What Is Political Art?
In the sense that art presents direct and indirect perspectives on society, all art can be described as “political art.” A modern definition of political art refers to works with obvious political figures and subjects that are used to express critique of the status quo.
The role of a political artist is to express different points of view regarding global politics and social standards. There are four main aspects and functions of political art: sociopolitical expression, propaganda, protest and satire.
Sociopolitical art is used to assist people in comprehending political and social issues, by creating art that expresses concerns regarding specific social and political agendas. Political artists are also known to use their work as a form of propaganda. Political art can also be purposed as a tool for protesting. In this way, artists use created works to show politicians that they disapprove of the decisions being made. Satire is another element of political art. Artists use satire to show people the funny side of politics by using humor in conjunction with serious political issues.
In modern times, artists have turned to conceptual art and street art in order to control the context and distribution of their works effectively, rather than having it sold to banks or multinational corporations.