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The Power of Art

Art is a powerful form of political and social protest, according to the document. Document A shows a mural of George Floyd in Minneapolis protesting his murder. Document B is Walt Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" about the Civil War. Document C discusses street artists in Baghdad using art to shape their city. The documents demonstrate how art can convey emotions and messages about important issues to influence society and politics. Art is an effective way to protest nonviolently and raise awareness of global problems.

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Noor Hamza Kchouk
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30 views2 pages

The Power of Art

Art is a powerful form of political and social protest, according to the document. Document A shows a mural of George Floyd in Minneapolis protesting his murder. Document B is Walt Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" about the Civil War. Document C discusses street artists in Baghdad using art to shape their city. The documents demonstrate how art can convey emotions and messages about important issues to influence society and politics. Art is an effective way to protest nonviolently and raise awareness of global problems.

Uploaded by

Noor Hamza Kchouk
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The power of art

(commentary)

 “What is art, after all, but a protest against the horrible inclemency of life?” the prominent English
writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley wrote. One would claim that art is a form of expression of our
thoughts, emotions, intuitions, and desires, in fact, it is even more personal than that: it’s about sharing
the way we experience the world. Art is the communication of intimate concepts that cannot be
faithfully portrayed by words alone. And because words alone are not enough, we must find some
other vehicle to carry our intent. 
The documents under our study all deal with art as a form of political and social protest, yet they are
quite varied in form and content. Document A is a mural of photographs by Andrea Ellen Reed in Lake
Street Minneapolis in August 2020. The photographs display George Floyd’s face, the African
American man brutally murdered by a white police officer during an arrest. Document B is a poem
entitled “Beat! Beat! Drums!” by the American poet, father of the free verse Walt Whitman, published in
1861 shortly after the first major battle of the civil war. Document C is an excerpt from the article
“Protest art turns concrete Tunnel into a vibrant Gallery” published in the Gilgamesh newspaper on
March 6th 2020. The article talks about some young Baghdadi street artists who changed the shape of
the city thanks to their magnificent art.

Using the documents at hand, I will try to analyse how art is an effective form of social and political
protest. The issue to be explored here is how effective is art, can it really change the course of events
and history? After shedding light on the significant role played by artists in denouncing hot button and
burning issues, I will focus on the power of art and its impact on society.

It is widely consented that art is a form of communication which goes beyond words. In document A
and C, street artists have taken up the streets to express their feelings and emotions towards what is
happening in their countries. Whether a bitter feeling of anger and outrage or a celebration of hope and
faith for a brighter future, artists felt the need for a “real graffiti revolution” as a way to convey their
social and political concerns. From Baghdad to Cairo to the USA, the common point is obviously the
need to expose one’s disapproval and bring it down to the street to touch as many people as possible.
In document B, and as soon as we read the title, we are immediately thrown into the weary world of a
tormented poet.
From an excessive punctuation, to many repetitions “Beat! Beat!”, “Blow! Blow”, to numerous negations
“mind not”, “let not”, “no sleepers”, “no bargainers”, Walt Whitman commands the instruments to play
so loudly that the sound bursts through the windows and doors of various places. He imagines the
sound filling the church, causing the congregation to scatter, interrupting a scholar studying at school,
disturbing a bride and groom trying to get some privacy. The poet commands the instruments to play
so loudly that they disrupt everyone's lives, just like war changes society. As we can see here, through
art, the message to be conveyed has obviously touched society, citizens and probably went further to
sensitize politicians to some important issues.

One cannot exactly measure to what extent art is powerful, but one can certainly affirm that art has an
undeniable impact on society and on the course of event. As a matter of fact, as shown in Document
A, street protests and their display of anger have significantly contributed to the 25-year-sentence of
Floyd’s killers. In Document C, we can see that thanks to the Arab Spring social and cultural
revolutions, governments embraced democracy, freedom of speech and more lenient rules.

Art in all its forms is a powerful medium to raise awareness to global issues. As Eddie Vedder claimed;
“Though some may think there should be a separation between art, music and politics, it should be
reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest.”

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