Art and politics
For years, artists have been using their work to make political points, ranging from Picasso’s criticism of the Franco government in his painting Guernica to Banksy’s graffitti middle finger to the UK police. Now one Canadian artist has accused the government of withdrawing funding from her own political piece, “What Would the Planet Do” which was supposed to have its first major European exhibition in Croatia later this month.
At first glance, it seems like the bad guys are pretty obviously the Canadian government, holding back artistic talent and deciding, on a whim, who they will and who they won’t support, destroying or building up careers as they see fit. Or at least that’s what the artist, Franke James, is saying. She insists that the withdrawal of a government grant has left her struggling to get her work shown anywhere, although I’m pretty sure the discount displays in my local shopping mall are still available…?
Anyway, when you look into this particular case more closely, you begin to understand why the Canadian government might have decided to withdraw their funding; the piece is extremely critical of their environmental record. James is screaming “censorship” but the fact is the government are not doing anything to stop her creating her pieces, they simply don’t feel like spending their precious arts budget promoting an artist that is going to travel the world painting them (literally and figuratively) in a bad light. After all, you wouldn’t expect the government to contribute funds to the coffers of opposition parties or magazines and newspapers that criticise them, so should an artist be any different?
Similar Posts:
Top 7 Cultural Short Break Destination In The UK : LONDONLondon…
Arts and Crafts that are Made Specifically for the Elderly : The…
The Cumbia Dance : Cumbia is widely considered Colombia’s…
The Electric Boogaloos : The Electric Boogaloos and guests…
Comments are closed!