In the video “Organizing Sustained and Sporadic Actions,” Nader Thompson states “There is a history of artists organizing together to produce a social result…People come together, and the collective is stronger than the individual voice.” In other words, throughout history, individuals have united under a distinct commonality to bring social awareness and change in the form of a social movement. From the Civil Rights movement to Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, people have come together to support and make a definitive stance on a cause. However, for this entry, I would like to focus on a topic known as art activism—a subject that has interested me throughout the semester. Art activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, or direct social, political, economic, or environmental reform or stasis with the desire to make improvements in society through art. It has been a key element of social protest both directly within movements and in the surrounding culture.
An interesting activist group I discovered is called Adbusters—“culture-jammer” extraordinaires with key focuses on anti-consumption and critical analysis on media. One of their campaigns which truly caught my attention is known as “Unswooshing,” which comments on the overbearing presence of “big brands” on society. For instance, in the piece “Nike Sweatshop” the artist criticizes the power of the Nike brand name to influence the price of a product. In the piece, a shoe is divided into two section: one labeled “Nike” (priced at $250) and one titled “Sweatshop” (priced at 83¢). Another example is called “Nike Women,” which shows a woman bound by the neck by the Nike swoosh symbol—a demonstration its binding power and overarching influence in society. I found the artwork of Adbusters to be particularly interesting and potent; they genuinely enforce the notion of a picture speaking a thousand words.
