Social Commentary

"It all started with one assignment..."

Since the beginning of the past year, the world has seemed to have entered into a spiral of tragic events capable of leaving everyone perplexed, even sci-fi dystopians.

Since the assassination of George Floyd in May 25th, 2020 which sparked an intense revival in the Black Lives Matter movement, social platforms like Instagram have become even more vital tools to raise awareness about pressing, relevant, and current issues.

Besides sharing and spreading information, individuals have been encouraged to act and express themselves and some choose to it through their brush, their lens, their canvas, etc. Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian filmmaker once expressed that "the artist doesn't live in a vacuum" and his/her work is a reflection of his/her world which is "never under ideal conditions." Society and culture undeniably impact an artist's work indirectly or directly. In this collection, society and its flaws and struggles have palpably marked each work.

It should be mentioned that most of these works were inspired by a series of assignments in different art classes focused on researching social issues and doing something with what was learned. This could be the start or part of someone's activist journey.

Here are the results.

art can change the world

Don't Look at Me Like That

"Islamophobic attitudes are sadly gaining support, becoming more common. A clear example is in France where Islamophobia is becoming more normalized everyday, as the French Senate banned underage individuals from wearing hijabs in public, a clear violation of their rights. Islamic individuals are not terrorist, should not be perceived as so, and should not be limited due

Youth Vaping Crisis

"The piece explores the youth vaping crisis America is enduring right now. It was entirely done by hand with a 4H sketching pencil with varying amounts of pressure. The paper’s edges are burned with a lighter to resemble smoke inhalation and its detrimental effects on our respiratory system. A monochromatic color relationship was chosen to evoke a feeling of alarm and disquietud

Today's Earth

Materials:

Acrylic paints

Colored pencils

Markers

Ilaria Pozzali

Follow

2021

Lorena Germana

BALANCE OF HEALTH

Materials:

#2 pencil

Pietro Trevisan

The Good Ol' Days

"The piece was done using oil pastel and soft pastel. I created this piece as a reflection on objective understanding of history, the importance of understanding old perspectives, and the true loss obtained for failing to do so."

Max Torres

Santiago Murillo no murió, a él lo mataron
"Vos tenes la bala
yo tengo la palabra
la bala muere al detonarse
la palabra vive al replicarse"
- Berta Caceres, ambientalista hondureña asesinada en 2016
This piece represents the perpetual fight for justice that takes place in Latin America where corruption has encroached our congresses, our governments. It's the perpetual blurred line between a criminal and a politician that holds our countries back, it's this line that allows for people to get killed as if they were nothing."
Jessi Calidonio

DANGER
"The meaning of this collage is to show how dependent our world is on plastic and other pollutants. Eventually, our overuse of these pollutants will deteriorate our world and eventually make it uninhabitable. This collage shows the worst possible outcome which is a toxic uninhabitable world."
Gabriel-Leonardo Chiesa-Molina

El eterno femenino
"This collage was centered around the idea that we don't have to be limited by our gender to be whoever or whatever we desire. Women should fight back and be free to express themselves in every way, even if it goes outside of the norm, breaks tradition, or challenges roles."
Andreina Gonzalez

Virtual ISPA Museum

Social Commentary

"It all started with one assignment..."

"The artist exists because the world is not perfect." Andrei Tarkovsky

art can change the world