Melville's Art of Democracy

Melville's Art of Democracy

Author: Nancy Fredricks

Publisher: University of Georgia Press

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 9780820316826

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This challenging and timely study demonstrates that the problems Melville faced as a writer - the relationship between politics and aesthetics and the representation of the marginalized without appropriation - are similar to issues faced in the academy today.


Public Art and the Fragility of Democracy

Public Art and the Fragility of Democracy

Author: Fred Evans

Publisher: Columbia Themes in Philosophy, Social Criticism, and the Arts

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 9780231187589

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Fred Evans develops philosophical and political criteria for assessing how public art can respond to the fragility of democracy. He calls for considering such artworks as acts of citizenship, pointing to their capacity to resist autocratic tendencies and reveal new dimensions of democratic society.


The Art of Democracy

The Art of Democracy

Author: Jim Cullen

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2002-07

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1583670653

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The highly acclaimed first edition of The Art of Democracy won the 1996 Ray and Pat Brown Award for "Best Book," presented by the Popular Culture Association.


Art and Democracy in Post-Communist Europe

Art and Democracy in Post-Communist Europe

Author: Piotr Piotrowski

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2012-08-01

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 1861899319

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When the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, Eastern Europe saw a new era begin, and the widespread changes that followed extended into the world of art. Art and Democracy in Post-Communist Europe examines the art created in light of the profound political, social, economic, and cultural transformations that occurred in the former Eastern Bloc after the Cold War ended. Assessing the function of art in post-communist Europe, Piotr Piotrowski describes the changing nature of art as it went from being molded by the cultural imperatives of the communist state and a tool of political propaganda to autonomous work protesting against the ruling powers. Piotrowski discusses communist memory, the critique of nationalism, issues of gender, and the representation of historic trauma in contemporary museology, particularly in the recent founding of contemporary art museums in Bucharest, Tallinn, and Warsaw. He reveals the anarchistic motifs that had a rich tradition in Eastern European art and the recent emergence of a utopian vision and provides close readings of many artists—including Ilya Kavakov and Krzysztof Wodiczko—as well as Marina Abramovic’s work that responded to the atrocities of the Balkans. A cogent investigation of the artistic reorientation of Eastern Europe, this book fills a major gap in contemporary artistic and political discourse.


When Art Worked

When Art Worked

Author: Roger G. Kennedy

Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13:

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Commemorates the achievements of the artists put to work by the government and explores how their art repaired the national sense of self. From publisher description.


Provoking Democracy

Provoking Democracy

Author: Caroline Levine

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0470766255

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A provocative and compelling book that explores the complex relationship between democracy and avant-garde art, offering a surprising new perspective on the critical role that the arts play in democratic governance at home and abroad. Covers a broad range of topics, from disputes over public art, copyright, and obscenity, to the operations of the House Un-American Activities Committee during the Cold War Highlights detailed and at times shocking debates over the role of the rebellious artist within society


Democratic Art

Democratic Art

Author: Sharon Ann Musher

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2015-05-04

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 022624718X

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At its height in 1935, the New Deal devoted roughly $27 million ($320 million today) to supporting tens of thousands of needy writers, dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists, who created over 100,000 worksbooks, murals, plays, concertsthat were performed for or otherwise imbibed by millions of Americans. But why did the government get so involved with the arts in the first place? Musher addresses this question and many others by exploring the political and aesthetic concerns of the 1930s, as well as the range of responsesfrom politicians, intellectuals, artists, and taxpayersto the idea of active government involvement in the arts. In the process, she raises vital questions about the roles that the arts should play in contemporary society."


David's Sling

David's Sling

Author: Victoria C. Gardner Coates

Publisher: Encounter Books

Published: 2016-01-05

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 1594037221

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Throughout Western history, the societies that have made the greatest contributions to the spread of freedom have created iconic works of art to celebrate their achievements. Yet despite the enduring appeal of these works—from the Parthenon to Michelangelo’s David to Picasso’s Guernica—histories of both art and democracy have ignored this phenomenon. Millions have admired the artworks covered in this book but relatively few know why they were commissioned, what was happening in the culture that produced them, or what they were meant to achieve. Even scholars who have studied them for decades often miss the big picture by viewing them in isolation from a larger story of human striving. David’s Sling places into context ten canonical works of art executed to commemorate the successes of free societies that exerted political and economic influence far beyond what might have been expected of them. Fusing political and art history with a judicious dose of creative reconstruction, Victoria Coates has crafted a lively narrative around each artistic object and the free system that inspired it. This book integrates the themes of creative excellence and political freedom to bring a fresh, new perspective to both. In telling the stories of ten masterpieces, David’s Sling invites reflection on the synergy between liberty and human achievement.


Street Art and Democracy in Latin America

Street Art and Democracy in Latin America

Author: Olivier Dabène

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2019-09-24

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 3030269132

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This book explores street art’s contributions to democracy in Latin America through a comparative study of five cities: Bogota (Colombia), São Paulo (Brazil), Valparaiso (Chile), Oaxaca (Mexico) and Havana (Cuba). The author argues that when artists invade public space for the sake of disseminating rage, claims or statements, they behave as urban citizens who try to raise public awareness, nurture public debates and hold authorities accountable. Street art also reveals how public space is governed. When local authorities try to contain, regulate or repress public space invasions, they can achieve their goals democratically if they dialogue with the artists and try to reach a consensus inspired by a conception of the city as a commons. Under specific conditions, the book argues, street level democracy and collaborative governance can overlap, prompting a democratization of democracy.