Finn Millar

FINN MILLAR

DOI 10.20933/100001379

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How to be a political artist:

A Critical Analysis into the Facets of Political and Activist Artistic Practices with a Focus on Group Material

Fine Art (Hons)

Word count: 7524

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Fine Art.

Duncan of Jordonstone College of Art and design

University of Dundee 2025

Abstract

This dissertation serves as a study into the facets and nuances of the reality of building a political based art practice; defining political and activist art, examining fallacies of political art within the traditional mainstream artistic spaces, demonstrating the advantages of operating outside of these traditional spaces, and exploring the methods in which we as artists can influence and improve these spaces. The work of activist art collective Group Material served as a cornerstone for this dissertation’s research, with their career threaded throughout the forthcoming chapters. The accumulation of these factors will produce a body of work intended for aspiring political/activist-based artists to engage with as a digestible and informative piece of writing to build their own practice upon.

Title Page

Abstract Acknowledgements

List of Figures

Introduction

Chapter 1: What is Political Art?

Chapter 2: Fallacies of the Traditional Artistic Institutions

Chapter 3: Alternatives to the Traditional Gallery Space

Chapter 4: The Political Artist and the Artistic Institution

Conclusion References

Acknowledgements

I want to give my gratitude to all my tutors, Gair Dunlop, Pernille Spence, Eddie Summerton and Helen Gorrill for their time, their experience and their encouragement throughout the years. I have to give a special thank you to the first tutors I had, Iain Sturrock and Mark Wallace. You both gave me the confidence to pursue a practice that I truly care about through your warmth and passion, I cannot thank you enough.

To my family, I love you all so much. I am so lucky to have parents who raised me with values of compassion and care, and siblings who are as funny and chaotic as they are talented and loving.

To Kate, for your unwavering support and love, I cannot thank you enough. Even though at times we were cities apart, it always felt like you were at my side.

To the other artists and activists who want to make the world a better place, learn from others as often as you share your own knowledge and experiences. Never give up.

List of Figures

Figure 1, page 5: Mark Jenkin, ‘Untitled’ (2007), publicly installed tape casted sculptures, image courtesy of Art Ctr del

Figure 2, page 14: Elizabeth Sisco, Lois Hock, David Avalos, ‘Welcome to America’s Finest Tourist Plantation’ (1988), screenprint on vinyl mounted on foam board, 21 × 72 in, image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Figure 3, page 18: Group Material, ‘DA ZI BAOS (1982), pasted handwritten posters installed in Union Square, New York, image courtesy of Doug Ashford

Figure 4, page 20: The Yes Men, ‘Untitled’ (2004), Screenshot of the BBC world coverage of the Yes Men Bhopal Disaster interview, image courtesy of Democracy Now

Figure 5, page 25: Laura Poitras, ‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’ (2022), Still of Nan Goldin protesting against the Sackler family, image courtesy of Huck

Figure 6, page 28: Group Material, ‘AIDS Timeline’ (1991), Mixed media installation mapping the timeline of the AIDS epidemic, installed at the Whitney Museum of American Art for the Whitney Biennal , image courtesy of Flickr

Introduction

The phrase ‘all art is political’ is thrown about regularly (Teixeira, 2023). In ancient Greece, statues were erected of great leaders and Olympic deities to worship. Ancient Egyptian paintings depict gods, pharaohs, scholars, farmers and servants, a tapestry of hierarchy and class. During the Renaissance, the influential flaunted their vast power through patronage. Da Vinci and Michealangelo, household names to even the least artistically aligned, produced their masterpieces with the backing of their sponsor ’s capitol. Technological advances saw the prints of Andy Warhol’s mass-produced items distributed through mass production themselves. A child returns to school from their summer break and is asked to draw or paint ‘what you did in the summer ?’ (Szoke, 2022). Works range from kicking a ball in a park to ski trips and cruises, a reflection of class and opportunity. Nothing exists in a vacuum. Everything - art included - is aiected by social/political factors. When all art can be considered political, then what is considered political art?

The general populus views art through an aesthetic lens. Masses travel across the world to marvel at the beauty of Van Gough’s sunflowers (Van Gogh Museum, 2019) and bask in the sheer scale of Christ the Redeemer without a grasp on how powerful art has been throughout history as a catalyst for change.

Artists, collectives and activists have always used their creative skillsets as a means of documentation, education and criticism but why use art as a means of political

expression? We can vote. We can march in the streets. We can have discussions at the dinner table about our political perspectives that descend into shouting, screaming and personal insults. What place does art hold in all of this and how does one become a ‘political artist’?

Chapter one defines political art through the lens of this dissertation, exploring how to diierentiate political practices from traditional expressive practices. The removal of the final object or artifact as the focus of the political artist is demonstrated alongside examples of political artworks, providing context for readers that lack experience in the political art field.

Chapter 2 addresses the moral dilemmas faced by political artists when deciding to engage with traditional artistic institutions. Whilst galleries, museums and events are often the most eiective avenue for distribution and promotion, the funding behind these institutions can be contradictory to the intent of the artists participating.

Chapter 3 explores the alternatives to the traditional gallery spaces. For political artists, grassroot/community situated work has historically been essential. Bypassing the constraints of the institutions allows the political artist to influence new audiences and work on their own terms without compromising their morals or integrity.

The final chapter examines the direct relationship between political artist and institution. Examples of political artists influencing the institutions are explored through

both conflict and collaboration, highlighting the power and responsibility the political artist has to improve the environment in which they work.

Together, the chapters provide an overview of the primary factors one has to consider and research when transitioning from an expressive art practice to a political art practice. By congregating the research into one piece of accessible writing, I hope to provide aspiring political artists material to enrich and progress their own practices

Chapter 1 – What is Political Art?

Unlike other forms of art, political/activist art “both in its forms and methods, is process rather than object or product- oriented” (Felshin, 1995). The completed film, painting or structure is nothing more than a step in facilitating the intended outcome of the artist(s) themselves. The Tate identifies activist based art as a means of “empowering individuals and communities and is generally situated in the public arena with artists working closely with a community to generate the art” (Tate, N.D.). While what is and is not ‘political art’ is a highly debated topic (Mancini, 2019) (Mouie, 2001), this dissertation will address political art through the aforementioned Felshin and Tate definitions in conjunction with the “activist aims” outlined in Does it Work? The Æ5ect of Activist Art (Duncombe, 2016). In Roland Roos’s (b. 1974) project ‘Free Repair ’ (20082010), he undertook multiple urban repairs without “permit and did not hit anyone with a bill” (Alonso, Bieber, Klanten and Krohn, 2011). The record of the work is simply a pair of photographs. One prior to the intervention and one after. The product being two images of a car, one with a flat tire and one with a replacement, or a picture of a dislodged bollard next to a picture of one set in the ground with fresh paving is not the ‘art’ here. Roo’s process of mending these damaged public items when councils have abandoned them, or individuals cannot aiord to repair themselves is the political/social message; the process behind the product is the art.

Mark Jenkin (b. 1970) is a sculptor who plays with societal interactions and provokes introspection into our own preconceived perceptions of certain social demographics.

His numerous sculptural projects (2006-2007) centre around proportionally accurate humanoid forms donned in clothing appropriate to their environment; ‘delinquent youths’ in balaclavas and hoodies are positioned menacingly, a homeless person slumping cross legged in tattered jeans and a hoodie. Jenkin’s pieces encourage the public to take a second look when crossing paths with people they would usually hurry past. Playing on that moment of intrigue when an onlooker takes a closer glance, realising the sculptures are in fact not humans, Jenkins provides an opportunity for empathy and introspection to how we treat others according to our own predetermined, often class based, societal bias. This potential change in viewpoint is what could be considered the ‘art’, with the sculptures serving as catalysts for the artist’s intention.

Group Material (1979-1996), a collective born from 15 socially minded creatives, operated during the back end of the 20th century. The group was formed under the shared vision of building a creative space in which political and social change could be

Fig 1. Mark Jenkin, ‘Untitled’ (2007), publicly installed tape casted sculptures, image courtesy of Art Ctr Del

attained through accessible artistic methods (Felshin, 1995). The collectives first chapter took the form of a rented Gallery space in Manhattan’s Lower East Side where they operated primarily as curators for a year, running community focused exhibitions in the interest of breaking down the social/cultural hierarchies present in the art world.

‘The People’s Choice’ (1981) project encompassed Group Materials' fledgling vision by inviting the local “mostly Latino neighbours to loan things from their own walls and shelves, ‘things that might not normally find their way into an art gallery’” (Green, 2011), that the collective then curated in an exhibition promoting the lives within communities that were so often gentrified by other artists. Photos, heirlooms, toys, furniture and artworks were professionally displayed alongside titles and personal descriptions/stories of the items, and under Group Materials model, anyone who showcased was credited as a co -producer, in turn creating a local mass of credited creatives (Felshin, 1995). By co - opting the ‘acceptable’ style of a gallery, the collective opened the door for both active artists and art audiences to literally and metaphorically ‘see’ these communities. So often overlooked and forced out of their spaces by creatives at the time, ‘The People’s Choice’ provided a pedestal for the neighbourhood’s vibrant creativity and loud communal voice within the artistic sphere.

Before a political artists begins their practice, they should look back on the work of the political artists before them. Through this research, the aspiring political artist gains insight on the diierences between expressive/aesthetic practices and political/social practices, learning how to separately define the two. When the political artist is aware that the physical artifact or object created should not be the focus of their practice, they free up the space to devote their energy to the key aspects of their political artist.

Chapter 2 – Fallacies of the Traditional Artistic Institutions

The white walls of the gallery are synonymous with artistic success. However, when the artist takes on political themes, displaying work in the gallery can become counterproductive and at times hypocritical. When the political artist produces work criticising aspects of society, yet their work is promoted and displayed by institutions that are funded by the very thing they stand against, can the work truly be considered eiective? In 2009, the Resistanbul Commissariat of Culture wrote an open letter to the Istanbul Biennial criticising the progressive image and title of ‘What Keeps Mankind Alive?’ (Esche, 2009) being pushed by the institution, declaring it as nothing more than a shallow attempt while the key issues were not addressed. The letter accused the institutions of containing art in a vacuum and challenged them to “stop pretending that art is a free space, autonomous from webs of capital and power ” (Rosler, 2010). The group questioned how the socially conscious promoted image of the Biennial could be seen as legitimate when Koç Holding - a corporation operating in arms, fossil fuels and banking - was sponsoring the event ( Wilson-Goldie, 2013). Herein lies one of the key problems within political art. In our neoliberal society even the most longstanding institutions require private finance to stay afloat, with money injected by banks, arms dealers and fossil fuel companies. If the foundations of these artistic institutions are held up by the very thing political artists are addressing, then how can artists ethically utilise these spaces without undermining their work?

Beat Weber and Therese Kaufmann delved deeper into the private funding behind creative and cultural events by picking apart the collaboration born from ‘Küba’ (2004)a film “about a poor part of Istanbul of the same name, which is mainly inhabited by people from rural areas in Turkey and Kurds” (Kaufmann and Weber, 2006). The project served as a platform for artists from multiple regions to tackle issues of representation and identity. At surface level it appeared a noble cause, bringing artists together to celebrate a fantastic piece of film while producing fresh work addressing the key social issues raised by the film. However, the background and relationship between the key funders uncover what the projects primary motives actually were. Capitol was provided by the private Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary foundation (T-B A21), the Austrian state secretary for the arts Franz Morak and Erste Bank/Tranzit - “the foundation, the state secretary and the bank” (Kaufmann and Weber, 2006). The director of T-B A21 comes from a line of extremely wealthy hyper conservatives who have pivoted from amassing “cultural assets, especially in war torn areas” (Kaufmann and Weber, 2006) into investing in companies that specialise in artistic and cultural assets yet again, this time in the sleek modern role as a financier. The tax breaks and tax subsidies these sponsors receive for their role in creative circles acts as an oppressive force against any attempt made by independent, community-based programmes trying to make their way in the arts by swallowing up public funding, enlarging their already vast financial monopoly as well as allowing these sponsors positions of influence. This in turn furthers the corporate and financial interests over the artistic. Franz Morak, State S ecretary for the Arts, alongside his fascination with Central Europa, used projects such as this to syphon the “public money for private sponsors” (Kaufmann and Weber, 2006).

The projects organisers’ motives hid behind this mask of progressiveness, claiming to champion reflective discussion via culturally and politically aligned artists, while ultimately using the event as a vehicle for conservative campaigns and further privatisation.

Dubious funding is not restricted to individual artistic projects, artistic institutions can have longstanding questionable ethics that may serve as a deterrent for political artists. Denmark Street Limited (DSL) is the parent company of both Frieze Events Limited, Frieze Publications and Frieze Public Programmes. The latter was set up to “meet specific objectives by way of obtaining finances, transferring risk and performing specific investment opportunities” (Quaintance, 2017). The only funding Frieze Public Programmes receives comes from Arts Council England (ACE). Not only does Frieze use public funding from ACE for its projects and magazines (despite being the most “anomalously profitable magazine in the UK” (Quaintance, 2017) in its field), Frieze Public Programmes is also based in Jersey, an oishore tax haven. This subsidiary company essentially serves as a vessel for soaking up public funding as well as (potentially) avoiding tax. While neither of these are illegal, they could be seen as morally contradictory with the projects and work they promote in their articles such as Andrea Fraser Unpacks the Politics of Capital Exchange (Hodgson, 2024) and Frieze Seoul: Technology, Consumerism, Changing Realities (Frieze, 2024)

The current reliance on benefactors, sponsorships and support from the 1% as a means for producing spaces and opportunities in the current artistic climate can neutralise these creative institutions as facets for enacting political artwork. The questionable

funding and often conservative agendas behind creative projects produce a dilemma for the political artist; do they pass up on creative opportunities when they have concerns over the ethics of the institutions, or do they potentially compromise their morals for a chance to have their work seen and distributed at a larger scale? While this issue is systematic and not exclusive to the art world, the political artist should still be aware of the fallacies of their artistic systems and research the institutions they engage with if they wish to retain the integrity of their practice.

Chapter 3 – Alternatives to the Traditional Gallery Space

When the ethical implications of working with traditional artistic spaces deter the political artist, they must find somewhere to initiate their practice. If societal change is the aim of a political artist’s work then the work should take place within society itself.

In 2019/20 the UK Government surveyed the public’s Art Gallery attendance over the previous twelve months. It found that “0.5% of respondents said they had visited a museum or gallery at least once a week in the last 12 months, 4% at least once a month, 17% three to four times a year,15% twice in the last 12 months, and 14% once in the last 12 months” (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sports , 2020). 48% of those surveyed did not attend galleries at all and a further 29% only went once or twice over the previous twelve months. Evidently there is a huge untapped audience for political artists to reach by operating in the public space-a diverse audience, consisting of diierent races, religions, classes, viewpoints and life experiences.

In San Diego in 1988 three local artists, Elizabeth Sisco (b. 1954), Lois Hock (b. 1948) and David Avalos (b. 1947) came together under their shared concerns over the rights of illegal immigrants, violence against women and police brutality to collaborate on a number of projects addressing these societal issues. Throughout January Super Bowl month - the collective purchased advertising space on local buses to display posters they designed addressing the treatment of illegal immigrants. Three images and four words were the only elements the collective required to get their message across. The left and right sides showed hands washing dishes and hands next to a door with a ‘maid

service’ hanging in shot, highlighting the reliance the hospitality industry has on migrant workers. The hand motif appears again centre stage, this time in handcuis next to what appears to be a border oiicer and their extremely prominent revolver. The scene is overlayed with the following text, ‘Welcome to America’s Finest Tourist Plantation’. 100 busses baring their work paraded around the city, observed by men, women and children indiscriminate of class, religion, background or interest in ‘the arts’. In an interview, Hock explained, “we wanted to reinterpret the local space, which reaches a broad, popular audience” (L. Pincus, 1995). With a message so universal it would have been counter-intuitive to constraining their work to galleries, they instead incorporated their art into the public arena. This not only extended the potential audience but also increased the opportunity for friction, controversy and debate around a topic that was not discussed in mainstream circles at the time. This was the primary incentive for creating the posters in the first place, with Hock stating, “If we were able to have the public dialogue without the physical object, that would be okay. But if we were only to have a physical object with no public dialogue, then it would be a disaster” (Finkelpearl, 2000) An article in the Los Angeles Times, published while the busses were in circulation, captured how controversial the work was. San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau oiicials were quoted as saying:

“We think it is a totally false representation of San Diego and the tourist industry To some degree it is an insult to the 85,000 employees in the tourism industry, implying that they are illegals or are committing illegal acts by hiring illegals.” (Harper, 1988)

This mirror to the treatment of immigrants that the group plastered on busses was in turn mass-produced and redistributed with every front page, article and think piece

covering the project. These newspapers were not art magazines, nor were their readers avid gallery attendees, nevertheless, they were all absorbing the imagery of the groups’ posters and discussing the social issues (at times at a national level) because of the style and distribution of the posters. The group had a limited amount of space to communicate their message to as broad an audience as possible, so complex composition or in- depth social analysis was not necessary and would have in fact hindered the project. Clear, concise text with bold imagery, attached to public transport that covered the whole city was used – this was not just a poster, but a mobile public advertisement. It is almost certain that, no matter their background, every person in Los Angeles at that time had been exposed to the language and techniques of advertisements. Through the adoption of this visual language, artists can communicate their messages almost universally without the audience requiring any critical level of artistic knowledge or interest. A Cahners Advertising Performance Studies found that “98% of the top scoring ads in advertising eiectiveness contain some visual element, either a photograph or an illustration. This visual element occupies between 25% and 63% of the layout space. Of the top -scoring ads in this study, 65% had a visual that occupied between a quarter and three quarters of the advertisement” (Zhang, 2023). By incorporating striking, cohesive visuals that proportionally split up the posters space and framed the text, the group behind the posters successfully appropriated an advertisement style that was legible to the masses.

Following the success of the public discourse created by the bus posters, the artists behind ‘America’s Finest Tourist Plantation’ utilised this model repeatedly. One project, ‘America’s Finest’, moved posters from busses themselves to bus benches. In the aftermath of a string of deadly police shootings, a poster featuring several silhouettes was designed with target rings reminiscent of those found at shooting ranges. Each silhouette had an emblem in the centre alluding to the ‘weapon’ each victim had on their person when gunned down; a trowel, a baseball bat, a garden stake and two raised hands signifying they were unarmed (Felshin, 1995). A question mark branded on the final silhouette prompted the question, who will they kill next? Once again, media coverage fanned the flames of the issue, with statements from the president of the police oiicers’ association attacking the artists, labelling them “a bunch of wackos, the same screwy bunch of people, the warped mind set, if you will, who go oi on tangents that have no basis in reality ” (Granberry, 1990). These character attacks evolved into criticism of the group’s funding once the media discovered that they received $3,600 (which was a portion of a larger $12,500 that was spread over multiple projects) from federal funding grants, sparking further outcry over the use of taxpayers’ money to criticise the police force, leading to more statements, articles and invitations for the

Fig 2. Elizabeth Sisco, Lois Hock, David Avalos, ‘Welcome to America’s Finest Tourist Plantation’ (1988), screenprint on vinyl mounted on foam board, 21 × 72 in, image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

group to address their work once again. Scott Kessler threw these criticisms back at the police department in an interview stating, “I don’t understand what Lowery’s talking about …Think of all the money the police pay out in wrongful- death suits.

Hey, that’s taxpayer’s money. This is just a herring. These people don’t want to talk about the real issue, which is this deadly policy of the San Diego Police Department.” (Granberry, 1990)

Only in the public sphere could artists criticise cultural issues and institutional bodies via their art and consistently reach mass audiences. The cycle of media outlets latching on to these divisive artworks, publishing images, reactions and opinions then reporting on the responses as a result of the media exposure can allow political artists to significantly extend both their area of influence as well as the duration their projects last. Direct media interactions such as interviews, to address aspects surrounding the work, can serve as a tool for the artist to then expand or clarify their message.

Returning to Group Material, following a year of producing exhibitions in their Lower East Side gallery, the collective reconsidered their core position based on their experiences of running the gallery and altered their trajectory. Initially the collective believed that despite standing as an alternative space for revolutionary art, they had to mirror the aesthetic of artistic institutions to achieve credibility, hence the rental of the gallery front, which they outlined in one of their 1981 manifestos:

“In order for our project to be taken seriously by a large public, we had to resemble a “real” gallery. Without these four walls of justification, our work would probably not be considered as art.” (Felshin, 1995)

After a year operating within the parameters of their initial manifesto, it became apparent their model was physically and ideologically unsustainable as the majority of the collective worked full-time jobs as well as running the gallery space leading to fatigue, frustrations and burnout alongside the realisation that a fixed gallery format was doomed to stagnate. Group material was formed with the intention of breaking the stii traditions of the elitist art world in order to build fresh creative communities within the working class that explored political and social issues. To achieve that, they had to abandon the gallery format entirely and instead create, distribute and display work within the communities (Green, 2011). Under this revised mantra, Group Material expanded their projects into traditionally non-art spaces, broadening their societal dialogue to a wider, traditionally non-art audience. Their project ‘DA ZI BAOS’ (1982) encapsulated this change of approach by addressing public issues through public collaboration during the work’s creation, followed by displaying of the work in the public space, generating further public interaction and discourse. The title ‘DA ZI BAOS’ is derived from the Chinese word ‘dazibao’, a protest tool used in ‘democracy walls’ that feature multiple, anonymously authored posters that are hung or stuck on walls and that express dissatisfaction with governmental issues (Kluver, 2013). Group Material adopted the methodology behind the Chinese protest method with random interviews in Union Square (Manhattan), amassing a variety of public opinions on ongoing social issues including “U.S. interference in El Salvador, women’s reproductive rights, the death penalty, and the importance of labour unions” (Ault, 2010) and transferring them into large handmade posters that were in turn illegally stuck against the S. Klein building, mirroring the ‘democracy wall’ style. These statements were juxtaposed

alongside posters in the same style, featuring quotes from organisations actively working in the fields that the passers-by gave their opinions on, including the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), the Home Health Care Workers Union, Planned Parenthood, the Prison Reform Board and the New York State Division of Substance Abuse (Felshin, 1995). By circumnavigating the barrier of the traditional gallery space, ‘DA ZI BAOS’ allowed Group Material to generate public discourse around the selected social topics without limiting their reach to a strictly artistic-minded audience. Through this form of public installation there is no predetermined target audience, allowing political minded works to not only inform those unaware or ignorant of the issues presented, but to also bolster and motivate those already actively engaged with the issues as well, in an unrestricted, heavily populated space. Member Mundy McLaughlin commented on the success of the installation in an interview: “It was one of the only things I’ve gone by and seen people actually stopping, standing and reading … it was like a cross between propaganda, a gossip column and Conceptual art” (Felshin, 1995).

An additional bonus found in the execution of ‘DA ZI BAOS’ was its lack of institutional restriction. Although there was an inherent risk in the illegal postering, the artists acted independently, allowing the piece to exist without restrictions placed on them by sponsors or galleries regarding the features of their work or the duration the work was presented for, leading the posters to remain until they naturally disintegrated (Ault, 2010)

The ‘public space’ can be defined in more ways than one; billboards, parks, town centres and the transport systems are the primary public spaces, the physical canvas that people pass through every day, giving artists a chance to grab their eye during their daily commutes. The secondary ‘public space’ has evolved over the decades, from word of mouth to newspapers to television to the internet. With each new iteration, the method of media consumption has become both more connective and more invasive, resulting in various pantheons dispersing information that attract swathes of the populus. Elizabeth Sisco, Loise Hock and David Avalos’ projects repeatedly took advantage of this ‘media space’ via the newspapers reporting their works as well as the public/institutional responses ensuring the continued momentum of their message.

Fig 3. Group Material, ‘DA ZI BAOS (1982), pasted handwritten posters installed in Union Square, New York, image courtesy of Doug Ashford

Another collective during the 2000’s capitalised on the birth of the internet, using this new tool to break into the public space. Igor Vamos (b. 1968) (alias Mike Bonanno) and Jacques Servin (b. 1963) (alias Andy Bichlbaum) formed ‘The Yes Men’ as a creative activist group that cooperate with various other activism-based organisations wielding public exposure as their primary weapon. The duo created fake websites and aliases for major corporations and in turn received previously unobtainable invitations to corporate events and conferences, tools they incorporated during their work surrounding the Bhopal disaster. The Bhopal disaster saw between fifteen and twenty thousand people killed due to a chemical leak caused by substandard operating and safety procedures at the understaied Bhopal Chemical Plant (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2024) with an aftermath of long-term health eiects in the surrounding area for years following the incident. Union Carbide Corporation (bought over by Dow Chemical Company in 2001) owned the factory and overlooked both the catastrophe and the fallout. Despite the scale of the tragedy, “because it did not aiect Westerners, it was far too easy to just be swept under the rug and forgotten” (Thorne, 2024). The western based company took no responsibility for the accident, chemical waste remained at the site uncleared, and locals received compensation ranging from pathetic to nonexistent. On the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal Disaster ‘The Yes Men’ engineered themselves a BBC World appearance posing as a representative of Dow Chemical Company. Under the alias of Jude Finisterra, Andy Bichlbaum addressed the BBC World cameras stating, “Dow would accept full responsibility for the disaster, liquidate its $12 billion holdings in Union Carbide to fully compensate the Bhopal victims, fully remediate the (still toxic) plant site, and finally, push for the extradition of former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson” (Reilly, 2013). The reach of the BBC spread the

‘breaking news’ like wildfire, inflicting heavy damage to Dows public image and financial influence with their share price falling “4.24 percent on Frankfurt Stock Exchange, losing the company $2 billion” (Kim, 2014). This insider access to institutions ‘The Yes Men’ were campaigning against gave them an elevated platform in the public media space via a method they coined as identity correction.

“Where criminals use identity theft to prey on the powerless to make money, we pray on the powerful and use their identities and position to get the word out about something that needs to be fixed” (Alonso, Bieber, Klanten and Krohn, 2011)

Rather than make work targeting Dow Chemicals and have it installed in a gallery waiting for the public to come to it, ‘The Yes Men’s’ proactive approach forced their art into the public conversation. By manipulating the media and extending their distribution they reversed the power dynamic so many activists struggle against. The imbalance of the individual against systematic political and social issues can be daunting, making

Fig 4. The Yes Men, ‘Untitled’ (2004), Screenshot of the BBC world coverage of the Yes Men Bhopal Disaster interview, image courtesy of Democracy Now

any conceivable change feel like an impossible task, which is why it’s necessary for political artists to know how to eiectively impose their works through these public lenses and reach an audience outside of the artistic sphere.

For the political artist to reach a significant audience, they must expand their horizons beyond the gallery. By displaying work in the public setting the artist is freed from institutional restraints, flaws and corruptions, working on a canvas that reaches audiences that would never think about entering a gallery. While a traditional institution can provide excessive resources, advertising and acclaim, the political artist must be able to recognise how to harness artistic and social language, public exposure and media attention as tools to achieve the goals they set out in their work.

Chapter 4 – The Political Artist and the Artistic Institution

In an ideal world, artistic institutions would serve as prominent facilitators for artists’ projects, free from corporate influence and unbound by the flaws of a capitalist society. Unfortunately, that is not the case universally. Nevertheless, there are instances where artists have used the tools at their disposal; mobilisation, creative techniques, protest and influence.

Nan Goldin’s (b. 1953) battle against Purdue Pharma - run by the Sackler family - and their association with the world’s most prominent galleries is documented in the 2022 film, ‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’. The American photographer published a manifesto in 2018 detailing her ongoing recovery from OxyContin addiction. Prescribed to her following a surgery, the strong opioid contained an addictive element not advertised to those instructed to take it and, in Goldin’s case, resulted in a spiralling addiction which led to her purchasing oi-market OxyContin to increase her dosage and relapsing with heroin until eventually she overdosed on Fentanyl. An excerpt from her manifesto announced the beginning of her plight, outlining the culprits responsible for her and millions of others addiction.

“I learned that the Sackler family, whose name I knew from museums and galleries, were responsible for the epidemic. This family formulated, marketed, and distributed OxyContin. I decided to make the private public by calling them to task.” (Goldin, 2023)

The Sackler name was synonymous with the art world at the time, with The Tate Modern, The British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and The Guggenheim amongst the creative giants that benefitted from donations from the family. One might ask why a pharmaceutical institution such Purdue Pharma took such an interest in the arts when their field had almost no overlap with the creative industries at all. With the amount of capital the Sackler’s injected into the art market, you would think they were expanding their business with a creative department or perhaps renting gallery and museum spaces to advertise their newest products. In reality the pharmaceutical giant was exploiting these creative spaces as a defensive PR tool coined ‘art washing’. In a 2017 lecture, Steven Pritchard, the deputy director at Helix Arts described art washing (while also quoting from Mel Evans Artwash Big Oil and the Arts) as a tactic which “helps cement the corporate ‘social licence to operate’: a fundamental element for many businesses which intends to protect them from less palatable aspects of their business by persuading the public to trust them” (Pritchard, 2022). The sour nature of the Sackler family’s business required immense levels of art washing to ensure their public appearance remained appealing. In order to sweep numerous lawsuits under the rug, (Armstrong, 2019) donations including at least £4 million to the Tate over several years (which contributed to the construction of the new Tate Modern) (BBC News, 2019) ensured that the family were seen in the public eye as philanthropists first and foremost. Goldin and her activist group Prescription Addiction Intervention Now (P.A.I.N.) recognised this corruption in the art industry, undertaking direct action to hold both the Sackler’s and the institutions they funded to account. Manufacturing public perception

was the motive behind Purdue Pharma’s generous donations to the galleries and museums, therefore protests in the public eye served as an eiective counter measure.

P.A.I.N.’s pressuring of the Guggenheim played out as a coordinated performance in the museum’s atrium. One group of protestors lay on the ground floor playing dead while the rest took their places from the bottom to the top of the Guggenheim’s spiral, showering them with fake Oxycontin prescriptions. Goldin described the protest as “a really beautiful action…We saw it as a blizzard of prescriptions, and that we were the people being buried"(Gross, 2023). The V&A was targeted with a ‘die in’, with protesters scattered on the ground of the Sackler courtyard amongst fake prescription bottles (Thorpe, 2019), and the Louvre’s Sackler wing was met with banners and posters pressuring the museum to distance themselves from the pharmaceutical giant’s name (Chrisafis, 2019). By applying consistent pressure, Goldin and P.A.I.N. garnered ever increasing media attention to the point where the public was too aware of the negative aspects of the Sackler donations for the artistic institutions. Galleries and museums reevaluated their ties with the family, some stopped taking donations and others physically took the Sackler name oi their walls (Porterfield, 2021).

Laura Poitras’s (b. 1964) documentary ‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’ captures Goldin’s arc beautifully, demonstrating how through a combination of direct action, collective organisation and creative techniques, artists can achieve political/social change within the major artistic institutions. While the activism itself served as the driving force for change, the documentary preserves the group’s eiorts serving as a tool for education and inspiration with Poitras describing the film in an interview as “a challenge to other artists or people who have positions of power: how do they or don’t

they use that power? Here we have a legendary artist who chose to risk her position in the art world to expose its corruption and the toxic philanthropy and whitewashing of blood money and institutions.” (Khomami, 2022)

In the UK, the oil and gas giant British Petroleum (BP) was synonymous with the arts for decades, sponsoring the National Portrait Gallery’s yearly portrait award from 19892020 (BBC News, 2022) as well as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera House, Tate Britain and Almeda Theatre (Vidal, 2010). Groups such as ‘Liberate Tate’ instigated the public scrutiny against BP via protests and public performances. In interview, one of their spokespeople Peter McDonnell outlined their motivation.

“The Tate is trying to portray itself as a liberal progressive institution while remaining in a relationship with a company that commits environmental and social atrocities” (Channel 4 News, 2011)

Fig 5. Laura Poitras, ‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’ (2022), Still of Nan Goldin protesting against the Sackler family, image courtesy of Huck

Increasing attention and public awareness over the years mobilised high profile creatives into direct action in a letter the Times calling for an end to the unethical and hypocritical sponsorships. Names including Mark Rylance, Conrad Atkinson, Matthew Herbert, Naomi Klein, Ezra Miller and Nnimmo Bassey signed oi on the letter putting pressure on the creative institutions to rethink their funding (Khomami, 2016). Further creative methods of protest followed, with activist group Extinction Rebellion reading poetry directly criticising the National Portrait Gallery, stating , "we cannot be artists on a dead planet...Yet right now the National Portrait Gallery is tied to a company brutally funding the end of our world" (Green, 2019). The poetry outlining their cause was partnered with a performance depicting curled up, almost nude, figures coated in an oillike substance inferring the fatal future that awaits us if fossil fuel extraction and consumption continues at its current rate. Similarly artistic-minded activist theatre group ‘BP or not BP’ organised protests, unfurling huge banners and running alternative gallery exhibitions (Pes, 2019) as well as on site creative workshops and performance protests (Polonsky, 2022). Although each participant at these protests may not label themselves ‘artists’, they all contributed to a politically motivated creative collaboration that successfully garnered media attention, applying further public pressure on BP and the creative institutions. The growing, consistent scrutiny finally yielded with BP’s partnership with the Tate ending in 2017, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and National Galleries Scotland cutting ties with the oil and gas company in 2021 (Khomami, 2022) and the British Museum ending their 27-year partnership with BP in 2023 (Sutton, 2023). Jess Worth, the co - director of Culture Unstained captured the changing tide of public perception towards BP’s sponsorships:

"The company spent 30 years painting a picture of itself as a responsible philanthropist, but it is rapidly running out of places to clean up its toxic image. Even now, it continues to invest millions in finding new sources of oil and gas, which will only push the world deeper into climate breakdown." (Harris, 2022)

Although changing the landscape of our artistic institutions often takes the form of protest and conflict, positive creative partnership can be just as powerful a tool. Group Materials’ final chapter once again revised their approach as an artistic collective, deciding to continue community focused, publicly displayed projects while additionally producing work in conjunction with artistic institutions. This could be interpreted as a betrayal of their inherent initial values as a grassroots, community based collective, however, the cultural status that the group had at this point, compared to when they formed, must be considered. By the late 80’s and early 90’s Group Material had presided over dozens of politically and socially centred exhibitions, installations and workshops, garnering approval from audiences and professionals alike (Ault, 2010) and endowing them with leverage within the art world. The collective capitalised on this momentum, most notably with their AIDS projects curated for traditional creative institutions. ‘Democracy: Aids and Democracy: A Case Study ’ (1988-1989) strived to embolden the Dia Art Foundation audiences in New York to harness the pain and hardship felt by the governmental inadequacies during the AIDS crisis in an accumulation of flyers and posters used by activist groups alongside video installations. Despite a lukewarm reception from attendees who expected a more explosive exhibition, the work served as a catalyst for the following iterations of the AIDS timeline (Ault, 2010). Exhibited at University Art Museum, University of California at Berkley

(1989-1990), Wadsworth Atheneum Matrix Gallery (1990) and the Whitney Museum of American Art for the Whitney Biennal (1991), Group Materials’ ‘AIDS Timeline’ stands as one of the major American art shows that opened the doors for the discussion of AIDS within acclaimed artistic institutions and furthermore publicly advertised these spaces as sites for political action (Green, 2011). The ‘AIDS Timeline’ encapsulated the many facets of Group Material’s practice up to that point; a critical response to a decade of governmental and public ignorance of the AIDS crisis in the form of an exhibition curated through months of vigorous research into the political, scientific, media and social factors that led to the crisis, mapped out in chronological order by artifacts, text and traditional artworks, evolving and altering its contents and bringing in local aspiring artists as collaborators as well as reutilising a ‘democracy wall’ amassed of responses to AIDS related questions, maintaining the community relationship from their grassroot days (Ault, 2010).

Fig 6. Group Material, ‘AIDS Timeline’ (1991), Mixed media installation mapping the timeline of the AIDS epidemic, installed at the Whitney Museum of American Art for the Whitney Biennal , image courtesy of Flickr

During their formative years, had Group Material reached out to these institutions to apply for exhibitions while identifying as a political collective that provided an alternative to the elitism of institutions, there would be grounds for criticism. However, the curatorial experience, artistic skills and cultural following they acquired by the time of the AIDS Timeline allowed them to bring such a topic into the artistic mainstream. It is true that the institutions capitalised on Group Material’s success, with the Whitney Biennial allegedly responding to “elitism and bigotry” (Ault, 2010) but a dialogue focused on what was at the time a contentious issue in the high art world was born from this attempted rebranding. Group Material’s success with the ‘AIDS Timeline’ demonstrates the power the political artist can hold out with the institutions, using the influence they hold to change the mainstream artistic spaces for the better. A statement from the collective in 1990 used a quote from Judge Bruce Wright to outline how artists should mobilise to improve our space,

“Participating in the system doesn’t mean that we must identify with it, stop criticising it, or stop improving the little piece of turf on which we operate.”

(Ashford, N.D.)

The primary responsibility for maintaining our creative institutions as ethical spaces for artists should rest on the shoulders of those running the Galleries and Museums. However, when those in power refuse to act, creatives and artists can and should take up that mantle. Through artistic methods these activists provided context, targets and an aesthetic for the public and media to attach to their cause. Nan Goldin called out the art-washing of the Sackler’s, combatting their PR with negative media attention. Creative and consistent protesting brought the scrutiny on the institutions, forcing their

hands. BP was pushed out of the creative institutions with the same playbook, repeatedly exposed by creatives as unethical until the galleries had to terminate their sponsorship. When Group Material attained a level of acclaim in the art world, they used their influence to bring political art into the mainstream spaces that was revolutionary at the time while maintaining their community-based roots by collaborating with artists from the area wherever the show was displayed. Collaboration is a key element for the politically minded artist challenging established institutions. Without the mobilisation of hundreds of individuals, pursuing a shared cause there would have been no movement, no progress, no media attention, no public outrage and pressure, and no change. If the political artist wants to work with their creative institutions, they must identify the flaws within the institutions, study how creatives before them mobilised and take on that responsibility, applying what they have learned.

Conclusion

There is no definitive answer to the statement ‘how to be a political artist’. Much like everything else based in the humanities, we have no formula or equation to implement in order to guarantee success or predict the outcome of our work, however we can draw from previous experiences to attain a deeper understanding of the fields in which we operate The political artist should understand the fundamentals of what political art is and be aware that the item produced, whether that be a film, painting or sculpture, is a tool and not the whole ‘art’. The political artist uses these mediums as tools to bring about societal change whether that’s through the method of the production itself, or the outcome and impact generated by the produced work. The political artist must recognise the flaws within the institutional hierarchies of the art world. The positive changes political artists aim to bring are often counteracted by the very institutions championing their work. The political artist must be aware of how to circumvent these institutions when necessary; conscious that public space can be the most eiective canvas, unbound by institutional constraints or ideologies, the artist’s influence can break free from the limitations of the traditional artistic audience. The political artist, while being aware of their shortcomings, must understand the benefits of the institutions and seek out to improve them. They must not fear the scale of the task but instead ease the weight of the burden through collaboration and community. If the pollical artist requires a cornerstone to begin their research, there is no stronger base than Group Material. Group Material’s career serves as a microcosm for the key

facets of political art. Born from the collaboration of like-minded creatives, they sought to create alternative artistic spaces and bring social/political works into communities. They recognised their own flaws and stagnations, pivoting to a more public orientated model in order to expand their audience and when they amassed a substantial following and cultural influence, they were able to operate within institutions on their own terms and use their work to revolutionise the traditional artistic space. Group Material’s arc provides a reference for the political artist to draw from at various stages of their career, with so many of their works and approaches still relevant to modern practices decades later. Due to the word count restraints of the dissertation format, there has not been further exploration of the factors that create the flaws within artistic institutions that can create moral dilemmas for the political artist or the potential of the modern internet and social media as an alternative artistic space. If this piece of writing was to serve as the jumping oi point for a PHD or other form of academic writing, the historical and contemporary relationship between both the artist and the institution in relation to the Capitalist markets and society would be explored, drawing from the likes of Gregory Sholette’s ‘Delirium and resistance: activist art and the crisis of capitalism’. Before the political artist seeks to provoke any change through their work, they must research first. This dissertation serves as a catalyst for the aspiring political artist to consider and inform further research as they develop their own practice.

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