Pop-Aganda: Revolution & IconographyPop-Aganda: Revolution & Iconography
https://mattress.org/upcoming-artists/
After three research trips to Russia, Tavia La Follette (director/founder/curator) has selected eight multidisciplinary, social practice-oriented artists in Russia and the U.S. All of the artists identify as female or are on the gender spectrum.
In the spirt of ArtUp (the non-profit in which La Follette founded and funds SOP), she selects artists that are “not afraid to push boundaries and strive to investigate new channels of artistic communication…the goal of ArtUp is to build artistic models for systemic change” (www.artup.org). La Follette explains, “Just as the earth’s plates shift, so does humanity. Culture shifts toward cultural evolution. By choosing all women, selecting indigenous and people of color for this artistic dialogue, I am also moving to create a transformative journey – a project toward reconciliation and transcendent practices in both the artists, the programing and the visitors/community who interact with it”.
ART FOR THE MASSES
Propaganda comes from the verb to propagate—to breed or cultivate. However, in the context of the word propaganda, it is about breeding or cultivating an idea to the masses. Cultures, countries, religion, and ideologies have been using forms of propaganda since ancient times to disseminate modes of belief. In an age of disinformation, it is hard to decipher “realities” spread, bred and cultivated in the name of facts. Propaganda images often proliferate into Icons, defining an entire aesthetic movement. Artists play an important instigative role in this process. For example, Agitprop (from agitate and propaganda) from Soviet Russia, was a visual and simple way of communicating ideologies to the masses. It moved from two-dimensional art to performance. Agitprop theater and the aesthetic spread to Europe and the US. Over time, it became a label for politicized art. Pop art, like propaganda, is designed for the masses. However, unlike the moral ideas that are connected to propaganda, pop art is about the cultural context of the object itself. Both can be considered Revolutionary.
This show grew out of an age of disinformation, where worldwide ‘realities’ are spread, bred, and cultivated in the name of facts. Off-script political expression is not allowed in Russia where dissident culture can barely survive in the margins. As we know well in this country, one can’t judge a people by their leader. This show and this statement are historic acts in a historic moment in support of artistic expression. Art must be seen to be heard.
We honor those brave enough to practice in the margins and trust our visitors to map their own migration of ideas.
In the spirt of ArtUp (the non-profit in which La Follette founded and funds SOP), she selects artists that are “not afraid to push boundaries and strive to investigate new channels of artistic communication…the goal of ArtUp is to build artistic models for systemic change” (www.artup.org). La Follette explains, “Just as the earth’s plates shift, so does humanity. Culture shifts toward cultural evolution. By choosing all women, selecting indigenous and people of color for this artistic dialogue, I am also moving to create a transformative journey – a project toward reconciliation and transcendent practices in both the artists, the programing and the visitors/community who interact with it”.
ART FOR THE MASSES
Propaganda comes from the verb to propagate—to breed or cultivate. However, in the context of the word propaganda, it is about breeding or cultivating an idea to the masses. Cultures, countries, religion, and ideologies have been using forms of propaganda since ancient times to disseminate modes of belief. In an age of disinformation, it is hard to decipher “realities” spread, bred and cultivated in the name of facts. Propaganda images often proliferate into Icons, defining an entire aesthetic movement. Artists play an important instigative role in this process. For example, Agitprop (from agitate and propaganda) from Soviet Russia, was a visual and simple way of communicating ideologies to the masses. It moved from two-dimensional art to performance. Agitprop theater and the aesthetic spread to Europe and the US. Over time, it became a label for politicized art. Pop art, like propaganda, is designed for the masses. However, unlike the moral ideas that are connected to propaganda, pop art is about the cultural context of the object itself. Both can be considered Revolutionary.
This show grew out of an age of disinformation, where worldwide ‘realities’ are spread, bred, and cultivated in the name of facts. Off-script political expression is not allowed in Russia where dissident culture can barely survive in the margins. As we know well in this country, one can’t judge a people by their leader. This show and this statement are historic acts in a historic moment in support of artistic expression. Art must be seen to be heard.
We honor those brave enough to practice in the margins and trust our visitors to map their own migration of ideas.