For this connection post, I decided to compare the article about Thomas Hart Benton to Izumi's connection post titled "Modern art was CIA 'weapon' & Propaganda and Patronage during the Cold War". "Brother, Can You Spare A Wall?" is about Benton's 'America Today' mural. This 10 panel mural displays both social and environmental issues in the early 1930s and he used stereotypes to do so. The question Izumi addressed in her article is "Would Abstract Expressionism have been the dominant art movement of the post-war years without this patronage?" She argues that it still would have been so. Another thing she talks about is how current events at the time were displayed in propaganda and, again, how the war affected art.
Although these two articles do not appear to be directly related to each other, they both possess some of the same underlying themes. One of the biggest reasons and the reason I chose to compare these two articles is the use of stereotypes and suggestions to touch on current issues. During the Cold War period, propaganda was obviously a 'clear' representation of this. The whole point of creating propaganda was to get certain messages across by making them appear common with an underlying theme that addresses an issue. Benton's piece, however, is much more subtle with its intentions. It may not be considered propaganda but the use of stereotypes to convey his message reads as though he really is trying to say something. Because his piece is more seen as a work of art it is not necessarily seen as propaganda. I find it interesting how frequently stereotypes were used in art years ago whereas they are not as popular now.
The 'rules' of art seemed much stricter back then. Today, people mix and mash the use of complete stereotypes and things that may not even make sense to make their point. Back in the day, it seemed like everything was more straight-forward. Finding similarities between this article and a classmate's post was challenging but I noticed how interesting this observation was while I was looking through Izumi's website. Despite propaganda being different all over the world, these themes such as stereotypes and idealization show up frequently.
Although these two articles do not appear to be directly related to each other, they both possess some of the same underlying themes. One of the biggest reasons and the reason I chose to compare these two articles is the use of stereotypes and suggestions to touch on current issues. During the Cold War period, propaganda was obviously a 'clear' representation of this. The whole point of creating propaganda was to get certain messages across by making them appear common with an underlying theme that addresses an issue. Benton's piece, however, is much more subtle with its intentions. It may not be considered propaganda but the use of stereotypes to convey his message reads as though he really is trying to say something. Because his piece is more seen as a work of art it is not necessarily seen as propaganda. I find it interesting how frequently stereotypes were used in art years ago whereas they are not as popular now.
The 'rules' of art seemed much stricter back then. Today, people mix and mash the use of complete stereotypes and things that may not even make sense to make their point. Back in the day, it seemed like everything was more straight-forward. Finding similarities between this article and a classmate's post was challenging but I noticed how interesting this observation was while I was looking through Izumi's website. Despite propaganda being different all over the world, these themes such as stereotypes and idealization show up frequently.