As a fundraiser to benefit the victims of the oil spill on the Gulf coast, a contest was held to create a work of art that would best express the emotional response to the disaster. All of the pieces were sold to raise money to cover the various expenses from the oil spill. In total, the contest raised $23,000 with an overall winner selected from all the admissions. Helen Stoilas covered this story in The Art Newspaper in Issue 216 on September 10, 2010. The chosen winner of the contest was political cartoonist Steve Breen of the San Diego Union-Tribute who came up with the design shown above. The thing that makes this painting unique is that the artist actually mixed oil collected from the shores of Pensecola Beach, FL to make the paint. His described technique was to water it down slightly to make it more fluid to paint with. I chose this article because it focused on the role that artists play during and after natural disasters. Within the article, director of New Orleans’ Prospect Biennial, Dan Cameron, described the crucial role the city’s artists have played during the oil spill “volunteering as first responders, supporting organisations that advocate for sustainable gulf economies, and documenting the crisis as it unfolds”. I feel like this is a way in which I have never viewed artists and their connection to history, but it makes their relationship more clear to me now.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/New-Orleans-artists-react-to-BP-oil-spill/21346
I think its really interesting that you choose this article because it relates to history and how artwork affects history, which is what we've been learning to do in this class so far. I love that you've learned something new about art and its influence on people!
ReplyDelete