I don’t believe saying that we live in a divisive political climate is an understatement. Growing up in an era full of crucial elections and vocal movements, as well as information being a little too accessible via social media, I’ve always felt the weight of our world on my shoulders.
To center myself, I found at a young age that art was my safe haven. When everything felt a little too scary, I would write songs or make mediocre picture books. I have kept this habit in the form of singing along to ’80s hits, writing pretty yet corny poetry, and visiting the Museum of Fine Arts on the weekends.
Art has been my sense of escape and solace for my entire life. I channel its power to be used as my entertainment and my healing. But for many, its power is funneled into what I use it to escape from: our ever-evolving global sphere.
Art’s profoundness and fluidity through its endless mediums have allowed it to become a loud voice of protest. This has been seen for centuries, beginning in ancient Egypt and continuing to the present day.
Art is such a powerful tool for protest that it transcends time by giving a voice to those who use it, carrying immense emotional weight, and uniting people in ways that traditional protest methods cannot.
I believe a picture is worth a thousand words, and visual expression allows us to see both the stark reality of the cruelties of our world and how brutal oppression, poverty, or war can be. It can express pain and suffering in a way that human words often fail to do.
Just look at Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives and Picasso’s “Guernica.” Each expresses agony, the first in New York in the 1880s and the second in Spain in 1937. Feeling removed from tragedy is easy when it’s not on your front doorstep. Art, whether through photography or other forms of visual image, can bring harshness to light.
Not only can paintings and photographs move us in a way that reaches our innermost emotions, but music can do the same. While visual art may alert and enrage the public, music brings people together to do something about it.
Singing in a group evokes a sense of togetherness that protests need. The tunes get caught in people’s minds, making them ponder a different world. Even knowing the same music as someone brings about a sense of kinship. When sung together, it sparks camaraderie and newfound vigor. I personally recommend Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” and “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye.
I’ve been using historically impactful examples, but this is still true of our present time. After the death of George Floyd, murals in his honor were painted across the country to show the horrors of police brutality. Women across the globe have donned the red robes of The Handmaid’s Tale over abortion access.
Just last month, Kendrick Lamar gave a powerful performance during the Super Bowl halftime show by utilizing music, choreography, costumes, and casting to comment on America’s political climate. Human creativity has only grown and grown—as have the challenges that must be fought.
Like any other form of protest, art can be glazed over and silenced. A powerful sculpture can be built to demonstrate injustice and be knocked down the next day. Yet because of our digital age, art can quickly be spread across the entire world. Images, songs, and words from one hemisphere can be seen in the other within seconds.
We’ve grown up in a time where everything is extremely accessible. You do not have to physically be in a certain place to be part of the fight. Instead, people can now advocate for change from anywhere, adding much more support to social movements.
Creativity’s beauty lies in its universality. You don’t have to know every detail of a complex political situation to be moved by something. If anything, being drawn to a piece of art because of its aesthetics is an incredible path toward learning more about what people are fighting for across the globe and why.
Art works in this way because it reflects our shared human experience. It makes people feel seen and spoken to in ways that are almost indescribable. Art is so subversive that it can exist within any system even while critiquing it.
Of course, art cannot bring about a new world on its own. People coming together is what does that. Art’s power, however, lies in its ability to bring unity like no other. Marches, rallies, and boycotts do much of the heavy lifting in eliciting change, but art is often forgotten in terms of how much it does for us. In tandem with these traditional protests, it truly does change the world.
Leave a Reply