With all this talk of democracy, it gets me thinking about how the government affects artists.
We live in a time and place in which democracy and communication are so vastly interlinked. In the art world, there couldn't be more freedom. But we didn't get there overnight. Not but a century ago, classical art was the only respected form and the art world was much more elitist and aristocratic than it is today.
Art is a reflection on history, is it not? Yes, because the artists are always giving a bit of themselves into the pieces they show. Even if that bit of themselves is imprisoned by the status quo or limitation of speech...they are still showing that even if they are not displaying what they really want to express as an artist. For example, Leonarda Da Vinci, a beloved artist, was always commissioned to due religious grandiose art, but was quite the godless man himself. Yet his lovely works display the mantra and thought process of that time period, whether or not they were his interest.
Here's a brief blog entry about Art and Democracy:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/apr/06/art-democracy-general-election.
I found it to be relevant to our discussion and assignment.
