The World Changes Through Art, But Can Art Change Opinions?
As a Social Justice major concentrating on the use of art for social change, one of the most important questions that goes through my head daily is, “Can art really change the world?” I’ve come to realize that the answer is: yes. Architecture, infrastructure, design, “creative thinking” in corporations, advances in technology, etc., can all be connected to art in some way. Because of this, another question that feels increasingly important to me is, “Can art change people’s opinions?” Through consciousness-raising, many artists use their art to try and make a social change.
Why?
Art creates empathy. I believe art is one of the strongest ways to make society see injustices and, consequently, to make a change. People come together for art, no matter their backgrounds, political ideologies, or religious beliefs. In this coming together, there are opportunities for research, learning, raising awareness, persuading, communing and mobilizing for change. This is something that has happened from the beginning of time and will continue to happen for the decades to come. As artistic consciousness raisers, we aim to make work that will raise awareness for issues, push the limits of people’s thinking, spark debates, and hopefully, make a positive social change.
This topic is even more important in our current political climate. With the recent election of Donald Trump as our nation’s president, there has been an uproar of negativity and violence from the far right. In recent events, students around the country have been standing up and walking out for more gun control after another school shootings that occurred at a Florida high school .
The survivors of the shooting have been taking the lead in the media, begging the government for better gun control so that other students and people won’t have to die or go through the same trauma. In a country that can usually agree that kids are innocent and need protection, there has been a lot of backlash from more conservative thinkers. With social media posts and memes attacking the kids for standing up for not just their rights, but their lives, I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t anything that will get through to some people’s mindsets. I keep asking myself, “How do I make these people FEEL? How do I make them empathize with people facing discrimination and worried about their lives?” And when I see people attacking and discriminating against people of different racial, gender, sexual, and religious identities, I can’t help but ask, “How do I make you see that they are all humans with the same feelings, desires, and rights as anyone?”
I hope art can do this.
For centuries, art has been used to create change and to spread political and social messages. On the website Quora, the question “Which work of art has changed the world significantly?” was asked and Jacquelyn McBain posted a wonderful article discussing many different artists and works that have been credited as making some sort of change in our world.
Albert Bierstadt created paintings of western America in the 1850s and 1860s, causing people to travel and settle west. The Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange in 1939 helped bring awareness to and help the Depression. Images of injured kids in the Vietnam War helped bring an end to it.
I myself have started to create work that inspires social change. In the spring of 2017, I created an interactive community art project on rape culture. Titled “Constructing Sexual Violence”, the piece consisted of multiple mannequin pieces which were placed on a table in Hamline University’s student center and people passing by were invited to add to the pieces, focusing on experiences they had or things they heard about victims of sexual violence.
Having multiple pieces, instead of a full-bodied mannequin, was an important decision in itself. It shows how rape, and the culture that surrounds it, dismembers women and victims. Using the various broken pieces created an feeling of discomfort to people passing by. This was important as it breaks down the privilege that comes from being able to not experience being, even think about being, uncomfortable. It showcases how victims feel at fault, broken, beaten down, and trapped. Lastly, having a full-bodied mannequin could perpetuate ableism and “ideal” body types — something I wanted to avoid. The anonymity of the creators (the people adding to the mannequin pieces) was important because rape culture is a systemic, institutional, and therefore always an anonymous phenomenon. There is no way to say one person or one action is at blame. The anonymity of this art piece was vital in that it showed the same anonymity that is in our society.
According to the website Reference, art changes opinions, instills values, and translates experiences, which influences society. Split into different categories, this article explains the different ways and how art influences people. First, it says that “Painting, sculpture, music, literature and other arts are often considered to be the repository of a society’s collective memory.” Meaning, art in its various forms can create snapshots of time, events, and emotions. Many types of art can transcend time, and are saved and preserved for years, decades, and sometimes even centuries. Next, Reference states that art can be used as a vehicle for social change and can give politically and/or socially marginalized people a voice. And for those who see and experience this art, emotions can be roused and so will the movement for change. Reference also says that art creates an environment for community building, as it provides some sort of social connection with others.
While it’s easy to pinpoint artistic pieces that can be connected and correlated to a revolution and social change, there is also a scientific connection between art and social change. Abigail Tucker’s article “How Does the Brain Process Art?” concludes that art does in fact have the ability to make people feel different things, interpret things differently, and hopefully that means it has the ability to make people change their opinions. Neuroscientist Ulrich Kirk conducted an experiment with 10 volunteers and Michelangelo’s Expulsion from Paradise. He asked them to examine a specific portion of the painting and monitored their brains using a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation. He found that during examination of this piece, there was an activation of certain muscles. Tucker says that the brain mirrors actions that are depicted in a piece of art.
There are many examples of how art has been used to raise awareness for social change. There is even scientific proof that art transforms peoples’ brains. This brings me hope. I believe that the use of art is, and will continue to be, one of the most important forms of organization for social change.
This piece is part of a series written by college undergraduates enrolled in off-campus study programs through the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA). HECUA programs offer students a chance to think deeply about the issues that matter most, and we’d like to share a piece of that experience with you. Every student post on the HECUA Medium page considers a theory or reading that intersects with that student’s lived experience. For more information about HECUA programs, click here.
