Art gets angry
Political art comes in waves. The last one of note was in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which encompassed artists’ response to the AIDS crisis and what became known as ‘‘identity art,’’ which plumbed multiculturalism.
Then the economy grew robust. New drugs and the passing of time watered down the pungency of AIDS as a theme, even if the disease has not lessened as a world crisis. Politics and societal ills became passé to an art world always looking for something fresh.
Welcome to the next wave — socially conscious art, it seems, is hip again, and is showing up in exhibitions and programs all around Boston.
‘‘We’re seeing more [socially and politically charged] shows due to the politics of the moment,’’ says Lisa Tung, acting director of exhibitions at Massachusetts College of Art, which is hosting ‘‘The Graphic Imperative’’ (through Nov. 11), a striking collection of posters promoting peace, social justice, and a healthy environment.
‘‘Post-September 11,’’ Tung adds, ‘‘the subject matter has changed.’’
That subject matter is wide-ranging. There’s the grass-roots social consciousness of Glowlab’s ‘‘Open Lab’’ performance art series, running through Dec. 11 in the streets of Cambridge, under the aegis of Art Interactive.
‘‘Open Lab’’ aims to reawaken people to their urban environment. Upcoming Glowlab events include two neighborhood walks this weekend called ‘‘The Resistance Project,’’ in which artists trace the routes of Cambridge-area commuters.
Then there’s the pointed deconstruction of what’s been dubbed a ‘‘culture of fear,’’ prevalent since the 2001 terrorist attacks, in ‘‘FEAR: For Embracing American Revolution’’ (through Nov. 19), a group show put on by the collective Infrasculpture at GASP.
‘‘We had a lot of discussion about our social circumstances as artists and citizens, and how we’re driven by political forces,’’ says Nicole Seisler, co-curator of ‘‘FEAR.’’ ‘‘We’re asking what’s really happening around us — and if you want to do something about it instead of just buying a sticker for your car.’’
The show includes ‘‘Old Vic,’’ a piece by Alex Lindsay and Robert Lorie. The two stripped the inside of an old police car in order to climb under the hood and run it on manpower. They videotaped themselves hand-cranking the vehicle. The DVD is on view in the gallery; you can watch from cushy car seats.
Seisler points to the war in Iraq as the inspiration for ‘‘Old Vic.’’ ‘‘We’re over there because of oil, which we need to power huge SUVs,’’ she says. ‘‘Wouldn’t it be better to put our troops to work at home?’’
Newspaper photos of war and destruction inspired artist Elaine Spatz-Rabinowitz to create ‘‘War Drawings’’ (through Nov. 15), currently showing at the Howard Yezerski Gallery. Spatz-Rabinowitz’s art has long been powered by a social and environmental conscience. In this show, her stark drawings heighten the ghostly quality of the photos that the images are based on; the drawings are also marked by splatters and streaks of red paint.
‘‘Zapatistas,’’ an exhibition at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center (through Dec. 9), features Norma Suarez’s photographs documenting the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico, from 1998 to 2001. The Zapatistas represent indigenous Mexicans in struggles against large landowners and businesses, which are known to exploit cheap labor.
The Institute of Contemporary Art’s Friday Reel Rush film series (showing on select Fridays through Dec. 16) spotlights the political climate as well. Next up is ‘‘The Take,’’ by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein, on Nov. 11. The documentary examines the effects of globalization through the experiences of a group of unemployed auto-parts workers in Buenos Aires.
The film series is a corollary to the ICA’s ‘‘Utopia, Utopia’’ exhibit by Thomas Hirshhorn, which is laden with references to war in its examination of the meaning of camouflage.
‘‘People face these [social and political] issues in their everyday lives,’’ says Branka Bogdanov, who runs the ICA’s film and video programming. ‘‘And a big part of contemporary art is about everyday life.’’
