IT’S ALL POLITICS
Show dates: October 8 – November 12
Reception – October 8, 7-9pm
In this election year, it will be impossible to escape politics. This show isn’t about endorsing any particular candidate, party or political system. Rather, it’s an opportunity for artists to share their angst, questions, hopes and fears about the political system, past and future. We want submissions that engage and encourage discussion.
It’s All Politics: About the Show
Political art has always been a presence, as it is the way we reflect on our social and political life. Even if we’re not experts, we can surely recall a piece of political art – whether from childhood, a publication, or favorite artist – that made an impression on us, or that we remember from popular culture.
A few examples of popular political art in the past 100 years: the British graffiti-artist Banksy – known to some as the “voice of the discontent of our society” – became famous just before the Occupation movement for using clever twists on images and words to comment on our current socio-political world. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Shepard Fairey’s Barack Obama Hope Poster became an instant international icon. A little over 70 years earlier, Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica, possibly the most famous political art painting, commented on the fascist Spanish Nationalist group bombing of a village in northern Spain. Most recently, a statue of one of the current presidential candidates popped up in Manhattan, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland and Seattle, causing quite a stir. All of these pieces, and many others, made an impact on the social consciousness of the world.
As an homage to the power of political art, past, present and future, GCCA has invited a group of artists to share their creative statements on political issues that they care most about – voters’ rights, immigration, refugees, gun violence, capital punishment, war, racism, global warming and others. The intention is not to endorse any particular candidate, party, political system or point of view; rather, to engage, provoke and encourage discussion. As we view the exhibited art, we may ask ourselves which category of political art does the piece fall under: sociopolitical (to help people understand a particular political or social issue); artistic point of view; propaganda; protest; or satire. What is the artist saying or asking? And finally, what does the piece ask of us, if anything?
Some Images From the Exhibit





















Artists on Exhibit
BEN PINDER |
CARTER HARRINGTON
CLAUDIA MCNULTY CLOCKWORK CROS DANIEL MARCUS ELLEN KNAPP HARRIET LIVATHINOS JAMES BARBER JACQUELINE JOLLES JEAN TANSEY JERAMI GOODWIN JULIANNA KIRK KAREN DOUGHERTY-KURTZ KARL VOLK KARNI DORELL KIRSTEN BATES KEN TANNENBAUM MACIEJ TOPOROWICZ MEGAN STACK NATALIE BOBURKA PAUL BARTON SCOTT LANGLEY SHELLEY DAVIS STUART FRIEDMAN VAHAP AVSAR ZACHARY LAINE aka “I.M.Resin” |