Can art play any meaningful role in countering the recent direction of US politics? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 week ago by merde@sh.itjust.works to c/nowhereelsetoshare@sh.itjust.works

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We all wish it could, but it can’t. I have a favourite example. One of Picasso’s greatest works, Guernica, was made shortly after the bombing of the town of Guernica in Spain by Franco, the fascist dictator and friend of Hitler’s. Picasso read about it and created this antiwar masterpiece from the images in his head. Afterwards, we had the bombing of Dresden, Nagasaki, Hiroshima and then 9/11. So if that scale of greatness can have no effect whatsoever, we need to realise the limitations of art and music.

☞ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/mar/20/steve-reich-we-all-wish-art-could-counter-the-direction-of-us-politics-but-it-cant

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[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 10 points 1 week ago

A few years ago I went to the Brooklyn Museum for a display of pulp magazine covers. When I got there I saw that they were also doing a display of Holocaust Art. According to the placards, numerous German commanders had given concentration camp inmates art materials so they, the warders, could enjoy some beauty in their homes. One of the pieces was a cartoon. It was drawn on a shipping label. It was a picture of the King of Switzerland and the Pope's wife, who were coming to inspect the camp for the Red Cross.

If people in concentration camps can make art and silly jokes, there's no reason the rest of us can't.

this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2025

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