock. Most
social protest works
are designed generally
to affect public
consciousness, rather
than to prescribe
specific changes.

13. Strategies for Protesting
Oppression
Beauty
 Beauty and excitement
can be very effective
elements.
 In Eugène Delacroix’s
Liberty Leading the
People, Liberty has been
personified and made like
a Greek goddess in her
profile and her idealized
body.

14. Strategies for Protesting
Oppression
Illustration
 Lewis Hine’s 1910
photograph, Leo, 48
Inches High, 8 Years Old,
Picks Up Bobbins at 15¢ a
Day, illustrated the
injustice of child labor.

15. Strategies for Protesting
Oppression
Narrative
 Ben Shahn’s The Passion
of Sacco and Vanzetti, is a
narration of an unjust trial
that ended in the
execution of two men.

16. Strategies for Protesting
Oppression
Shock
 Cildo Meireles’ Insertions
into Ideological Circuits:
Coca-Cola Project in 1970
was a shocking piece that
protested the Brazilian
government.

17. Strategies for Protesting
Oppression
Humor
 Ester Hernandez’ Sun
Mad is an example of
humor.

18. Affirming the Values of the
Oppressed
When a group of people
is oppressed, their way
of life tends to be
discounted or ridiculed.
Art is an especially
effective tool for
affirming the lifestyles
and values of down
trodden groups.
 In 1533, Hans Holbein the
Younger painted the
portraits of Jean de
Dinteville and Georges de
Selve (“The
Ambassadors”). De
Dinteville was a political
leader and de Selve a
religious leader, but both
were examples of
authority which affirmed
all things can be studied
understood and
classified (faith is
foolish).