Cultural Commentary
Art that holds up a critical mirror to its own society, targeting hypocrisy, greed, prejudice and abuse of power.
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About
Cultural commentary holds up a mirror to its own society and points at what it finds: hypocrisy, greed, prejudice, the abuse of power. It is usually topical and often satirical. William Hogarth's print Gin Lane (1751) pictured a London street wrecked by cheap spirits and appeared as Parliament debated the Gin Act passed that year.
In the 20th century commentary grew sharper and faster. John Heartfield cut up press photographs for the Berlin magazine AIZ, showing Hitler's spine as a stack of coins in Adolf the Superman: Swallows Gold and Spouts Junk (1932). Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz built grimy walk-in tableaux about war, racism and neglect. Adrian Piper's My Calling (Card) series (1986–90) consists of printed cards she handed to people who made racist remarks in her presence, and since 1985 the anonymous Guerrilla Girls have used posters and statistics against sexism in the arts.
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Eye Contact
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Face
Failure
