A tie in to my art talk and sending out hopeful messages

María Mendoza - Blog post 1

Last week during my art talk, I really wanted to emphasize the point that there is a lot of social commentary that can be made through various forms of art. In particular, we see contemporary art as a great medium for expressing ideas because it is so recent and relatable to most people. Difficult and uncomfortable topics can be discussed more readily through art, which I believe is essential to its existence. Besides appreciating the beauty of a work, one must also take into consideration the message the artist was trying to convey. Often, artists wish to tell the audience something through their masterpieces.

         Art in itself is very powerful and important because of its power of persuasion and ability to send out hopeful messages (though not all art will portray the same message – that all depends on the artist). But to that point, I think all art will have some sort of purpose. Just think about the films today that are criticized and considered superficial because they are “blockbuster hits” without real entertainment value; these works are still estimable because of their large breadth of reach to consumers and the messages they send. Black Panther is a great example of this modern phenomena because though the film is a superhero blockbuster, it still has great social commentary on race, the African diaspora, and colonialism, which most wouldn’t have expected. Music too is another medium that often gives great commentary. For example, there are many songs that have made it into the Latino music mainstream which have been inspired by immigration and the pursuit of the American Dream, both of which are very sensitive topics, but more readily discussed given that they are more prominent in everyday life in this form of art.