Propaganda is a distortion of reality. Our eyes are used as tools to reach into our minds, and foremost, our belief system. By taking advantage of visual aesthetics, art propaganda has become one of the most popular ways of manipulating society. Many figures in power have historically been able to market to society a distorted view of truth. All propaganda has an agenda. Therefore, society becomes a means to an end. We are often persuaded through art, with the hope of accomplishing an ultimate goal. To those with an agenda, civilians are mere obstacles in the way of a bigger objective. Propaganda is a tool that is used to infiltrate our belief systems and mold the susceptible. Artistic expression has no boundaries in the context of propaganda. Since art has no limitations, people have the opportunity to abuse freedom of expression and benefit by portraying visual lies within the public eye. Therefore, our responsibility as individuals is to recognize the power of this vast freedom and use it only until society has the potential of being negatively affected by our artistic expression. Social responsibility becomes more important than individual freedom. We have a responsibility to society to regulate our public display of art, so that others’ perception of reality is not altered by a desire to market false pretenses.
- Hannah Kramer
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What kind of propaganda are you talking about? You say that propaganda is a distortion of reality however;art is a distortion of reality. Is graffiti propaganda? Do people not had the right to express themselves through art. People could argue that graffiti is propaganda, because it is telling people that they can deface public property. I don't get a sense of what specifically you are talking about.
ReplyDeleteI think elaborating on many of the things to state in this paragraph would be helpful. Saying that something is a distorted reality is something you need to explain further, define what you mean by reality. Where is the line between art and propaganda art?
ReplyDeleteI think that you would want to define where art turns into propaganda.
ReplyDelete-How i see the argument made, is that an artist should not display art, if i has a negative affect. What do you mean by negative affect?
-Following this argument one could say that even if one person felt uncomfortable from a piece of art, that would be a negative affect.
-an counter argument: Doesn't the responsibility lie with the individual who i viewing the art, and whether or not creates a illusion in their minds.
What would you say about freedom of speech (through art)? Isn't someone allowed to create a piece that not everyone agrees with that expresses their own views and beliefs? And like Kelsey said, isn't art already a distortion of reality by definition?
ReplyDeleteI like this topic Hannah! I'd like to see how to bring it all together in your other paragraphs.
Is it that society becomes a means to an end or propaganda? How can we determine when art is propaganda? Is it always black and white or is there a gray area?
ReplyDeleteInteresting topic, but a few of the points you made were hard to understand. It might be helpful to put in some definitions of what exactly it is you’re talking about.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, isn't the difference between art and propaganda subjective? What action is society or the individual supposed to take against propaganda, particularly considering that they may consider it to be, at worst, a minor distortion of the truth?
ReplyDeleteI like the point you raise about the relationship between personal expression and public censorship. I'd be interested to see how you deal with the issue of socially accepted propaganda/art.
What do you mean by the act of "abusing freedom of expression"? Should people abstain from making art if the art might be detrimental to the greater social whole? Doesn't this become dangerous when those in power get to determine what is beneficial and what is detrimental to the greater social whole?
ReplyDeletei understand how art can be used as a tool of rhetoric to "negatively effect society", but what who gets to say what is considered "negative"? For example, Amelia's Art and Politics class just created this huge painting of a black mushroom cloud with red bloodlike splatters on it. To me, this is a poignant expression of the detriments of Hiroshima/ nuclear warfare. However, to a chauvinist veteran who had friends die at Pearl Harbor, it might be seen as liberal propaganda made to persuade people to detest an act that he views as a "necessary evil".
Can't all art made for a purpose be considered propaganda, depending on the viewer?
"and use it only until society has the potential of being negatively affected by our artistic expression." This made the argument seem time based to me. Sometimes it's OK to use propaganda and sometimes it isn't? Is bad and hateful propaganda bad in 2009 and 1942? I see where this argument is coming from, but I was unclear about this window where society starts to be negatively affected by something.
ReplyDeleteReally great topic, it would make a really interesting paper.
ReplyDeleteHow is propaganda making society a means to an end? Like who is controlling the propaganda? And what end are they trying to achieve?
the difference between propaganda and art is as cloudy as anythings. Does an artist not have the right to express his views through thier art? If so, when does the message carried in the art become a threat to a society and how does one judge that? A very detailed map of the realm of art, from campaign posters to graffiti to "Achtung Juden" must be drawn, i think, to grip the situation.
ReplyDeleteBy society, do you mean specifically American society?
ReplyDeleteSo are you saying we should limit any biased freedom of expression? Isn't the intention of most art to express an opinion? How do we know when we've crossed over the threshold from opinion to propaganda?
I like this. You're touching on an interesting subject, how art/propaganda can be interpreted differently by different people. This ambiguity makes it difficult to regulate.
ReplyDeleteAlso, how does this manipulation process work? I imagine you go in to more detail about this in later paragraphs. Manipulation is tricky, so if you are going to mention it you might want to explain it.
I like the flow of your writing, I can tell you are very eloquent.