Is political art possible In your response, concentrate on three works Essay

Is political art possible In your response, concentrate on three works with political claims and objectives - Essay Example Particularly when the artist chooses to depict recognizable subjects, future generations of viewers are able to glean some sense of how the people lived by thoroughly examining changes in depictions from one generation of artists to another, watching for deliberate misrepresentation of images and juxtaposition of elements, all of which can provide clues as to the underlying social and political structures of the era. Attempts to understand these deeper elements of art can be improved by coming to a greater understanding of literature, whose expression is closely connected to the concepts underlying artistic practices. Social theorists and academics commonly look to literature as a means of achieving greater understanding of events such as massive cultural shifts like that experienced during the post-war period and cultural hybridity. Because these concepts are difficult to define or explain, literature offers the necessary examples and analogies which bridge gaps in understanding and pose new questions to be watched for in the artworks produced. The idea of cultural hybridity has taken on great significance since the mid-20th century as social and cultural shifts prompted by globalization have had increasing impact on our world. Although commonly employed to refer to the effects of pre-war colonialism, in which a technologically dominant society overpowers a less developed nation, the concepts that have emerged from studies into cultural hybridity have taken on new significance in light of globalization and transnationalism as the artist attempts to depict the mood of an entire nation. The concepts and aftereffects of colonialism became a subject of great consideration during the postwar period particularly within the academic world and have recently, within the past few decades, become the focus of a number of political artworks and artists. â€Å"Colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another† (Kohn). O riginally, colonialism was thought to apply only to the specific action of moving people from a dominant territory, like England, to a new territory, like Africa, for permanent purposes. This type of relocation effort is also commonly characterized by the expectation that those relocated individuals will continue to cling to their home rule standards of living even within the bounds of the new location. In other words, settlers were expected to adhere to their former modes of dress, behavior styles and observe the cultural standards of their original home country rather than attempt to in with or adopt the standards of the people already living in the area. Regardless of their status in the home country, these settlers were given the impression that it was their task to convince the local people to change their ‘heathen’ or ‘uncivilized’ ways so they might come into compliance with the colonizing culture’s ideals and thus be able to compete on the 'h igher' or 'better' level. Although there were reasons why this deliberate attempt to replace entire cultures was considered justifiable, the attempt was also perhaps unavoidable. The practice of colonization was considered to be important to the global community because â€Å"a temporary period of political dependence or tutelage was necessary in order for ‘uncivilized’ societies to advance to the point where they were capable of sustaining liberal institutions and self-government†